From the number of people in attendance, it seemed that on Tuesday evening all roads led to the Jamaica Pegasus to celebrate Thalia Lyn’s induction into the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Hall of Fame.

From her first job working in her parents’ bakery to the halls of Immaculate Conception High School to reading for an English Literature degree, to building the iconic homegrown brand Island Grill, Thalia Lyn has always been a tenacious woman with an innovative spirit.

The citation read by Island Grill chairman and former PSOJ president Howard Mitchell said in part: “Through Thalia Lyn’s prescience and passion for the country, Island Grill has the privilege of being the first restaurant chain in Jamaica to adopt sustainability and community building as a strategic principle. Island Grill has been at the forefront of social responsibility, and embraced environmentally sound practices long before these terms became market norms.”

Whether you use the words macher, exemplary leader, philanthropist, or “rock star grandmother” to describe Lyn, what is universally agreed upon is that she is an inspiration.