NEW Fortress Energy (NFE) recently presented its community heroes awards to six individuals from its Old Harbour Bay and Jamalco Refinery Council communities in Clarendon and in Montego Bay – where it operates its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.

The recipients are Adrian Townsend and Hilda Johnson from Old Harbour Bay; Florizel Thompson and Pastor Lloyd Hall from the refinery council communities in Clarendon; and Sandra Brown and Mavis Dowdie from Montego Bay.

The energy company’s ‘My Christmas Wish – the NFE Community Hero’, is an initiative that was recently launched to recognise and reward unsung heroes in the communities who, out of their love for people and their communities, are making a positive impact in the area. The recipients, who were nominated by community peers, were in awe when they were awarded.

Adrian Townsend, a welder from Old Harbour Bay, not only trains unskilled and unattached youths in the community for free; he is also using his personal funds to build a welding training facility to formalise his training programme. On receiving his plaque and $150,000 worth of vouchers to shop at any Courts store islandwide, Townsend said; “Wow! I was not expecting this at all when I was asked to come to the community centre. I’m passionate about helping young people gain a valuable skill, and even though I was not doing this to be recognised it is very encouraging to know that my fellow community members value what I’m doing.”

The other recipients echoed similar sentiments. Pastor Hall, who community members said has spearheaded several upliftment projects to help young people, said “This is a very good programme and I cannot thank New Fortress Energy enough – not simply for the award, but importantly, because I know that this programme will help motivate others to continue their selfless work to serve as well as encourage others to take their roles as community members more seriously. We are each other’s keepers, so we need to do what we can to uplift each other.”

According to nomination by community members, retired basic school principal, Hilda Johnson, founded the St Worth Basic School more than 50 years ago and has spent her years giving back to her community in several ways; Florizel Thompson, a farmer, has been instrumental in community development in Mitchell Town, helping the indigent and lobbying for funds to help with a bee farming programme.

Sandra Brown, a shopkeeper from Gordon’s Crossing in St James, is described as a role model and community stalwart whose work includes sourcing support from businesses and Food For the Poor to help senior citizens and the less fortunate; while Mavis Dowdie, a retired public service worker from Bogue Village, is described as a tower of strength. She has played an integral part in several upliftment projects in the community for several years.

Verona Carter, vice-president, public affairs at New Fortress Energy said, “We have been working in these communities for about four years now and we have seen first-hand the passion, the pride and the commitment from several community members who use their time, energy and in many cases, their personal funding to help uplift and serve their communities. These are the unsung heroes that this initiative was developed to recognise, and we are heartened by the testimonies from the community members who voted for them. We’re very proud of the recipients and wish them all the very best as they continue to be an example to others.”

She added: “As we have said, New Fortress Energy is in this for the long haul, and our involvement and investment in the communities in which we operate is testament to our commitment to help secure a sustainable socio-economic future for Jamaica. Well done to all the recipients and heartiest congratulations to them all.”