Olympian and noted Jamaican educator, Vilma Charlton, will be honored later this month with the ‘Pioneer in Athletics & Exemplary Leader in Sport Award’, at the inaugural staging of the Labor of Love Luncheon being put on by Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) Inc.

TJB, which provides hospitality services to Jamaican and other Caribbean athletes at the Penn Relays held annually at ithe Universty of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, will bestow Charlton with the honour in New York where the organisation is based.

The ceremony will be held on April 24, beginning at 2:00pm at the Crest Hollow Country Club, 8325 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, New York. Other honorees are Stephen Drummond, Esq; Dawn Warren Esq., David Warren Esq., and JoAnne Squillace Esq.

Charlton is being recognised for her “distinguished and transformational career and leadership in the field of sport and as an educator,” TJB said.

As an athlete, Charlton represented Jamaica at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. She won gold in the 220 yards at the 1965 West Indian Championships and won a bronze medal for the 200 yards at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games. She also won gold as part of the 4×110 yards relay at the same event.

An alumna of Pepperdine University, Charlton was inducted in the Pepperdine University Hall of Fame in 2017.

Charlton, who holds a B.Sc in physical education and a M.A. in education from Pepperdine University, pursued a career in education right out of college.

“Her distinguished and foundational work ensures that the structure and resources for the island’s sporting programme remains solid and world renowned through generations. Although she has retired as a lecturer from the University of the West Indies, Institute of Education, she remains the Chief External Examiner for all tertiary institutions pursuing studies in physical education and sport,” TJB noted.

It noted further that her work is far-reaching, regionally. She is a qualified Master Course Conductor for physical education teachers and coaches in the Central American and Caribbean Region. She was the Chief External Examiner for the first ever sitting of Physical Education and Sport for the CXC, CSEC Examination in 2003, a position she held until 2013.

Charlton was also member/chairperson of the committee which designed and piloted the bachelors’ programme for the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education & Sports and currently serves as chairperson for the revised Early Childhood Diploma Syllabus in Physical Education for Teachers’ Colleges.

She has served as an International Association of Athletics Federations, now renamed World Athletics instructor, and, as an official in a wide range of various national track and field events.

Additionally, Charlton also served on the Executive of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association through many administrators dating back to the 1980s, and has accompanied several national teams in management capacities. She currently serves as the organization’s 4th Vice President.