Over 20 years ago this column discussed the entrepreneurial vision of business legend Karl Hendrickson. The headline was ‘When I was hungry, you invested’, and it explored his business successes and those created by his four children, Lori-Ann Lyn, Gary “Butch” Hendrickson, Kevin Hendrickson, and Cathy Kerr.

At last week’s opening of The Nest, a 1,000-acre eco-industrial park in Hill Run, St Catherine, he witnessed the effect of his business genius on the third generation, as grandson Matthew Lyn, CEO of CB Jamaica, addressed the large gathering. My family was blessed to know members of Lyn’s family, George and Reggie Lyn, who remained as clients of my accountant father even after he was wheelchair-bound. From this dynamic, compassionate legacy and under the guidance of his brilliant mother, Lori-Ann Lyn, chair of CB Jamaica, emerges Matthew’s striking perseverance.

We recall the outcry when we heard that Jamaica was still importing chicken parts when we were at 80 per cent local production. Now Matthew’s projects that his company’s new $15-billion air chill plant will not only assist in supplying 100 per cent of local demand but also become an exporter for the region by 2035, if not earlier. The facility will use cold, purified air to chill the birds after slaughter, instead of the previous water-based practice. This is a more hygienic process which improves the flavour of the chicken.

The eco-industrial park was conceived in 2017, but it took six years to bring it to fruition: “This 450,000 square feet of building space, three kilometres of internal roads, power plant, steam plant, a water treatment plant, and this little thing called air-chilled chicken plant that no one in Jamaica has ever heard of before, meeting after meeting, site visits, studies, reports submissions, submissions of applications, submissions of drawings, submissions of plans, followed by resubmissions of submissions. If you know you know,” said Matthew Lyn.

He shared hard lessons, teachable moments for entrepreneurs, such as the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakdown of the Kingston plant which led to significant loss and painful rebuilding. “Our operations were a mess, our quality went to the dogs, our reputation was shot. Many customers, for very good reason… left us. It was perhaps the lowest point in our company’s history. But, little by little, we got better, step by step, day by day, methodically, strategically and tweaked. Here another failure, there another try; we restructured, we changed course, we found new ways, and we survived.”

He noted that producers of poultry are not just CB and Jamaica Broilers; there are some 100,000 backyard farmers producing 100 chickens daily.

His integrated grower network includes larger farming businesses. “They are not small by any means,” he emphasised. “They are our partners in this industry and have serious capital tied up in their operations… our newest integrated grower put up three houses recently. A few weeks ago, he invested over $400 million in that operation. This is an investment that could be listed on the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange, but it never made the news. There are over 150 of these farmers in Jamaica. These businesspeople are investors… they produce more than chicken because every single one of them grows something else too.”

Matthew gave an open invitation to all schoolchildren to tour the plant and learn about its zero-waste system. To make it more accessible he entered a plea to his guest, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, to assist with a better roadway.

Those horrific fires

Since the beginning of the year we have had the terrible news of four children losing their lives in fires when they were left unattended. A five-year-old girl perished in a fire on Whitehall Avenue and three siblings ages two to seven perished in a fire in St Ann. Imagine, four little ones with promising lives ahead of them taken from their families and schoolmates. At that tender age such tragedies have a traumatic effect on young family members and friends. One child wept and said this made her afraid of dying in a fire.

Last year, several elderly people also perished in fires, the most recent was a 91-year-old woman last December in Bluefields, Westmoreland.

Just as we encourage neighbourhood watches for security, organisations such as the Jamaica Fire Department, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), and church groups should come together to roll out a programme for fire safety. We sometimes take for granted that people should know better, but we do not know the full details of the circumstances. This is a call for wider public education, not just media interviews.

Congratulations, Dr Barbara Carby

The Soroptimist International Club of Jamaica (Kingston) has made an excellent choice, naming disaster risk management expert Dr Barbara Carby the 2024 recipient of its annual Stella Gregory Award for Excellence. The award is presented annually to an outstanding woman who has excelled in her chosen field and has contributed to national development.

Dr Carby is being recognised for her outstanding leadership in the field of disaster risk management. She was most recently director of the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre at The University of the West Indies. Prior to that post, she served as director of Hazard Management in the Cayman Islands. She has also served as consultant in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat, developing Standard Operating Procedures for the countries’ National Emergency Operations Centres.

Dr Carby is best known in Jamaica for her role as director general for the ODPEM. She serves currently as member of the World Meteorological Organisation Region IV Expert Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and as a member of the Government of Jamaica Adaptation Fund Project Steering Committee. She is a past vice-chair of the United Nations Scientific and Technical Committee for the International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction.

Sporting wins

Congratulations to Jamaica’s amazing netball team, our Sunshine Girls, who won the first match on Saturday in the Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series. The other two matches will be played this week on Wednesday, January 22 and Saturday, January 25 at National Sports Indoor Centre. Please go out and cheer for our girls.

Congratulations also to winners of the RJRGleaner sportsman and sportswomen of the year, Roje Stona and Shanieka Ricketts, respectively. Stona broke the Olympic record with his gold medal discus throw of 70 metres at the Paris Olympics, while Ricketts showed amazing progress in recent years and scored the Silver in the triple-jump event. Men’s runner-up Kishane Thompson was edged out of a gold by Noah Lyles, who beat him by a controversial five-thousandths of a second.

Well done to all nominees in the various categories. You fly our flag high and keep Jamaica’s name shining in the world of sports.

Jean Lowrie-Chin is an author, communications expert, and seniors’ advocate. Send comments to lowriechin@aim.com

Roje Stona (Naphtali Junior)

Shanieka Ricketts poses with her RJR/Gleaner Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award. (Naphtali Junior)