WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — Justices of the Peace (JPs) who have provided long service were lauded for their exceptional commitment and resilience during the inaugural Westmoreland Justices of the Peace Association of Jamaica Limited Awards Gala and Banquet, held at the Negril Hills Golf Club on Saturday evening.

Among the evening’s most notable honourees was 78-year-old educator Joselyn Stephens, who has served the people of Westmoreland as a JP for the past 42 years. Stephens told Observer Online that while the voluntary service is quite challenging, one has to be committed.

“You have to be committed to serve your community and the people in general. Those you know, and sometimes you’ll find a few who come, but because they have their identification and so on and you can link that with them are genuine, you will serve them,” stated Stephens.

Stephens was among four outstanding JPs and two JP zones awarded during the gala. Reflecting on his decades of service, he shared an intriguing and unsettling experience from the past when a woman visited his home around 11:00 pm seeking assistance for her incarcerated daughter at the Ramble Police Station in Hanover.

“I decided to go with her, and I actually nearly had an accident. But I went, and when I went, the young miss who was incarcerated wasn’t thankful at the circumstance that her mom and grandmother came to get her out of the cell. I was taken aback as to what could have caused that. But that’s how the service goes, and you have to deal with it,” stated Stephens.

Drawing on his background as a former principal of the Bluefields All Age School — which was later closed to make way for Belmont Academy — Stephens noted that his professional history has profoundly supported his civic duties.

“I have worked with the police for that number of years, and I haven’t found any regrets. It has been an opportunity for me, and I try my best to serve the people as best as I can. One of the things that helped me along with the JP work is that I was a principal [and] teacher, and most of the people whom I served, I taught them in school and their parents… I know the people, and the people know me. And they trust me, and I appreciate them, and I do the best for them and for my community and my country,” stated Stephens.

The other three distinguished JP awardees recognised were Bernard Vanriel, Percival Rowe and Dr Mervel Grant. In the zone categories, the top zone award went to Grange Hill, while Little London copped the award for the most improved zone, and Yvonne Thorpe-Sonlin was named top zone leader.

In addition to individual honours, Icon Importers and Distributors Limited received a special community impact award for its tireless relief efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.

Reflecting on the company’s critical response during the disaster, Icon Director Moses Chybar Jr shared insights into the immense challenges and losses the firm encountered.

“While we at Icon, we experienced severe loss after Hurricane Melissa, we were still fortunate to have found ourselves in a position to be able to immediately offer assistance to persons in our community who were desperately in need… Additionally, we were able to accommodate relief coming in from other entities at our location, so we became a hub for Savanna-la-Mar and Westmoreland for relief efforts,” stated Chybar Jr.

Chybar Jr added that stepping up was an instinctive reflex for the business that also operates a gas station, especially when local infrastructure was heavily compromised.

“We were able to reopen almost immediately, when the first responders were unable to get fuel and other essential supplies while they went out into the different communities to assist persons. We were able to reopen immediately and offer our services to them as well,” explained Chybar Jr.

Detailing the severity of the structural damage to their operations, Chybar Jr noted that overall losses sit at more than $100 million.

“We would have lost our water bottling, manufacturing plant, one of our warehouses, and all the inventory that was warehoused inside of it, as well as several other areas of our business were severely damaged, unfortunately. However, we are rebuilding day by day,” stated Chybar Jr.

President of the Westmoreland Justices of the Peace Association of Jamaica Limited, Pius Lacan, praised the resilience of both the private sector partners and the network of decentralised zones that mobilised aid in the wake of the hurricane.

“So, in the past, we normally, as Justices of the Peace, recognised Justices of the Peace for long-service awards. But this year, we decided not only to look at the individual Justices of the Peace, but our activities are decentralised in about nine zones, nine various zones,” stated Lacan.

“The objective was also to look at what is happening within the zones so that we can strengthen our mandate as Justices of the Peace. And that is why during Hurricane Melissa — after Melissa, in fact — we decided that what we would do is, as much as possible, look at the provision of relief through the zones to the Justices of the Peace, because we have zones in Grange Hill, Little London, Sav, et cetera. So, those Justices of the Peace would have known the damages that occurred,” added the president.

Lacan further emphasised that the association’s mission extends far beyond the justice system, framing community disaster response as a core duty of every JP.

“We provided relief, whether it be in terms of clothing, food items. But as Justices of the Peace, we are mandated, right, not only to provide justice and provide support in terms of the legal system, but wherever there’s a need, we find ourselves as JPs to come up with the solutions and to recognise what is required,” stated Lacan.

“We believe that in terms of distributing relief items, the Justices of the Peace know who are the persons suffering, and we have always advocated to be pivotal in the distribution of whatever supplies they can provide, that we know them, and that we are part of the various communities. So, that is our mandate, and we ask that for the future, as they look at the various relief items, we are pivotal in it,” added Lacan.