Growth & Jobs|Tamara McKayle: Inspiring trailblazer

Described as a tenacious millennial, TV presenter and communication specialist Tamara McKayle has been inspiring through media from she started out at 19 years old, a little over a decade ago.

Her experience spans from television presenting/production and public relations, seeing McKayle holding various titles from TV presenter, news anchor, executive producer, communication specialist, and more, at companies such as CVM TV, Jamaica Information Service, CEEN Caribbean TV/SportsMax, Business Access TV, Mello TV, and communications responsibilities within the Office of the Cabinet.

GROWTH IN POPULARITY

The vibrant and bubbly professional has begun carving out a name online, and globally building her community, through her fresh and inspirational web series ‘The Trailblazers with Tamara McKayle’, has attracted some very popular and influential personalities, locally, regionally and internationally, who have been sharing their path to success. The impressive list of guests to date includes Premier of Bermuda David Burt; Chairman of National Baking Company-Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson; CEO of Proven Chris Williams; Former Olympian bobsledder and member of the historic Jamaican bobsled team which inspired the Disney film Cool Runnings, Devon Harris; international matchmaker and Oprah Winfrey’s former co-host, Paul C. Brunson, and many other notable trailblazers.

“It’s always been my vision from I started in media at 19 years old to use it as a tool for inspiration and hope and to positively transform lives. I have admired Oprah Winfrey from I was a little girl growing up in rural Jamaica in Trelawny and I also used to watch ‘Profile’ with Ian Boyne every Sunday as a child. In fact, he interviewed me on his programme when I was also 19 years old, and that solidified my decision to stay on this path,” she notes.

So, what’s her winning strategy in attracting these influential personalities on her online programme? “Just ask!” she responds with a dimpled smile. “But honestly, I’ve worked in media a while and I’ve built relations over the years, and I’m happy and grateful that these connections have felt the importance to share their story to my audience, especially considering the fact that the programme officially started some months ago from scratch with no fancy equipment, and me being the producer, presenter, editor and everything. Some of the guests have also been through new connections and referrals. I’m just grateful that since then, others are coming on board, and we are working to build this out.”

‘The Trailblazers with Tamara McKayle’, which is on YouTube, is a timely programme as many deal with the stressors of the COVID-19 global pandemic and are looking at key ways and strategies to overcome or bounce back. According to McKayle. “I think what many viewers love about the programme is just hearing how these influential personalities, what we call our ‘trailblazers’, have overcome various challenges and are winning at life. In fact, one of the most popular guests on the programme to date was Chris Williams, CEO of Proven, who shared candidly that to start the company he almost sold everything, including his luxurious X6, and started driving a used Tida to accomplish his dream. That story resonated with a lot of people and I got a lot of messages, and people even coming up to me about it. It’s stories like that which inspire people to keep going, no matter the obstacles, no matter the challenges, no matter the setbacks!”

To keep abreast of the latest and previous episodes, subscribe to the channel on YouTube at ‘The Trailblazers with Tamara McKayle TV Show.’