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Retired Hanover JPs, stalwarts get Christmas cheers from HJPA

Published:Friday | December 25, 2020 | 1:35 AMBryan Miller/ Gleaner Writer
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Custos of Hanove Dr David Stair (right), presents retired Hanover JP Zethlyn Shreeves (centre) with a gift package. Welfare committee member, Kadian Ellis looks on.
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Custos of Hanover Dr David Stair (right), presents retired Hanover JP, Gwendolyn Lawrence (centre) with a gift package while Kadian Ellis looks on.
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Hanover Custos Dr David Stair presents retired Hanover JP Margarita Spence with a gift package.
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WESTERN BUREAU:

 

Three of the five retired justices of the peace (JPs) and four of the 10 community stalwarts who have been selected for special gift packages by the Hanover Justices of the Peace Association (HJPA) got their packages yesterday, while the other packages will be handed out today.

In a bid to be in compliance with the COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the HJPA, which is headed by Hanover Custos Dr David Stair, decided to spread the event over two days so as not to have all 15 recipients at one location at the same time.

The recipients, who are drawn from all over the western parish, will all benefit from Christmas grocery packages, courtesy of the Hanover Justices of the Peace Welfare Committee, as part of a grand gesture to add joy to their celebration of the festive season.

In total, the five JPs gave over 100 years of voluntary service to their respective communities before they retired.

In an interview with The Gleaner following yesterday’s proceedings which saw members of the HJPA going to the homes of the respective recipients to make the presentations, Stair noted that he will be forever grateful for the cooperation he received from the now-retired JPs and went on to hail the work of HJPA’s Welfare Committee.

“When I took over as custos, this is one of the first committees that I wanted to revive because I recognised that we are all volunteers, and I thought then that we should always recognise the worth of each of us as volunteers. It is my belief that we should always be ready to reach out to each other,” said Stair.

“My vision is that it (the gesture) will grow into something very large and something that we can actually extend to a lot of other persons,” added Stair.

He also noted that he was quite pleased that the HJPA is now looking outside of itself in extending its goodwill to fellow citizens, especially at a time when the nation is being confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am hoping that one day it (the gesture) will grow large enough so that we can really take on major projects and help a lot more people that need help.”

The custos also congratulated the members of the HJPA for committing their own finances to underwrite the cost of the project, adding that he admires their willingness to show that they really care for the people they serve.

Derrick Wright, chairman of the HJPA welfare committee, told The Gleaner that the members of his committee felt it was their duty to give back something to their respective communities, alongside recognising the worth and work of the veteran JPs.