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Grace Foods partners with JAAA for Worlds

Published:Friday | September 13, 2019 | 12:35 AM
Grace Foods Chief Executive Officer Frank James (right) has a chat with Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association president Dr Warren Blake (centre) and first vice president Ludlow Watts at the body’s press conference to announce the national team to the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday.
Rudolph Brown
Grace Foods Chief Executive Officer Frank James (right) has a chat with Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association president Dr Warren Blake (centre) and first vice president Ludlow Watts at the body’s press conference to announce the national team to the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday.

Grace Foods announced on Wednesday that it would be partnering with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) as an official sponsor of Jamaica’s team to the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from September 27 to October 6 at a press conference at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Kingston. Prior to the Games, Grace Foods will be the official sponsor of the training camp, which will be held September 17 to 23.

In describing the partnership as a demonstration of the company’s continued commitment to sports in Jamaica, Grace Foods Chief Executive Officer Frank James announced that the company’s sponsorship would be $8 million.

“For the last 97 years, since our great company was founded, we have said that ‘If it’s good for Jamaica, it’s good for GraceKennedy,’” James said. “As an official sponsor of the Jamaica Team to the World Championships, we are reinforcing that Grace Foods, with the ‘Good Food Dem’, will always do what’s “good for Jamaica”.

James said that Grace Foods’ has been a supporter of the JAAA, having partnered for several global ­sporting events over the years, including the Athletics World Cup, the World Championships, and the Olympics. He mentioned that due to certain restrictions in Doha, Qatar, for these Championships, Grace Foods would not be able to provide a chef for the team or products for the athletes.

“That, however, would not stop us from giving our full $8 million support for this hugely anticipated event. That should tell you our support is the real deal,” he said.

GraceKennedy has invested heavily in Track and Field in Jamaica, with its single largest investment across the business being its sponsorship of the annual ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (‘Champs’). This year, the company invested $80 million in the event.

“When we see the quality of athletes that come out of ‘Champs’ and go to represent Jamaica on the world stage at events like these, we can definitively say that every cent of that investment is worth it,” James said.