Ralston McKenzie is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n broadcaster and journalist, producer/presenter of the award-winning community service programme '' Sunday Contact.'' The show, on for decades, aired weekly on

RJR 94 FM Radio Jamaica, also known as RJR 94 FM, and formerly Real Jamaican Radio, is a broadcast company in Jamaica with headquarters in Kingston. History On 9 July 1950, a commercial license to operate as a subsidiary of the British Rediffusion Grou ...

(Radio Jamaica) and the Internet, linking persons with long-lost family and friends. He has set up Jamaica Contact, a web-based extension of his family search service. Other founding members and directors of Jamaica Contact are the Jamaican nationals Peter Townsend and Nicole McKenzie, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

national Sven Littkowski. In a media career spanning some 40 years, Mr. McKenzie has served multiple functions at various levels in both television and radio since accepting the grant of a "Leave of Absence" from his pre-clinical studies in the University of the West Indies Faculty of Medicine at Mona.

Early years

Mr. McKenzie was born in Kingston, Jamaica, schooled in Spanish Town and then in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in the early 1950s, a time full of political changes and developments in

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, when his family joined their father – a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Flight Sergeant in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

on his overseas postings. Returning to Jamaica, Mr. McKenzie graduated from the St. George College in 1959 and resuming studies at the UWI earning a BSc.

Honors Degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

in International Relations. Further studies and a desire to enter the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, or become a career diplomat, took him to the Fordham University,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he earned a Master of Science Degree in International Affairs.

Awards and memberships

Returning again to Jamaica, he joined ''Life of Jamaica'' (now ''Sagicor Life'') in 1987. As a Senior Life Underwriter, he garnered several industry awards including " Top of the Million Dollar Round Table" (1993). Mr. McKenzie has given long years of voluntary service to various community, civic and social organizations, such as the St. Georges Old Boys Association, Press Association of Jamaica, Jamaica Save-the-Children Fund, and the Mel Nathan Institute for Social Development in Hannah Town. He was an active participant in the National Festival of the Performing Arts, a Gold Medal winner and National Champion in Speech and Drama for four years, and served on the board of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission. Among several awards in the broadcasting field, he was also awarded the Prime Ministers Medal in the field of Community Development in December 1983. Mr. McKenzie was married for over 35 years, with four children. He is currently a Lector in the

Lay Ministry Lay ministry is a term used for ministers of faiths in Christian denominations who are not ordained in their faith tradition. Lay ministers are people who are elected by the church, full-time or part-time. They may have theological degrees and tr ...

of St. Richards Church on Red Hills Road.

References

External links

Welcome to Ralston McKenzie's Jamaica Contact
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Ralston People from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican journalists Male journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Fordham University alumni