Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation
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The Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation is an award presented by the
Prime Minister of Jamaica The prime minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as prime minister on 7 September 2020, having been re-elected as a result of ...
to those individuals whom he feels are worthy to be recognized for services to
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 ...
or to those Jamaicans who have excelled in personal achievements outside of Jamaica. It is not part of the Jamaican National Honours system. Most recipients will not advance into the Honours system, but a few have been appointed into the Honours system.


History

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 ...
received its independence from the
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, changing its status from a British
Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
to an independent country in the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
, on 6 August 1962. In 1983, The Right Honorable Edwards Seaga, Prime Minister of Jamaica, felt that, during the twenty-first "coming of age" anniversary of independence, a special recognition should be given to Jamaican citizens who had made significant contributions to the Nation, but who had not received any of the National Honours. A committee was formed of prominent Jamaicans to select recipients with the following criteria: *Have served their Community and Jamaica with distinction for at least twenty years and who are held in high esteem by their community. *Have not received any of the National Honours. *Recipients to be at least thirty-eight years old at the time of selection. The Prime Minister determined that 1,000 medals would be presented. Mr. F. A. Douce, the Secretary General of the Orders, Chancery of the Orders of the Societies of Honours, Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston, Jamaica, was commissioned with the design of the Medal.


Presentations

The first 1,000 presentations were awarded at the Historic Town Square in
Spanish Town, Jamaica Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...
on Sunday, 18 December 1983. Prime Minister Seaga personally presented the first 10 medals to the County
Custos {{Wiktionary, custos ''Custos'' is the Latin word for guard. Titles * Custos rotulorum ("keeper of the rolls"), a civic post in parts of the United Kingdom and in Jamaica * Custos (Franciscans), a religious superior or official in the Fran ...
. The Custodes then presented the Medals to those in their County who had been selected for the award. The following areas of service were recognized for the awards: Since that Sunday, the succeeding Prime Ministers have reserved the privilege of awarding the medal to those Jamaicans who distinguished themselves, usually in the International arena. Recipients who were personally awarded the medal by the Prime Minister included three Champion Boxers, Michael McCallum (3 June 1986),
Lloyd Honeyghan Lloyd Honeyghan (born 22 April 1960) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1995. He reigned as the undisputed welterweight champion from 1986 to 1987, and held the WBC, '' The Ring'' magazine welterweight titles twic ...
(10 November 1985) and
Trevor Berbick Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to M ...
(10 April 1986). Nine other prominent Jamaican was awarded the medal, including Jamaican born actress Marge Sinclair (12 March 1987). In 1986, the supply of medals became scarce. It was recommended by the Prime Minister that a new design for the Medal be found to more accurately reflect the current presentations. Again, Mr. F. A. Douce, the Secretary General of the Orders, was tasked with the design and production of a new Medal. The first Medal presentation of the new design was given by Jamaican Prime Minister The Right Honorable Michael Norman Manley on 27 April 1989 to Russell Ralph Fritz, a Major in
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
. It was awarded to Fritz for "Social and Welfare Services Particularly the Handicapped and the Aged" to the people of
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 ...
. This was the first time that Jamaican Prime Minister
Michael Manley Michael Norman Manley (10 December 1924 – 6 March 1997) was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been d ...
had awarded the Medal. This was also the first time that a non-Jamaican was awarded the Medal, as Russell Fritz is a native
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
n, but his wife Jacqueline was a Jamaican Citizen. At the time of the Medal presentation, Fritz was assigned by the International Salvation Army to the Caribbean Territorial Headquarters stationed in
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
as Social Service Secretary. Fritz had also been the Principal of the School for the Blind and Visually Handicapped in Kingston. Fritz had written a number of articles on Jamaica that were published in international magazines and had also produced three
Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation The Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) was a public broadcasting company in Jamaica founded in 1959 by premier Norman Manley with the aim of emulating the success of other national broadcasting companies such as the BBC and CBC.Thomas, Pradip ...
television series. He now lives in San Bernardino, California.


Design

The medal is round, 2 inches in diameter, made of
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
and plated with 24-carat
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. It is attached to a ribbon by a small ring, through which larger ring is attached directly to the ribbon. The statutes state that it can be worn either around the neck or on the left breast. However, all medals are presented, for both men and women, with a neck ribbon only. The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
s for both the first and second design are the same. The field has a
Jamaican flag The flag of Jamaica was adopted on 6 August 1962 (Jamaican Independence Day), the country having gained independence from the British-protected Federation of the West Indies. The flag consists of a gold saltire, which divides the flag into fo ...
. Encircling the inside rim are the words "The National Flag of Jamaica," with a small pineapple at the bottom separating the wording. The
reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...
of the first design has the Prime Ministers flag in the field with the inscription "Prime Ministers Standard" directly below the flag. Encircling the inside rim are the words "Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation 1962-6th August-1983." The reverse of the second design is close to the first design. It has the Prime Ministers flag in the field with the inscription "Prime Ministers Standard" directly below the flag. Encircling the inside rim are the words "Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation." Replacing the 21st anniversary dates is a raised plate at the bottom where the date of issuance is to be stamped. Statutes for the current Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation state that a maximum of 12 medals can be presented each year.


Recipients

*
Trevor Berbick Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to M ...
*
Mary Anne Chambers Mary Anne Veronica Chambers, (born September 8, 1950) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada, and is the recently named Chancellor of the University of Guelph. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 until 2007, and s ...
*
Lloyd Honeyghan Lloyd Honeyghan (born 22 April 1960) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1995. He reigned as the undisputed welterweight champion from 1986 to 1987, and held the WBC, '' The Ring'' magazine welterweight titles twic ...
*
Mike McCallum Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Association, WBA super welterweight t ...


See also

*
List of awards for contributions to culture This list of awards for contributions to culture is an index to articles about notable awards for contributions to culture in a general sense. The awards listed here have a relatively open-ended scope, e.g. they apply to the arts irrespective o ...
*
List of awards for contributions to society This list of awards for contributions to society is an index to articles on notable awards for contributions to society. It excludes humanitarian and service awards, religion-related awards, peace prizes, law enforcement awards and honors and leg ...


References

{{reflist Awards for contributions to society Civil awards and decorations of Jamaica