After a wonderful night of socializing at the fund raising dinner/dance
to kick off the Memorial Day Picnic Weekend activities, a few of us attended
the Panel Discussion on the following day with the MP, Florence Logan, and Barbara Clarke, founder of the Chicago based "Jamaica Family Reunion Vacations" company.
I will not attempt to quote the MP verbatim, but I will certainly try to paraphrase
the essence of some of what was said.
His motto for his stewardship is simply this: "Trelawny, Open for Business".
His vision is to create a business friendly atmosphere to attract various investors and
businesses to the town of Falmouth and Trelawny in general.
For starters, Dr. Harris indicated that he would like to make the town more attractive and inviting by initiating
various beautification projects. He also indicated that he is prepared to do whatever is necessary within
the government to make it easier for business people to set up and operate businesses in the Parish.
He encouraged us to "see the opportunities NOW" and not wait until it is too late. He was very emphatic
that the time to act is now. He could see signs already that in the very near future there will be an influx
of "outsiders" from other parishes and other ethnicities that will be operating successful
businesses in the parish and the locals will be left out if they do not take advantage of the
opportunities that exist now.
He also touched on the notion that we should start thinking about manufacturing the "end products" that
go on the shelf and not just the raw ingredients that go into making them, because a significantly larger percentage of the profits
go to the "middle men", not the producers of the raw goods.
There was also some mention of the long term infra-structure improvements, such as drainage/sewer system
and sidewalks.
Florence Logan then spoke about her involvement with the Chamber of Commerce and the various
organizations in Falmouth and Trelawny, followed by Barbara Clarke of "Jamaica Family Reunion Vacations".
Of course, there was a spirited and positive question and answer period for all those in attendance.
I encourage other points of view from all of you about the events that took place over the weekend.
