Jamaican Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation

The Jamaican Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation is an award presented by the Prime Minister of Jamaica

Prime Minister of Jamaica

The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...

to those individuals whom he feels are worthy to be recognized for services to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

or to those Jamaicans who have excelled in personal achievements outside of Jamaica.

It is not part of the Jamaican National Honours system

Jamaican honours system

The Jamaican honours system has developed as a unique entity since the passage of the National Honours and Awards Act by the Parliament of Jamaica in 1969 . The system is modelled largely on the British honours system...

. Most recipients will not advance into the Honours system, but a few have been appointed into the Honours system.

History

Jamaica

received its independence from Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, changing its status from a Crown Colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

to a member of The Commonwealth

Commonwealth

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...

, 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

Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...

on Sunday, 18 December 1983. Prime Minister Seaga

Edward Seaga

Edward Philip George Seaga ON PC was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989 and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1989 until January 2005...

personally presented the first 10 medals to the County Custos

Custos

Custos is the Latin word for guard. It occurs in titles such as* Custos rotulorum, keeper of the rolls* Custos * Custos...

. The Custodes then presented the Medals to those in their County whom had been selected for the award.

The following areas of service were recognized for the awards:

Classification	Medals
Custodi	10
Community Service – Agriculture	45
Community Service – Business and Tourism	29
Business and Religion	1
Communication and Culture	116
Community Development	410
Community Service – Education	193
Community Service – Health	129
Community Service – Politics	19
Community Service – Religion	69
Community Service – Sports	17

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

Lloyd Honeyghan is a retired British boxer. Born in Jamaica, he was WBC/WBA & IBF welterweight champion from 1986 to 1987. and WBC welterweight champion from 1988 to 1989....

(10 November 1985) and Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick was a Jamaican-Canadian heavyweight boxer who fought as a professional from 1976 until 2000. Berbick briefly held the WBC heavyweight championship in 1986 , before losing it to 20-year old Mike Tyson, via 2nd-round TKO...

(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 April 27, 1989 to Russell Fritz, a Major in The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

. It was awarded to Fritz for “Social and Welfare Services Particularly the Handicapped and the Aged” to the people of Jamaica

Jamaica

. This was the first time that Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley

Michael Manley

Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....

had awarded the Medal. This was also the first time that a non-Jamaican was awarded the Medal, as Russell Fritz is a native Californian

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. 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, 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 International Airport to the rest of the island...

. 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

Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation

The Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation was a public broadcasting company in Jamaica founded in 1959 by Prime Minister Norman Manley with the aim of emulating the success of other national broadcasting companies such as the BBC and CBC.-History:...

television series.

Design

The medal is round, 2 1/4 inches in diameter, made of nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

and plated with 24-carat gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. 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 reverse

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, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

s for both the first and second design are the same. The field has a Jamaican flag. Encircling the inside rim are the words “The National Flag of Jamaica,” with a small pineapple at the bottom separating the wording.

The reverse

Obverse and 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.

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