DIGICEL lends sponsorship support to Jennifer Jones Media Awards
Patricia Maher presenting phones to Susan Jones-Benjamin |
Basseterre, St. Kitts,–August 7th, 2013–Digicel Grenada has inked its name as one of the sponsors for the inaugural staging of the Jennifer Jones Barbados and OECS Health Media Awards. The company through its country manager, Patricia Maher signed on to the event by handing over some handsets recently as part of its sponsorship deal to the Executive Director of the event, Susan Jones Benjamin.
At a simple handing over ceremony Maher expressed her company’s excitement and willingness to be part of the event which will be held on August 31 at the Grenada Trade Centre. “We are happy to be associated with this event as health is a very pertinent and critically important issue within the region,” Maher said.
She noted that providing journalists in the region with an opportunity to highlight various health issues will only serve to better educate and sensitize the public on these issues. She pointed out that while her company supports the local press association media awards event, lending support to a regional event of this magnitude reinforces her company’s commitment to the continued growth and development of media practitioners.
At the handing over ceremony of the handsets, which also comes with telephone credit, Maher stated that Digicel is proud to be part of the Jennifer Jones Barbados and OECS Health Media Awards adding that the company is looking towards the development of media both locally and regionally. A number of media practitioners from Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia are expected to converge in Grenada for the inaugural presentation ceremony. A number of top private and public sector officials from around the Caribbean are expected to attend the red carpet affair.
Maher expressed her company’s support to the event noted that such a competition will certainly help to increase the work being done by media practitioners on heath. She believes that with health being a critically important issue to every sector within society these awards will certainly boost the work being done by the media in better educating and informing the public on a wide range of health issues. “We at Digicel believe that this event will provide the platform for more coverage and attention to be given to health issues by the media and as a company we firmly believe that it merits our support thus our investment in ensuring that the organization’s telecommunication’s needs are met. Maher said. She added: “Having such a regional competition will help to boost the level of coverage given by the media to health and health related issues as it affects all in somewhere or the other and the media certainly need to increase the attention that they give to health issues if the region is to aggressively address the growing list of health issues and concerns that we are seeing today”, said Maher.
Maher flew out the country shortly after the presentation ceremony to lend some voluntary assistance to the Cholera outbreak in Haiti. She affirmed that Digicel will continue to support the event in whatever way that they can.
Executive Director of the Jennifer Jones Foundation, Jones-Benjamin said that she is anticipating a well-supported and executed event. She noted that she hopes that the inaugural staging of the Jennifer Jones Barbados and OECS Health Media Awards will be a memorable one.
Jones Benjamin added that the event will be an annual one and that Grenada will be the permanent home of the only regional health media awards. She stated that she and her family are very happy to be involved. “My family and I are very proud that the OECS Media Network on Health supported by other organizations has seen it fit to name this event in honour of our late sister, Jennifer. We are cognizant of her enormous and sterling contributions but must stress that we are happier to know that others are equally cognizant of her contributions both locally and regionally,” she added.
Jones-Benjamin declared that she along with the rest of the committee is very happy that Digicel has chosen to be the event’s official telecommunication sponsor. She added that the event is timely in the bid to improve health journalism in the region.