Citation for Lititia Myers Gray

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Have you ever worked with someone who has a genuine interest in your success and who is not all about themselves and their own narrow self-interests?

Someone who can articulate a clear vision and who then influences and inspires you to reach beyond your fears and perceived capabilities in seeking to attain that vision?

And did you achieve remarkable results that surprised even you?

Then you may have been working with Lititia Myers Gray, a leader who is synonymous with, in her words, transformative results.

This is the story of how Lititia transforms people and organisations.

Although you could not tell by looking, Lititia came from humble beginnings not too far from the cockpit country.

She hails from a district in St James that is usually a destination. The kind of place you get to experience when a co-worker’s grandmother dies, and you take the company bus to the funeral.

Ever heard of Garlands? Ever heard of Tangle River? Google it.

Lititia’s mastery of things financial started in her grandmother’s shop in the hills of St James. Lititia did not like the pace at which business was conducted in the shop, so she decided to computerise it.

Not being able to afford a computer at the time Lititia did the next best thing and became the computer.

After assisting customers, grandma would begin working out the bill in her notebook. But before she could finish writing down the numbers, Lititia would announce the total - faster than any computer known to man at that time.

Or so it was said in Tangle River.

That was the first business she transformed, but there was much more to come.

After attending Mount Alvernia High School, she pursued her first degree in finance at Northern Caribbean University and later graduated from the Florida International University with a top 5% honours MBA.

How she found the time to be on the track teams of her high school and college is hard to imagine. But she did. I am taking bets that she can outrun her ex-army husband even if she is wearing water boots.

Today, Lititia is a President and CEO of Beryllium Limited, the Caribbean’s market leader in Currency Management and High Risk Business, but that is not where she started.

She started as a receptionist.

She was also a secretary.

And not surprisingly, she assisted with marking examination papers for Calculus and Accounting.

Her journey towards supremacy began in earnest when she joined the National Commercial Bank as a teller. This is when all the lessons learned in her grandmother’s shop bore fruit – earning her teller of the month awards and accolades even before her three months’ probation was up.

Since then, Lititia has spent over 15 years transforming herself in the areas of leadership, crisis management and financial management in various industries. But it was in the security industry that she has shone the brightest.

Lititia joined The Guardsman Group and became the financial controller for Guardsman Armoured.

She then became general manager and led the island wide implementation of an end-to end Electronic Cash Management System that facilitated more simplified cash management for retailers and commercial businesses.

Whether she did this in order to collect cash from shop owners in Garlands and Tangle River is still the subject of much speculation.

In any event, her transformative successes saw her being promoted to Managing Director where she successfully steered Guardsman Armoured to being a Full-Service Currency and Coin Management Organization.

The company has meanwhile grown into the largest Banknote Processing Centre in the Caribbean, with seven HighSpeed Cash Sorters with the capacity to count, verify note authenticity, and sort cash, at speeds of up to 2000 notes per minute – almost as fast as she used to make change in her grandmother’s shop.

In her current capacity as President & CEO of Beryllium Limited, her passion for results and commitment to exceeding expectations was the catalyst for organizational transformation and today Beryllium stands head and shoulders above its rivals - a pioneering Jamaican company with global ambitions within the high-risk finance and technology BPO sector.

Lititia’s personal transformation was inspired by her two role models, her mother and grandmother.

In turn, she has taken it upon herself to inspire other females by mentoring them in leadership development and empowerment as she prepares them for corporate and professional life.

One can imagine Lititia inspiring her audience with her personal motto; “...move towards that next challenge or opportunity, while using your fear as motivation and the determination to succeed”.

That, indeed, is the essence of personal transformation.

She did slow down long enough to get married to our immediate past chairman Capt. Garth Gray, CPP, PCI, PSP and together they have a son Alex.

Lititia, your transformative work on Garth is not finished.

Mrs. Lititia Myers Gray, for your transformative and visionary contribution to Industrial Security in Jamaica we take great pleasure in presenting you with an Award of Merit.

Congratulations.

Citation for Andrew Witham

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At the cognitive age of fourteen, it is normal for a boy to start focussing on the future and setting personal goals. Some even challenge the assumptions and solutions presented by adults. Fourteen-year-olds want their independence.

In retrospect, Andrew Witham was a normal 14-year-old.

Certainly, he had been thinking about what he wanted to be in life and had decided he wanted to be an engineer.

The traditional choice of professions, certainly in Jamaica, were lawyer or doctor or engineer.

Little thought is given to the type of engineer one wants to be. But Andrew, or Drew as he is fondly called, was not like that. He knew that he wanted to be a train engineer –

specifically, a signalling and telecommunications engineer.

As the eldest of four siblings, he knew he needed to set an example. He would study hard, he would graduate at the top of his class, and he would attend university and become a train engineer. Naturally, his younger siblings would follow in his footsteps.

Or, alternately, he would have a great time at school, fool around, have fun, forget to study for his exams and not go to university.

For reasons best known to him, Drew decided on the latter approach.

At eighteen years old, Drew packed his bags, jumped in his car and drove off over the horizon to find fame and fortune.

Sorry, let me read that again…

At eighteen years old, Drew packed his bags jumped onto his bicycle and rode off over the horizon to find fame and fortune.

I do apologise for having misrepresented the facts.

Tonight, he has found fame, maybe tomorrow he will find fortune. Unless he has shares in Twitter, in which case he probably found fortune a few days ago.

I am sure you will be surprised to learn that Drew’s first job was in engineering. Seriously.

Andrew Witham’s first job was building record cleaning machines. Technician? Engineer? – what’s in a name?

From building record cleaning machines, he went on to building an impressive resume in the fields of management, law enforcement, security management and lots of volunteer work.

But for his dodgy eyesight, he would have joined the police. However he was not deterred and was able to join the special constabulary.

He saw himself in law enforcement even if others couldn’t.

The special constabulary was a volunteer organisation and Andrew spent fifteen years donating thousands of volunteer hours to law enforcement.

During those early years, Andrew held managerial positions in a number of companies.

From 1995 to 1998 he became the corporate fraud and security manager with a media company, ComTel, now Virgin Media. He describes his time at ComTel as his favourite job.

At ComTel, Andrew performed loss prevention functions and managed physical security. He supervised over 2,000 staff covering over 54 premises, in addition, he served as a single point of contact for all fifty-two police departments throughout the UK.

His more notable initiatives included establishing a “Malicious Call Trace” initiative to prevent fraudulent criminal reports, and overseeing the development of software and hardware solutions for network security, fraud detection, and access security.

In addition, he held “expert witness” status in the field of telecommunications, assisting in the industry drafting of the Telecommunications (Fraud) Act 1997.

He was a guest speaker at the 1998 Telecommunications Billing Conference in Atlanta, GA. Where he spoke on "Fraud Control - Competitive Pressures, Common Challenges and Future Directions"

And he was a founding Member of the Telecomm UK Fraud Forum and a member of the Communications Fraud Control Association.

A list of accomplishments for which he feels a sense of pride to this day.

After ComTel, Andrew moved to California where he held several law enforcement and private security positions.

Unfortunately, Andrew’s health deteriorated because of his intense professional routine.

So he decided to leave California for a nice quiet Caribbean island which had low crime rates and a stress free environment. Everything a man recovering from a heart attack needs. 

He chose Jamaica. And we are the better for it.

Andrew began working as the Post Security Manager and Fire Safety Manager at the British high commission in 2013.

In this role he is responsible for the day-to-day management of security. He also provides professional advice on physical security issues.

We suspect that this is now Andrew’s favourite job because he has spent more time here than he spent at ComTel.

Drew describes himself as a dynamic, results-oriented professional with strong aptitudes in leadership, conflict resolution and security management in both national and international settings.

We couldn’t agree more.

Drew joined ASIS International in 2019 and immediately reached out to the Jamaica chapter where he was welcomed with open arms.

Since then, he has served on the chapter’s management committee as Sergeant at Arms and was recognised as member of the quarter (October to December) in the year 2020.

Again, his own words best describe how he performed his duties as sergeant of arms, “I possess superior interpersonal skills, and I'm able to communicate and project a positive image with an action orientation to support rules and regulations that govern companies/society.”

His influence on the chapter, and on our sometimes-wayward behaviour, has lifted us to a new, higher level of professionalism, which we are striving to maintain.

Andrew, for your lifelong service to the profession of industrial security, for your learned contributions to the development of our craft and for your service to the Jamaica chapter of ASIS international.

We take great pride in awarding you an Award of Merit.

Congratulations.



Citation for Denardo Bennett

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 The Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay is listed as a 5-star hotel.

Security officers at a 5-star hotel tend to be held to a high standard of courteousness and demeanour. 

Out of curiosity, I checked the reviews on Half Moon which mentioned security. The four that I found, rated their experience as 5 out of 5 stars.

Clearly, guests who interacted with security officers found that the encounter enhanced their stay. Certainly, it did not detract from their 5 out of 5 stars experiences.

This high standard of performance explains why new security officers posted to that location tend to find it very challenging. Doubtless, they would have received training suitable for the tourist industry.

But still, it was always going to be a challenge to meet the expectations of the hotel security management and the guests.

Denardo Bennett, or Bennett as he is referred to on the job, is described as having met the challenges of working at Half Moon with ease. And we shall see why.

Bennett joined the Atlas Protection Group a scant one year and 5 months ago and during that time has found favour with the security management team. This is no mean feat.

A young 23-year-old from Scott’s Run, a rural District in Eastern Portland would have had some rough edges that needed smoothing. But he was up to the task.

It is typical that security officers work 12-hour shifts. Shifts may begin at 7 PM and end at 7 AM the following morning. Bennett was on one such night shift as the patrolling officer.

A security officer who is on patrol can be anywhere on the property within his patrol area. This mobility creates opportunities for an officer who is so inclined.

There is the opportunity to find a quiet spot and catch up on your social media posts. Or you can have a quick nap. The list of malingering opportunities is limited only by the ingenuity of the officer on patrol.

On Friday, March 11, 2022, Bennett was assigned patrolling duty from 7 PM to 7 AM at the luxurious Ocean Suites located on the Half Moon Property.

A fire had started in one of the suites, but Bennett could not have known about it. No alarm had sounded. The fire was out of view. There was no smoke. So, he continued his patrol.

Suddenly the lights went out in his section at about 5 AM. Clearly there was an electrical problem, so he dutifully called a maintenance technician who responded.

An examination of the breaker box showed that a breaker had tripped. The breaker was reset, and the lights came back on. The technician left.

Minutes later the lights went off again, and Bennett again called the technician who turned the lights back on.

But this time Bennett insisted to the technician that something had to be wrong, and they needed to walk the block and check.

This is not typical behaviour for a security officer who is getting close to the end of his shift after ten hours of work.

Bennett suspected that there was more to this than meets the eye. He had done this patrol many times before and the lights typically do not turn themselves off at 5 AM in the morning.

Bennett was familiar with his environment because he performed his duties with diligence. Bennett was not a malingerer. Something was not right, and he was going to find out what it was.

As the pair did their checks, Bennett noticed a light in suite 3016. But Bennett knew that suite 3016 was unoccupied. Why did he know this? Because it was his duty to know what was happening in his sphere of influence. He knew because he had a genuine interest in his job. He knew, because if the room was occupied he would have noticed on his previous visits to the area. He knew because he cared.

Further investigation revealed that the suite's bathroom was engulphed in fire which was the source of the light.

Bennett did what he was trained to do. He activated a pull station, called Security Control to report his findings and immediately attacked the fire with extinguishers and a fire hose until the fire services arrived.

That section of the hotel was fully occupied with guests who had no idea that there was a raging inferno next door. 

Thanks to the alertness and attention to detail displayed by Bennett, disaster was averted.

There could have been loss of life. There could have been major damage to the hotel. There would have been job losses. And maybe there would have been no more reviews mentioning security because there would have been no guests.

Thanks to the professionalism of Denardo Bennett, the entire security industry can be proud.

Proud that we have true professionals in our ranks. Proud that we have proven, once again, that every cent spent on a business’s security and loss prevention infrastructure is money well spent.

Denardo, we are proud of you. Atlas is proud of you. And the security department at half moon is proud of you.

The Jamaica chapter of ASIS international is pleased to present you with an Award of Merit.

Well done.

 

Basil's remarks/Award Criteria

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I am overwhelmed with gratitude for having received the ASIS Jamaica Chapter’s Member of the Year Award and I must thank the members for their vote of confidence and pay homage to Javan Simpson, PCI for running such a keenly contested race.

This accomplishment is not something that I did alone, and there are many others who deserve to share in this award. I would therefore like to thank my business colleagues, friends and of course my family for their love and support throughout 2021.

A special thank you must also be extended to Aldean Campbell and Courtney Wallace, CPP, PCI, PSP for having nominated me for this singular award as I know that there were several other candidates worthy of such consideration.

If I have one last request is that I hope that this recognition of my work will serve as an inspiration to others in the security profession.

 

Award Criteria

Attendance at monthly chapter meetings

Recruitment of new members

Participation at ASIS workshops, seminars and webinars

Donations to the ASIS Foundation or other charities/foundations

Promotion or participation of ASIS certification programs

Mentoring of newly joined members especially to YP and WIS

Positive communication of ASIS values via the chapter newsletter, website and social and traditional media

ESRM Conference

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Fellow ASIS Members and Friends,

 

The registration/access information is as follows. Please note, each day has been set up separately, so you will need to register for both days, if you are planning to attend the full conference:

 

Jamaica Chapter ESRM Virtual Conference | Day One: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 from 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Click here to see the agenda

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://asisonline.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwscOGhrTorGtIi7dOsLJY8mFMKM-aqlBbP

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Jamaica Chapter ESRM Virtual Conference | Day Two: Thursday, 18 November 2021 from 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Click here to see the agenda

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://asisonline.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdu-oqjsqE9W0z7Vhbud3JwWtxeFOlrYF

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Best regards,

 

Capt Basil A Bewry, CPP, PCI, PSP

Programs Chairman, Jamaica Chapter