By Ainsworth Morris

Three days after being conferred with an honorary doctorate from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), former Prime Minister PJ Patterson and former Governor-General Sir Kenneth Hall publicly hailed and celebrated Dr. Audrey Stewart-Hinchcliffe, one of Jamaica’s entrepreneurial pioneers, for her significant contribution to nation-building. 

Stewart-Hinchcliffe, a woman of the soil, had migrated to the United States, where she served as a nurse, and then with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a health development officer for eight years, before returning to Jamaica and starting her consultancy firm, Caribbean Health Management Consultants Limited (CHMC) at age 50 years. 

She then established Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited and its subsidiaries, which comprise the Institute for Workforce Education & Development Limited. 

With experience from working in the regional health sector of the Caribbean, Stewart-Hinchcliffe had written a proposal to the government in a bid to win the janitorial services for the Spanish Town Hospital three decades ago, and won, breaking the barriers that held her back after returning to the island.

The celebration of the new conferral took place last Wednesday (July 23) at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St. Andrew, where both Patterson and Hall led with some of the tributes, and were also present in the same hotel in January, to celebrate  Stewart-Hinchcliffe’s 85th birthday. 

“You are quite aware of the background of the circumstances under which we first met. Suffice to say, that over the years, we are family, and it is in that capacity, I want to make my contribution. I am extremely proud of all that she has achieved. She was one of those who had the world at her stage, and took the decision that she would make her unique and distinctive contribution to Jamaica, and so, she returned home,” Patterson wholeheartedly said, and without a speech in hand. 

“She’s been awarded a doctorate for entrepreneurship, and it is about that I would like to make a comment. In the end of the 90s, and for most of the period of the new millenium, we were engaged in seeking to transform the Jamaican economy, and we were endeavouring in accordance with our creed to broaden the playing field, and to no longer confine active engagement to traditional families, but to seek deliberate and to incorporate those of us whose ancestral background originate in Africa. It is in that context, we welcomed the arrival of Audrey Hinchcliffe. She could have come [back to Jamaica] and obtained employment in any form or enterprise, but that was not her. She wanted to do something on her own, but not merely for herself, but for her kids and kids,” he said. 

For Patterson, one of the outstanding features of  Stewart-Hinchcliffe’s success is the extent to which she has been able to recruit, mobilise, energise and train a team of people who constitute the Manpower team. 

The former prime minister, who was present and involved decades ago during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of Manpower’s building located along Eureka Road in Kingston, noted that he was “extremely proud of all that she has achieved”.

“It is for that reason, when I was departing 19 years ago to the pavilion, I thought it appropriate, as I said goodbye, to award her the Order of Distinction, Commander class. Nineteen years have passed since then, and she has achieved much more, so I’m not going to be surprised if, in the not-too-distant future, we have to meet for another celebration,” he said before commending UCC for recognising Stewart-Hinchcliffe.

Hall, who preceded Patterson with his tribute, recalled the 25 years of friendship shared with Stewart-Hinchcliffe and the difference he has witnessed her making for Jamaica and the over 3,000 persons who have been employed by the company she created.  

“She’s a woman with substance, a leader of immense talent and a force for good… The journey is a testament in fact that the highest honours are not always in the hall of academia, but academia has the unique privilege of honouring those who have made impact on the country and the people, and, at the same time, converting them into text and a narrative which could be shared, and for all of those reasons, I wish therefore to, on behalf of all of us, congratulate Dr. Audrey Hinchcliffe,” Hall said. Also present to hail 

Stewart-Hinchcliffe was her long-time friend, Dr. Vilma Brown, attorney-at-law, member of the Manpower & Maintenance Board and UCC board, and one of the persons who conferred Stewart-Hinchcliffe on stage. She gave tribute on behalf of Dr. Winston Adams, founder and executive chairman of the UCC Group of Companies. 

“Tonight, we celebrate not just this prestigious award, but the incredible force of innovation and disruption you have brought to Jamaica’s business and health sectors over many decades. You have worn many hats – nurse, health administrator, author, entrepreneur, visionary and you have worn them all with brilliance, integrity and fire,” Dr Brown said.

“Through Manpower & Maintenance Limited and Caribbean Health Management Consultants, you disrupted the status quo, creating opportunities, training thousands, and setting new standards in workforce development long before social impact became a common phrase. You didn’t just build companies. You built capacity with dignity and dreams,” she said.   

Dr. Brown also described Stewart-Hinchcliffe as “a stalwart, a woman of excellence, a woman who surpasses them all, a woman more than we read of in Proverbs 31 and truly remarkable friend”. 

Also offering tribute to Stewart-Hinchcliffe were Monica Young, HR director, Manpower & Maintenance and long serving staff member of the company since its inception; Jevene Bent, retired deputy commissioner of police; Frank James, Group CEO GraceKennedy Limited; Leo Williams, board member, Manpower & Maintenance Services; and Christopher Stewart, family member of the celebrant.