2021 awards will feature a new category of recognition, honouring the contributions of Jamaican musicians in the genre of reggae

Reggae Grammy winning dancehall artiste, Rexton ‘Shabba Ranks’ Gordon headlines this year’s Jamaican US Consul General’s Heritage Awards.

The 2021 awards will feature a new category of recognition, honouring the contributions of Jamaican musicians in the genre of reggae- a landmark of Jamaican history and culture. Reggae music, which has been described as the heartbeat of Jamaica with Shabba Ranks being the first recipient of this award.

Another Jamaican entertainer has made this year’s list. He is Windel ‘Gyptian’ Edwards.

The other awardees are Gopal Burgher, partner in the law firm of BurgherGray; Dr Devon D. John, the chief of renal transplantation at Westchester Medical Center; Dennis Hawthorne, CEO of Dennis Shipping; Dr Hezedean Smith, fire chief at Charlottesville Fire Department and Phillip Feurtado, CEO of Feurtado Shipping.

The list is completed by Dominic McKenzie, Reporter, Spectrum News; Shawn French, owner, Golden Krust; Oswald Reid, brand manager, Iberia Foods Corporation; Harry Bhoorasingh, senior country manager, JN Money Services and Christopher Roberts, co-owner, The Door Restaurant.

Details of awards ceremony

The awards ceremony will be held on November 5 at the Offices of the Consulate General of Jamaica. Given COVID-19 restrictions, and social distancing guidelines, attendance is set to be by invitation only. At the same time, the Consul General of Jamaica, New York Heritage Awards ceremony will be streamed live via Facebook.

Since its inception in 2013, the Consul General’s Heritage Awards continues to honour a special tradition of recognising the outstanding service and work of individuals within their own spheres of influence and the Jamaican community.

With the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all of us, especially on vulnerable communities, the Office of the Consul General says the selfless efforts demonstrated by the awardees are not only inspiring but deserving of commendation and recognition.

“Indeed, our awardees have risen to the occasion and have worked tirelessly in building the resilience of our vulnerable communities at home and in the Diaspora, the Consul General’s office said in a statement announcing the awardees.