Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

Sunday July 4, 2021 Page 77 Lester Spaulding, CD, JP Chairman, Radio Jamaica Limited 1994-1997 Chairman, the RJR Communications Group 1997-2016 Chairman, the RJRGLEANER Communications Group 2016-2017 Mr. Spaulding served RJR in various capacities for over five decades. He guided RJR through two of its great transitions: from a company to a group and in its merger with The Gleaner. He died at age 76. Peter Abrahams Chairman, Radio Jamaica Limited 1977-1979 Mr. Abrahams, a hero of the anti- apartheid struggle in Southern Africa and a globally respected journalist and writer, lost his life in 2017. He was a mentor to scores of Jamaican journalists and political analysts. He died at age 97. The Reverend C. Evans Bailey Chairman, Radio Jamaica Limited 1979-1994 The Rev Bailey became chairman of RJR when the station was divested to a wide-ranging ownership group, representing the Jamaican private sector. He served as chairman for 15 years until his retirement from that post. He died at age 94. Oliver Clarke, OJ, JP Chairman, the RJRGLEANER Communications Group 2017-2018 Mr. Clarke, the banking executive and long-time head of The Gleaner, died in 2019 at the age of 75. The iconic Editor carried The Gleaner through fair and rough weather, expanding its circulation and success. He was a prime mover in the merger with RJR. Dorraine Samuels The beloved news presenter and morning show host succumbed to cancer after a career of over three decades at RJR. Kerry Magnus Radio Marketing Executive and advertising pioneer Kerry Magnus, wife of Alan Magnus, died in 2019 after a short illness. In Loving Memory of Radio Jamaica and The RJRGLEANER Communications Group have lost some of its most iconic stalwarts in the past three years, including four of its six chairmen. We salute our fallen heroes.