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Keeping JC From The Blues
Published: Wednesday | October 27, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Reid
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Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer
There isn't a hint of a smile in R. Danny Williams' voice when he says, "I have people who go in the opposite direction when they see me coming."
The former insurance man would have been used to pursuing clients in the 'old days', but this time around, he has not been selling policies which offer a safety net to the insured. For the past four and a half years, chairing the school board at his alma mater, Jamaica College (JC) (1946-1952); and heading up the school's foundation, he has been selling, especially fellow 189 Hope Road old boys, the idea of giving back.
With that policy of contribution established, Williams intends to ensure a better standard of education for the boys currently in blue and the institution itself. "Our goal is to be the number-one school in Jamaica. I want to see us achieve that in a couple years," Williams said.
And if beg he must to nudge JC towards that objective, beg he will. "The foundation only works if you are a good beggar," Williams said. "It is like when I was selling insurance in the old days. Nine out of 10 people ... you have to eyeball them. I have to sit with them for two hours and then follow them up," Williams said.
His selling point is simple - appealing to conscience. Williams says he tells the old boys, who contribute 95 per cent of the funds to the foundation, "if it was not for the education they got and contacts at JC they would not reach where they have".
It has worked, as Williams says "by the end of this year we will have invested $250 million".
New auditorium
In just under a month, the new auditorium, a centrepiece of JC's revival, will be officially opened, Education Minister Andrew Holness, major donor Karl Hendrickson and Williams among those doing the honours. At $100 million, the auditorium is an especially striking component of the work being done at the school, but Williams makes it clear that "the auditorium is only one part of what is happening at JC".
It is also part of a five-year plan. Williams became chairman of the board on July 1, 2006. "I was told that JC needed some help," he said. 'Help' turned out to be a severe understatement. "When I saw the situation at JC I was appalled. The place was a shambles," Williams said. The roof was leaking, fencing dilapidated, light fixtures falling out, doors falling off and graffiti everywhere. "I was shocked. I decided we had to make changes at the school," he said. "I recruited a group of fellows and we started to raise money."
New management
The school cleaning also started with some house cleaning, as in new management for the school. "We got a good man," Williams said about principal Ruel Reid.
Now, he says, "I have a good team at the foundation and a good team at the school. By the middle of 2006, we had developed a five-year plan which involved a strategic plan for the school." That involved not only fixing the physical plant, but also improving the quality of teaching. Williams also went to major clusters of JC old boys where they were, in Canada, The Cayman Islands and New York, Washington and Miami in the United States.
The chapel organ, tennis and basketball courts, driveway and teachers' cottages have also got attention.
One donation has led to another, as Williams says "when you start these things it gathers momentum. People started to become involved in the school. Old boys, when they see things improving, they want to get involved". It did not hurt that JC won the Manning and Walker cups in that period as well.
"They (the old boys) were ashamed of JC. Now they have started to feel good about the school," Williams said.
And JC has many old boys to feel good about. Williams reels off the names of political leaders - Norman Manley, Michael Manley, Bruce Golding, David Coore, Seymour Mullings - and business leaders - Maurice Facey, Richard Byles, Carlton Alexander, Mayer Matalon - who attended JC. "JC can probably claim having contributed more to the leadership of the country than any other school - probably," Williams said.
Plans to continue expansion
Williams ends his second three-year term as school board chairman next December and says, "I will probably continue chairing the foundation a little longer." In his remaining time in office, Williams says he wants to add some classrooms and points out "we now have the space for a very nice cafeteria". He also says, "I want to add some further accommodation for staff."
Williams has been an unabashed beggar for JC's cause, but he has also been a generous donor. In a Gleaner story published Friday, July 10, 2009, Williams said, "My personal contribution to JC, in addition to all the time and effort and work I'm doing, is $10 million over a five-year period, and I'm not alone in that."
And, if time is indeed money, then R. Danny Williams has invested 50 per cent of his life's fortune in JC since becoming chairman. "In the last five years, I have devoted maybe half of my working time to JC," Williams told The Gleaner.
VOLUNTARY SERVICE: R. 'DANNY' WILLIAMS
Published: Wednesday | October 27, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Reid
1 2 >
Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer
There isn't a hint of a smile in R. Danny Williams' voice when he says, "I have people who go in the opposite direction when they see me coming."
The former insurance man would have been used to pursuing clients in the 'old days', but this time around, he has not been selling policies which offer a safety net to the insured. For the past four and a half years, chairing the school board at his alma mater, Jamaica College (JC) (1946-1952); and heading up the school's foundation, he has been selling, especially fellow 189 Hope Road old boys, the idea of giving back.
With that policy of contribution established, Williams intends to ensure a better standard of education for the boys currently in blue and the institution itself. "Our goal is to be the number-one school in Jamaica. I want to see us achieve that in a couple years," Williams said.
And if beg he must to nudge JC towards that objective, beg he will. "The foundation only works if you are a good beggar," Williams said. "It is like when I was selling insurance in the old days. Nine out of 10 people ... you have to eyeball them. I have to sit with them for two hours and then follow them up," Williams said.
His selling point is simple - appealing to conscience. Williams says he tells the old boys, who contribute 95 per cent of the funds to the foundation, "if it was not for the education they got and contacts at JC they would not reach where they have".
It has worked, as Williams says "by the end of this year we will have invested $250 million".
New auditorium
In just under a month, the new auditorium, a centrepiece of JC's revival, will be officially opened, Education Minister Andrew Holness, major donor Karl Hendrickson and Williams among those doing the honours. At $100 million, the auditorium is an especially striking component of the work being done at the school, but Williams makes it clear that "the auditorium is only one part of what is happening at JC".
It is also part of a five-year plan. Williams became chairman of the board on July 1, 2006. "I was told that JC needed some help," he said. 'Help' turned out to be a severe understatement. "When I saw the situation at JC I was appalled. The place was a shambles," Williams said. The roof was leaking, fencing dilapidated, light fixtures falling out, doors falling off and graffiti everywhere. "I was shocked. I decided we had to make changes at the school," he said. "I recruited a group of fellows and we started to raise money."
New management
The school cleaning also started with some house cleaning, as in new management for the school. "We got a good man," Williams said about principal Ruel Reid.
Now, he says, "I have a good team at the foundation and a good team at the school. By the middle of 2006, we had developed a five-year plan which involved a strategic plan for the school." That involved not only fixing the physical plant, but also improving the quality of teaching. Williams also went to major clusters of JC old boys where they were, in Canada, The Cayman Islands and New York, Washington and Miami in the United States.
The chapel organ, tennis and basketball courts, driveway and teachers' cottages have also got attention.
One donation has led to another, as Williams says "when you start these things it gathers momentum. People started to become involved in the school. Old boys, when they see things improving, they want to get involved". It did not hurt that JC won the Manning and Walker cups in that period as well.
"They (the old boys) were ashamed of JC. Now they have started to feel good about the school," Williams said.
And JC has many old boys to feel good about. Williams reels off the names of political leaders - Norman Manley, Michael Manley, Bruce Golding, David Coore, Seymour Mullings - and business leaders - Maurice Facey, Richard Byles, Carlton Alexander, Mayer Matalon - who attended JC. "JC can probably claim having contributed more to the leadership of the country than any other school - probably," Williams said.
Plans to continue expansion
Williams ends his second three-year term as school board chairman next December and says, "I will probably continue chairing the foundation a little longer." In his remaining time in office, Williams says he wants to add some classrooms and points out "we now have the space for a very nice cafeteria". He also says, "I want to add some further accommodation for staff."
Williams has been an unabashed beggar for JC's cause, but he has also been a generous donor. In a Gleaner story published Friday, July 10, 2009, Williams said, "My personal contribution to JC, in addition to all the time and effort and work I'm doing, is $10 million over a five-year period, and I'm not alone in that."
And, if time is indeed money, then R. Danny Williams has invested 50 per cent of his life's fortune in JC since becoming chairman. "In the last five years, I have devoted maybe half of my working time to JC," Williams told The Gleaner.
VOLUNTARY SERVICE: R. 'DANNY' WILLIAMS
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