Several organisations and individuals were the proud recipients of awards presented by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce at its annual awards and banquet event held recently at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville.

The awards presented were in recognition of the bank's service to the community, covering various categories including banking and finance, hospitality, community impact, health, education, entrepreneurship, among others.

Just under 40 businesses and individuals were nominated for various awards. These included the GraceKennedy-owned First Global Bank (FGB), British Caribbean Insurance, Windalco, Rapid True Value, Central Agricultural Supplies; Exclusive Dental Care, Lions Club of Mandeville, Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf, among others.

Although not winning an award in their category, FGB told The Gleaner they deemed it an honour to have been among the nominees, citing that such a move was evidence that both their client base and the general public in and around central Jamaica were pleased with the level of service they had been offering since their inception in Mandeville six years ago.

"We are confident that we have been impacting lives significantly, as well as the communities we serve over the past few years," said Gail Abrahams, assistant vice-president, corporate communications, GraceKennedy Financial Group.

"The level of professionalism that our staff demonstrates, and their continued will to maintain and raise the professional standards, are the most important components that have enabled us to be considered and be nominated, like many other nominees."

Meanwhile, FGB and its sister company First Global Financial Services (FGFS) say they are committed to building an even stronger relationship with the communities and their customers for 2013 and beyond, while on the business side of things, they plan to stay ahead of the market by offering customers the best products available, locally and in the diaspora.

In a recent interview, president of FGFS Robert Drummond says FGB's cutting-edge technology such as Global Access, the bank's online banking platform, would also help them to remain on top of their game in what has become a competitive marketplace.

"Because we have invested significantly in introducing a state-of-the-art internationally competitive product, we are better able to reach the Jamaican diaspora. They are all over the globe and have a need for solutions to their problems in Jamaica. Our latest technology offering provides an effective and superior solution for the diaspora," Drummond said.