A hearty thank you!

Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

Mr Boombastic (left), Shaggy, and Rebecca Packer (second left) show off the award he received from Health Minister Ruddy Spencer (centre), Beverley Needham, CEO of the Bustamante Hospital for Children, and Tanny Shirley, chairman of South East Regional Health Authority. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

It's always good to say thank you. Health Minister Rudyard Spencer and Lyttleton 'Tanny' Shirley, chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), also seem to believe that as they told entertainer Shaggy a big "thanks" on Monday, January 4. After the second Shaggy and Friends concert a few days earlier, (with funds again going to the Bustamante Hospital for Children) the men invited 'Mr Boombastic' himself and others who made the show possible to a reception in Jacks Hill.

Praise was heaped on Shaggy, the artistes and sponsors for showing what it means to be Jamaican. But this wasn't your ordinary, sip cocktails and gab reception. With some of the performers from the show present, it was time for talented individuals from the SERHA to entertain them. Those performers happened to be Adena Myrie and Nickeisha Barnes, who both came to national prominence on Digicel Rising Stars. Need we say they wowed the gathering?

Overwhelmed

Certificates of appreciation were handed out to the artistes, sponsors (including The Gleaner) and other support groups that made the concert a success. An overwhelmed Shaggy expressed gratitude for the recognition while asking for more help for other medical institutions.

Guests included Energy Minister James Robertson; entertainers Tessanne Chin, Kemar 'Ding Dong' Ottey, and Alaine Laughton; Gary and Bernadette Barrow; Sharon Burke; Tina and Gary Matalon; Samantha Chantrelle; E.G. Hunter; Bruce and Suzann Bowen; Olive McNaughton; Kim Bernard; Tara Playfair-Scott; Eddie and Nikki Barbar; Tanya Shirley; Abner and Tanice Gonsalves and baby girl Marley Rose; Dr Douglas McDonald, wife Hyacinth, and daughter, Laura; Lorraine Fung; Taneisha Lewis; Stephanie Shaw-Smith; William Mahfood; Will Rodgers; and Dr David McBean.

Gary Barrow (left) and George Kates chill out at the thank-you reception.

We can now call Tanny Shirley (left) 'grandpa' as he introduces his granddaughter, Marley Rose Gonsalves, to Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Listen to the doc! Dr Rudolph Stevens (right), senior medical officer at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH), makes a point to (from left) Donald Farquharson, regional director for the South East Regional Health Authority; Godfrey Boyd, acting CEO of VJH; and Wayne McKenzie, CEO of Jamaica Energy Partners.