Jamaica HS track coach wins prestigious raffle

The Queens-based Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) says Floyd Howell, assistant coach and a team manager of the Calabar High School track team, is the winner of TJB MANNA (Medical Attention and Nutrition Now for Athletes) raffle.

TJB said on Thursday that Howell won the grand prize of five days and four nights at the all-inclusive Sandals Jamaica, coupled with a Catamaran Cruise — courtesy Island Routes — and a US$800 travel voucher.

The winning ticket was drawn on April 28 at the closing ceremony held at the TJB Village at the Penn Relays, staged at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“Island Routes is honored to collaborate with Team Jamaica Bickle in this movement to develop our athletes who are sources of inspiration for youth, not just locally but all around the world,” said David Shields, Island Routes vice president for saless.

“We are proud to know that our contribution will play a role in the development of future athletes, thus helping to build brand Jamaica,” he added. “As we work towards showcasing the best of the Caribbean, we will continue to seek out initiatives that help us to achieve this mission.”

Launched as an exclusive raffle for the 2018 Penn Relays season to raise funds, especially for its “Defibrillator to Schools” program, TJB said the raffle drew widespread interest and support.

TJB, whose founder and chief executive officer is Jamaican Irwine Clare, said it has issued over 45 defibrillator units to schools and trained dozens of staff since starting the program in 2014.

TJB, which also provides meals and other support for Caribbean athletes at the Penn Relays, said it is set to announce the list of schools that will receive defibrillators in 2018.

The not-for-profit corporation was formed in 1994 and was later designated a 501(c)(3) organization. Its mission is embodied in the motto: “Our Athletes, Our Ambassadors.”

Currently, TJB said its services extend to a delegation of athletes, coaches and volunteers from Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Guyana, as well as the United States.

In 1999, TJB said it became the first Jamaican organization to be a participating sponsor at the Penn Relays. As a result, it said the Jamaican flag became the first foreign nation’s flag to be flown at the Penn Relays, “a distinction unmatched,” the non-profit’s officials said.

Over the years, they added, TJB has received several proclamations and awards from numerous local and national entities.