GEORGE DEMERCADO HONORED BY CHA IN MIAMI
6/28/2006
Kingston, Jamaica - Air Jamaica's Senior Executive Marketing, George DeMercado has been named the Caribbean Hotel Association's (CHA) 2006 "Allied Member of the Year" at the CHA awards luncheon held in Miami on Tuesday.
CHA honored George for his tireless commitment to furthering the Caribbean tourism product worldwide. He has had a distinguished career which began at Pan American World Airways and continued with the Jamaica Tourist Board where he served as deputy director of tourism before moving on to his current position at Air Jamaica.
George shared honors with fellow hospitality industry officials, including legendary Jamaican musician and entertainer Byron Lee of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires who recently celebrated at the 2006 Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues festival, his 50th anniversary of delivering unforgettable Caribbean music to the Caribbean and world over.
"To say that I am surprised is the understatement of the year," said a teary-eyed "Mr. D" as George DeMercado is affectionately referred to by his staff. "There should be a law against people being given awards for doing things that they love. Over the 45 years that I have been in the industry, I have enjoyed every minute of it - the people that I have met, the people I have worked for, all the people whose lives have influenced me or I have had the chance to influence," he said.
George thanked CHA and American Express for sharing the honor, but paid special tribute to his wife Loraine, family and special friends for "constantly being the wind behind my sails."
Air Jamaica provides more non-stop flights to Jamaica than any other carrier with more than 270 flights per week from Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York (JFK), Orlando, and Philadelphia in the United States, Toronto, Canada and from London to Montego Bay and Kingston. Air Jamaica also offers non-stop service between New York (JFK) and Grenada. Air Jamaica offers intra-regional service with flights between Jamaica and The Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cuba, Curaçao, Grand Cayman and St. Lucia. The airline's code share agreement with Delta Air Lines, its joint fare arrangements and compatible schedules with United Airlines and other US carriers extend its access to more than 150 cities within the continental United States.
Contact:
Sandrea Falconer/Sophia Mitchell
Telephone: (876) 922-3460-9
Facsimile: 876) 502-4282
Email: sfalconer@airjamaica.com
sophiam@airjamaica.com
Date: June 28, 2006