Garfield Angus celebrates 30 years in media

Friends and colleagues of senior journalist, Garfield Angus, have lauded him as an example of endurance, hard work and commitment to his craft.

The journalist, who started out as a freelance writer with the then Jamaica Record newspaper in late 1991, and is now a senior reporter with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), was recently celebrated for 30 years in media.

He marked the milestone with a celebratory event at the JIS 58A Half-Way Tree Road offices in Kingston.

Shelly-Ann Harris, a communication specialist, and former regional services manager at the JIS, was among those who attended the event.

"There are people who come to work because they have a job, and they get paid. Garfield had a passion for the stories, the people, and the communities. I had great respect for how you approached the work," Harris said.

"I saw something in you that can't be taught, it has to be honed. That is one of the things that are missing from the profession. I saw the journalist in you - the storyteller in you, the respect you had for what you do, and the people - so you must celebrate, and say I did this, and it was great," Harris said.

Byron Buckley, a former president of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ), described Angus as a "stickler for perfection and detail".

One of his JIS colleagues, Peta-Gaye Hodges, spoke about the high quality of Angus' work as well as his devotion to his community of Kitson Town, St Catherine, and his tenacity to publish his book, Triumphs, which he started in 2003, and was released in 2017.

"I look up to you. I am inspired by what you have achieved, and everything that you have garnered over the years," Hodges stated.