In Praise of Michael Jarrett
By David Harding, MBE
Mike had the knack of knowing when and where we were going wrong long before we knew it. And he was never afraid to tell us that we were wrong … a characteristic that made him invaluable to the CSA.
I first met Michael Jarrett in October 1983… 37 years ago. It was at a Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) Annual General Meeting held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was a time when all of us were young and eager.
A youthful Luddy Stewart was then President and was ably supported by a General Council of well-known Caribbean shipping executives. I had the honor to write about that AGM several years after, under the heading “‘Coming Full Circle”‘ for the Caribbean Maritime magazine (no.16), October 2012.
Michael Jarrett sat at that General Council table and along with his colleague Tony Gambrill he ensured that the happenings in CSA were reaching all of the Caribbean region’s print media. CSA was 12 years old at that time and it was still evolving to meet the changing needs of the shipping industry while creating a platform upon which the voice of regional shipping could be heard. Michael Jarrett (Mike) was the thinker and driver of many of these events that gave CSA its recognition. And from those early years and onwards he quietly progressed the development of the CSA, taking ideas of the various Presidents he served and turning them into strong pillars upon which the CSA depended.
I knew him first as a colleague then as a trusted friend whose calm and quiet persona belied a brain chiseled by his formal training in the print media and a genuine love for history and the Caribbean maritime transport business.
GENERAL COUNCIL
In planning sessions at General Council he listened well, with a slight tilt of his head in a manner that said he cared for what you had to say … eventually modifying the particular plan like a gem smith bringing a rough stone to life as a diamond. He and Luddy Stewart were inseparable and I got to know later on that the relationship was built on trust first and then on love of this business.
Mike conceived, developed and edited Caribbean Maritime magazine. It is his baby, born out of passion and bred out of love. He kept abreast of all regional and international happenings that were of value to CSA and, with the birth of the World Wide Web, he pushed to ensure that the CSA took its rightful place on that highway. A lot of this was developed during my Presidency. Mike’s knowledge, enthusiasm and support led to the CSA developing its first email address.
SILVER CLUB
Mike Jarrett conceptualized the notion that the experiences of older members would be of tremendous benefit to the development of the CSA and that such experiences should be harnessed as a guide for new members to understand the role and value of the CSA. With his guidance, the Silver Club was born in 1995. The inauguration event was held in Barbados during the Banquet Night of the AGM in October 1995.
Mike wrote the Charter for the Silver Club, designed and had silver pins struck in time for the inauguration ceremony in Barbados.
Later on, in the life of the Silver Club, in celebrating its 10th anniversary, Mike planned and developed the Silver Club Roast, a not-to-be missed dinner event where Silver Club members, their spouses and invited guests gathered to enjoy a great dinner and drinks, camaraderie and the good-natured ‘roasting’ of a hapless Silver Club member.
SILVER CLUB ROAST
During the investiture and ‘roasting’ of Mike into the Silver Club, I commented on Mike’s contribution to the development of the CSA. I remarked then that Mike had the knack of knowing when and where we were going wrong long before we knew it. And he was never afraid to tell us that we were wrong … a characteristic that made him invaluable to the Caribbean Shipping Association. This is borne out in the fact that at no time in his 30 years at General Council did the CSA ever make a ‘wrong step’ in public.
He proposed and nurtured the idea of an exhibition held in the halls of CSA Annual General Meetings, allowing suppliers to the industry to showcase their services and products. I was very much a part of that developing idea and can testify to Mike’s herculean effort in creating what over many years was a successful feature to our AGMs, generating much needed income for CSA.
Mike continues to give his talents to the Caribbean maritime community through his magazine Portside Caribbean, a medium he developed following his retirement from the CSA in October 2014. []
David Harding
11th President of the Caribbean Shipping Association
