Stewart took the partnership a step further by offering 100 students a free day pass to Beaches Boscobel in order for them to learn more about the operations of a hotel.  This offer had previously been extended to, and taken up by, several inner-city schools in Kingston.

The offer to the Oracabessa High school children, Stewart said, would help the youngsters correct some of the wrong impressions they sometimes have of hotels.

Meanwhile, the resource centre, which boasts 42 computers and is a joint effort between Beaches Boscobel and Oracabessa High school, represents a culmination of 12 months of hard work by both parties.

"Buying a computer is an investment in the future," Stewart told the audience, adding that "every single person in this room has an opportunity to develop the skills".  Stewart also urged the students to take the moral high ground.

"There is no shortcut to success.  There is a right way and a wrong way, and the right way is the long distance way.  It is the way that you get through your life, and you can be proud at looking back," he said.

The joint effort also drew praise from Ministry of Education Region Three director Ezekiel Crawford, who said that it was through partnerships that Jamaica would be built.  "We cannot leave leadership to policy makers," Crawford continued.  "Let the policy makers get ideas from us," he urged.

He also encouraged the students, teachers and St Mary residents to cherish the new centre, and challenged the students, in particular, to make the resource centre their area of excellence.

Custos of St Mary A A 'Bobby' Pottinger, who also spoke at the function, said a computer was one of the finest gifts any company could give to a school.

"What I admire most is that you have taught us how to be proud of ourselves as Jamaicans," Pottinger told Stewart.  School principal Hyacinth Young, for her part, said the day was a very important one on the school's calendar, as the entire school community had waited anxiously and looked forward to the function.

In expressing her appreciation for the computer centre, Young said teachers at the school had long recognised the challenges posed by traditional ways of learning, and this difficulty was further compounded because all students were not exposed to information technology.

Sandals director of public relations Leo Lambert, and general manager at Beaches Boscobel Jeff McKitty also drew praises from Stewart for their effort in fostering better community relations between the resort chain and communities across Jamaica.

Stewart also heaped praises on the hotel's employees, whom he described as being the best in the world.  The Sandals chairman also praised the island's agriculture sector, noting that agriculture and tourism were partners.

In fact, he pointed out that Jamaica led the way in agriculture in those countries in which Sandals operates, in terms of getting access to produce.

"Ninety-five per cent of the foods that we eat in the hotels are grown or produced in Jamaica," Stewart said.  "We've had an incredible agriculture sector, our people understand agriculture," he added.

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