Joe Issa Urges Return of Elusive Trio to Jamaica in 2017

Consistent with the centuries-old debate that good means more than just kindness, philanthropist and Eucharistic Minister Joe Issa wants more goodies for Jamaica in the coming year, citing what he calls the elusive trio – peace, love and prosperity.

“Despite the good we experience especially at this time of year, I think the country needs more than that…Jamaica has gone through trials and tribulations for far too long. We need to reverse that trend and bring back the peace, love and prosperity which have eluded the nation for decades,” says Issa who, in just 21 years has grown his Cool brand from one to over 50 companies.

Stating that it’s not enough to be kind just during the festive season, Issa argues that it must be sustained throughout the year, saying in addition, that they must be exercised with compassion, while extolling the Godly rewards.

“Goodness cannot be exercised at our convenience, when we are hyped by occasions or when we feel good, and when we do good, it must be done with compassion, as the good book says ‘goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life,’” says the devout Roman Catholic.

He adds: “We need to be more sympathetic to the plight of people…more understanding of their feelings and more receptive to their views. If we are more at peace with one another and show more love all categories of crime will decline…What’s left is for the country to become more prosperous.”

A former President of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce and therefore, not a stranger to policy issues, Issa notes that some of his concerns are currently being addressed and results already being seen.

With formal qualification in dispute resolution and a frequent advocate of community solutions to national problems, Issa praised the work of the ministries of national security and justice in involving communities in the fight against crime and violence, stating, “We must return to the peace and loving country Jamaica once was.”

As for prosperity, Issa referenced recent policy measures undertaken by the government to improve the income of workers directly, such as tax relief, a pension for tourism workers and an improved national pension delivery structure.

He adds: “The prosperity of workers will improve further as the economy grows from measures aimed at improving Tourisms and ICT, as well as the institutions that have been established to drive economic growth such as the Growth Council.”

Joe Issa Shares National Honour With Family and Friends

Popular Ocho Rios businessman and philanthropist Joseph John Issa, CD received the insignia from the Governor-General of Jamaica, His Excellency The Most Honourable Sir Patrick Linton Allen, at the national honours and awards ceremony at King’s House on Heroes Day October 17, 2016.

Inspired by the words of late American journalist Charles Kuralt who once said “the love of family and the admiration of friends are much more important than wealth and privileges,” Issa has dedicated the medal to his family and friends.

Commander of Distinction- Joseph John Issa

“This is for my wife and children,” he says, as he holds up the insignia, adding, “especially my son and daughter whom I want to grow up believing that hard work and a good heart will pay off in the long run…it’s a proud moment for us…I am humbled by the recognition for doing what comes naturally to me.”

And to his many friends who have encouraged and supported him throughout the years, he says, “This is for you too…it’s a lasting manifestation of your contribution,” citing in particular, Father Howard James, a Roman Catholic Priest in the parish of St. Ann where Issa’s Cool Group of companies is headquartered.

Father James, who was born in London, England and raised in Jamaica, left the country as a boy and became the first Caribbean national to be ordained a priest in Britain. He met Issa in 1998 when he came to work in Ocho Rios as a priest. He says, “Joey always struck me as a kind, very generous and capable man.”  

Touched by Issa’s philanthropy over the years, Father James has several recollections, including the day his car broke down ten times and it became clear that the church needed a reliable vehicle. “Joey led the charge to get the money, most of it from him without any burden on the parish,” noting “this is the measure of the man.”

When Issa, who is also a Eucharistic Minister of the Catholic Church was about to get married in 2003, Father James had already left Jamaica, but Issa, who had kept in touch asked him to return to conduct the ceremony. He says, “The generosity of the man is such that he asked that a collection be taken at the wedding to help educate young people.”

“Joey did the same thing for his 50^th birthday celebration,” the priest also recalls, “when he told his friends and loved ones not to buy presents, but instead make a financial donation to the church to help the less fortunate and educate children.”

Issa’s many philanthropic gestures have also been praised by the media in Jamaica and the United Kingdom where, as a student at the London School of Economics (LSE) he founded the ‘Educate the Children Fund’, which raised over £3,000 to purchase Mathematics and English textbooks for students in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands.

When he returned from university he established ‘Global Education 2000’, which focuses on improving the physical condition of schools, increasing literacy among young children and fostering better relations between schools and the communities in which they exist, and with their counterparts in the United States (US). Since then, several local schools and teachers have benefitted through exchange programmes with US counterparts.

Issa also founded the ‘Cool Charities/Holy Cross Scholarship Fund’ which, along with other educational programmes, has been described by the Jamaica Observer as “a cool half million a month to education.” According to the newspaper, the scholarship programme also includes ‘Computers 3000 Education’, a project which donates air conditioning units and computers to educational institutions, thereby making for a more comfortable learning environment and giving more students access to the worldwide web.

Today, Issa’s philanthropic quest for less fortunate Jamaican children to receive a good education, to which he was privileged, continues through Cool Charities, a subsidiary of his multi-faceted group of over 50 companies, which defines his business strategies that have been likened to those of his colleague Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group of over 400 companies, whose ‘Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean’ located in Montego Bay Issa supports as a mentor for young entrepreneurs on the programme.  

A highly recognized multi-award-winning business strategist locally and internationally, where he is leveraging his Cool Group, Issa’s national honour is as much for his contribution to Jamaica’s business landscape partly through his presidency of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce, as it is for his corporate citizenship, which Father James seems to value even more.

Says he: “While many will speak about his business skills, I speak to the good husband and father, churchgoer and philanthropist. He has never said no…I try not to bother him too much, but he has told me never to be afraid to ask him for help for others. So I believe it was only right that a national honour should be given to him so that everyone can know about the generosity of this very kind man.”

Not known to get carried away by his own success and wealth, allied with his desire to contribute to the education of children, Issa finds much comfort in a quote by late 19^th century teacher, attorney, soldier, writer and Freemason Albert Pike from Boston, Massachusetts, where Issa studied at College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, graduating valedictorian and cum laude while becoming Jamaica’s youngest Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Self-taught with the distinction of being the only Confederate military officer with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C., Pike’s sentiment resonates with Issa when he wrote,  “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

Today, 125 years after his death, the Albert Pike Memorial Temple in Little Rock, Arkansas is a historic Masonic lodge listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Wikipedia.