Green

'A man for all seasons'

Ahead of National Heroes Day on October 19, The Gleaner this week zooms in on the contributions of several ordinary Jamaicans who have made extraordinary strides for excellence in their neighbourhoods.

The owner and chief executive officer of Christiana Pharmacy in Manchester, Ivan Green is a community hero, and more.

He is a senior justice of the peace, a vice-president of the Manchester Chapter of the Lay Magistrates' Association of Jamaica, and a recipient of the Golden Scale Award for the county of Middlesex, Lay Magistrates' Association of Jamaica.

But it is his calm spirit and his drive to help others for which he may be best known.

As a businessman, for decades he has been providing jobs for people in the Christiana community, while dispensing needed medication from his Main Street store.

'Strong voice'

His was the voice years ago that echoed concerns about the inadequacy of the space provided for petty session hearings at the Christiana courthouse.

At that time, justices of the peace were being forced to hear petty cases in the passageway of the decrepit facility.

Green considered this unacceptable and exposed the matter for it to be improved.

A devout Christian, he has touched the lives of people in almost every way through his involvement in several organisations, including the Manchester Parish Development Committee, the National Union of Co-operative Society and Insurance Services, the Christiana High School Board and the Christiana Potato Growers Co-operative Association.

Even with all this, Green still finds time for reading, playing dominoes and taking nature walks.

The unsung heroine who has helped to keep him focused is his wife Veda, an unassuming retired educator.

A father of three sons, Green believes in family life and consistently works to preserve harmony.

His involvement in the many organisations is only one way of trying to bring that harmony into the wider society.