RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann — The St Ann Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious business events in the region, crowned BOOT Jamaica as its 2026 Business of the Year on March 29, capping off a night of celebration for outstanding enterprise across the parish. Held at the Cardiff Hall Hotel in Runaway Bay, the gathering drew a cross-section of attendees, from local business owners and chamber leadership to national government representatives and cross-sector stakeholders invested in St Ann’s economic growth.
As the highest accolade of the night, the Business of the Year award was presented by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who also delivered the event’s keynote address focused on driving private sector growth across the country’s northern parishes. Founder and Executive Director Wayne Boothe alongside Chief Operating Officer Alexcia Boothe accepted the award on the company’s behalf, marking a major milestone in BOOT Jamaica’s years-long trajectory of expansion and innovation across Jamaica.
In his acceptance remarks, Wayne Boothe framed the recognition as a milestone that comes as the company enters a new era of strategic growth. “This award comes at a defining moment for BOOT Jamaica. As we expand through developments such as BOOT 2 and planned growth in parishes, including St James and Trelawny, we are reimagining what convenience and service look like across Jamaica,” he said. “We are honoured by this recognition and remain committed to sustained investment, innovation, and excellence in St Ann and beyond.” Boothe also extended gratitude to his company’s team, community partners, and loyal customers, reaffirming the organization’s core mission of delivering exceptional customer service while driving inclusive economic growth and sustainable community development across the island.
Beyond its commercial success, BOOT Jamaica’s commitment to community emergency preparedness also earned special recognition during the ceremony. Custos of St Ann Joseph Issa highlighted the work of the Custos Commandos, a volunteer emergency response initiative, in strengthening local disaster response systems across the parish. Alexcia Boothe was separately honored for leading a parish-wide shelter support initiative launched in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The program delivered 2,000 sleeping bags and soup kits to vulnerable communities, while also funding critical infrastructure upgrades to shelters that improved access to reliable power during emergencies and boosted overall response efficiency in post-storm recovery efforts.
The St Ann Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards were created to celebrate outstanding business performance and measurable contributions to local economic development across the parish. For the 2026 iteration, organizers awarded 12 honors across diverse categories, including social responsibility and community impact, education excellence, and small business of the year, with Business of the Year standing as the pinnacle of achievement for local enterprises. BOOT Jamaica claimed the top prize from a competitive pool of high-profile nominees that included Pure Chocolate Jamaica and the Jamaica Public Service Company. Judges and peer industry voters highlighted the company’s aggressive, forward-thinking expansion strategy as the key deciding factor in its selection, pointing specifically to the 2025 groundbreaking of the highly anticipated BOOT 2 development as evidence of the company’s outsized impact on the parish’s economic outlook.