(EDITOR’S NOTE: I saw a video of my good friend and journalistic colleague Wendall Jones on Facebook demonstrating his portrait painting skills that I had to share. In doing so, I decided to also share for readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE the following article published on the CEO of Jones Communications when he was among the media luminaries honoured by The Bahamas Press Club during their annual dinner in November of 2015.)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Wendall K. Jones is a leader in Media in The Bahamas. He is clearly the most successful Journalist of his generation in the country. For the past two decades he has pioneered the creation of enterprises which have changed the face of Journalism and Communications throughout the society. His work has been recognized by the State. He was given the Silver Jubilee Award – the Nation’s highest award – in recognition of his Outstanding Contribution to National Development in Broadcasting.
Mr. Jones was named a Paul Harris Fellow by The Rotary Foundation International and was recognized by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for his achievements in the area of Media. He was named the McHari Institute Publisher of the Year in 2002; the Acklins Business Professional of the Year and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year for 2003.
Mr. Jones has also been awarded two Honorary Degrees; one a Doctorate in Humane Letters from Virginia University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the other a Doctorate in Literature from Virginia Seminary of Christian Education. In 2004 Mr. Jones received a Special Award from The Central Bank of The Bahamas in recognition of valuable contributions to the Bahamian community. In 2005, he received the Leadership and Communication award from Toastmasters Clubs in The Bahamas in recognition of his stellar standard of excellence set in the dissemination of information in The Bahamas.
Mr. Jones began his career as a Journalist with The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas in 1972. His training took him to the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados WTVJ Channel 4 Miami, Florida; and The Voice of America, Washington, D.C. Mr. Jones has spoken in a number of Seminars on Media in the Caribbean and the Americas, including seminars on Globalization and The Media Looking To The 21st Century, sponsored by the World Media Association in Washington, D.C. and on Communication, Globalization and Democracy, held at Ciespal in Quito, Ecuador.
Mr. Jones is the Proprietor and Chief Executive Officer of Jones Communications International Limited, comprised of Radio Love 97 FM; The Bahama Journal, a daily newspaper; Jones Publications, publishers of several Bahamian books and JCN Television.
This trailblazing Journalist is the Publisher of The Bahamas’ bestselling book, “The One Hundred Most Outstanding Bahamians of The 20th Century” as well as its compendium, “Bahamian Legends” Volumes I and II. He also produced books on “The Parliament” and “Independence and Beyond” for the Government of The Bahamas.
Mr. Jones and his organization are on a mission to become the preeminent leader in Broadcast Communications in the Caribbean, producing and disseminating programmes which are uplifting and intellectually stimulating.
In his work in broadcasting, he hosts two of the nation’s most popular current affairs radio and television programmes, “Jones and Company” and “Issues of The Day”. He has conducted exclusive interviews with many world leaders including Baroness Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain; former U.S. Secretary of State, General Colin Powell and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
His leisure pursuits include reading and painting.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: As noted earlier, this article was originally published in November of 2015. I have known Wendall for many years, but I was unaware that he was such an accomplished painter until I was in Nassau in November of 2017 promoting my novel WOES OF LIFE and was a guest on Issues of The Day talk show on his Love 97 Radio station. After the show, we spent most of the afternoon catching up on “old times” in his office, whose walls are adorned with some of his paintings.)
Here’s the link to the video on Facebook of Wendall painting: https://www.facebook.com/wendallkjones/videos/706871926638331
