Early Years
David was born on October 13th 1944, to Donald and Consie Mais at the Nuttal Hospital, St. Andrew, Jamaica. His early childhood education took place at Westbook Preparatory School, Half Way Tree, and then Wolmers Boys School. Looking back on his early years at Wolmers, David remembers with pride a project on tobacco, which was selected for display at the Institute of Jamaica. He also recalls that in one year, he received the most House points for academic achievement, while simultaneously receiving the most demerits. He says with a wry smile that his ledger was “in the black.”
School Days
While at Wolmers he participated in table tennis, cricket and football, and moved from Cub Scout to Sea Scout. Then he found himself relocated to Munro College, a resident of Coke House, in 4th Form, in the cool mountains of St. Elizabeth. David would arrive at Munro on a bleak and overcast afternoon; cool weather that would be the prevailing climate during his stay at the city on the hill with only minor, occasional periods of warm sunshine. Having lived at Cooper’s Hill, St. Andrew, he was well acclimatized to ice cold showers, and so was brave enough to steal several nightly dips in the water storage tanks.
He found the sunsets at Munro nothing short of magnificent, and the beauty of it all prompted him to make a connection between nature and a supreme being. Looking back, David remembers that the sacred space of the Munro College Chapel, was also quite picturesque on its own, and seemed to attract more attendees to voluntary religious gatherings just prior to and during exams. With a quiet smile, he observes “… we all seemed to believe in the power of prayer.” David believes that the impact of Munro College on him was life-changing, and that the discipline and the camaraderie, had a transformative effect. When looking back, he knows how fortunate he was to attend the institution at that point in his life.
Indeed, the Mais family had several members, including David’s father, uncles, and cousins, who attended Munro College. They all counted it a blessing that they enjoyed their secondary school education at this citadel overlooking the Pedro Plains. David also says that “… you could not spend time at the College without being impacted, in a very positive way, by the teaching staff. ” Munro was headed by the iconic Richard Roper, and included teachers who prepared young minds, like Donald Bogle, who went on to become the Headmaster at Wolmers, Geography teacher, Mr. Barrett, and probably the greatest Master of all, Mr. “Staggy” Harle. “I will be eternally grateful for their guidance and acumen …” says David.
David fondly recalls partnering with his friend and Head Boy, Richard Nurse, on Friday afternoons, to play golf at a quaint and interesting golf course at Malvern, situated a few miles away from Munro. It was sometimes quite hysterical to play a golf course that had barbed wire and posts surrounding the greens, to prevent the local cows from damaging the surface. They learnt early on to hit their approach shots high and soft, and to replay a shot if the ball was “interfered with.”
He enjoyed sports to the fullest, and his scholastic performance as well as his behaviour improved to the point where he earned both a Senior Cambridge Certificate and GCE “O” Level passes and he was invited by Headmaster Roper to return after 5th Form to 6th Form. The offer was not taken up because of family circumstances.
Further Studies
While at Munro, David took his first steps in his political career when he was asked to lead the debate on the proposal that Jamaica should secede from the Federation. David and his colleague team member won that debate easily, and the actual results that night prompted him to ring the school bell, much to the alarm of the Headmaster. However, on hearing the reason for this mischievous prank, the Headmaster’s only concern was that the bell also served as the fire alarm! Perhaps Headmaster Roper could sense that David would one day join him in the Hall of Fame, and so David was not punished, and a life-long interest in Jamaican politics was sparked.
On leaving Munro, David went to the West Indies Sugar Company, located at Moneymusk, Clarendon, where he went through an intensive 2-year management training programme. While at Moneymusk, he witnessed the social injustices of life on a sugar estate, and witnessed the remarkable qualities of Jamaican men and women working in the toughest conditions imaginable. It was also on the sugar estate that he met certain young men who were to become major political figures and even Prime Ministers, including Hugh Lawson Shearer, Michael Manley, Cliff Stone, Errol Anderson, and Pearnel Charles.
The “bright lights” of Kingston called, and there was the mix of studies at the College of Arts, Science & Technology, and the University of the West Indies, followed by management careers at Johnson & Johnson, Esso, and the KIA/KIG Group. After this, David and Michael Mais, (another Munro College Old Boy), teamed up to open and operate Associated Manufacturers Limited and Parang Industries.
Family
In 1967, David had married Cheryl, and was then blessed with a son, Kyle, and a daughter, Kimberly. David now has 7 wonderful grandchildren, 3 girls, Mattea, Demi and Trinity, and 4 boys, Cameron, Thomas, Elias and Xavier.
Career
During the turbulent seventies, he put in two years of full-time work with the Jamaica Labour Party in 1976 and 1979, respectively, and then from 1986 to 1990, worked as a Councillor for the Barbican Division of the Kingston & St. Andrew Municipal Corporation. The eighties also included work on several Boards, including the Board of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, where David recounts, with a sense of achievement, the rollout of colour television and the use of satellite transmission to expand programming. He also served on the Board of Radio Jamaica Limited and as Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Telephone Company Limited, while also serving as an Advisor to two successive Ministers of National Security, Winston Spaulding and Errol Anderson.
Service
Fast forward to the present, to a central theme of David’s life; a passion for the development of sports, his love of the game of golf, his leverage of golf with tournaments organized by him to raise over J$200 million for charity, and the accompanying creation of career and educational opportunities for several young Jamaicans. This commitment to the development of sports is reflected in his service as a former Chairman of the Sports Development Foundation, and as the current Chairman of the G. C. Foster College of Sports, for the second time around. This is in addition to membership of various committees of the Jamaica Athletic Association, the Jamaica Football Federation, the Jamaica Race Drivers Club, and more recently as a member of the Executive for the Turf Grass Association. The high point of this part of David’s life is his 5 years as Director of Operations with International Management Group, IMG, for the Johnny Walker Golf tournament held at Tryall Club. This experience validated, for him, the connection between entrepreneurial sporting activities and tourism; something that he passionately believes requires more focus by Jamaica going forward.
David has been a Justice of the Peace since 1986, and when he is not managing some sporting event, he can also be found serving as the Logistics and Security Director, since 2000 to date, for all of the Father Ho Lung & Friends musical productions held at the National Arena. His relationship with Munro College continues, and goes beyond assisting the Old Boys Association with golf tournaments, as he does his best to keep his old school out of the bunker and on the green. For these and other reasons, David Cameron Mais was proudly inducted into the Munro College Old Boys Association Hall of Fame.
