On January 30, 2026, the Best of Jamaica 2025 Awards returned as a powerful celebration of Jamaican excellence, resilience and community, hosted at the Miramar Cultural Center in South Florida. Presented by Jamaicans.com in partnership with the City of Miramar, the evening brought together honourees, community leaders and supporters from Jamaica and across the global diaspora.
The ceremony was hosted by City of Miramar Vice Mayor Yvette Colbourne and Miramar Commissioner Carson “Eddy” Edwards, whose continued support has helped establish the Best of Jamaica Awards as a meaningful platform recognising the people, businesses and cultural leaders shaping Jamaican life at home and abroad.
Traditionally held each December, the 2025 awards were postponed following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, making this year’s ceremony both a celebration and a moment of reflection. Streaming live on Facebook, the awards reaffirmed the platform’s long-standing mission to spotlight Jamaican excellence wherever it exists.
Honouring Jamaican Excellence, Powered by Community
For nearly three decades, the Best of Jamaica Awards have remained a community-driven initiative, with nominees and winners selected through public nominations and voting. As Jamaicans.com founder Xavier Murphy emphasised during the ceremony, the awards are not about the platform itself, but about the people whose work continues to uplift Jamaica’s name globally.
“This is powered by the community,” Murphy noted. “It’s the people who nominate, the people who vote, and the people who see value in the work being done. That’s what makes this special.”
Winners were selected from Jamaica and across the diaspora, spanning a wide range of categories including food, culture, media, sport, business, community leadership and creative industries. Rather than listing all honourees in a single article, the 2025 rollout once again adopts a multi-article approach, allowing each category and region to be explored in greater depth. Full winners lists will be linked across the dedicated Best of Jamaica hub.
Inside the 2025 Best of Jamaica Awards Night
The evening unfolded as both a celebration and a communal gathering, opening with a cocktail reception that brought together awardees, community leaders, creatives and supporters from across Jamaica and the diaspora. The atmosphere set the tone for a night that blended recognition, culture and purpose, further underscored by a special screening of the short film Beg Yuh A Call, written by Mikey T and Raul ‘Blaze’ Davis, and produced and directed by Mikey T. The film, which explores the importance of connection, cultural ties between the diaspora and home, and mental wellness.
Throughout the programme, awards were presented across multiple categories celebrating excellence in leadership, media, culture, sport and business. Sculptor Basil Watson was named Person of the Year, recognised for his enduring global contributions to Jamaican art and public memory. Media excellence and cultural storytelling were also highlighted, with Yendi Phillips receiving a judges’ pick honour, and language educator and digital creator Milton Foster recognised for his innovative use of online platforms to promote Jamaican identity and cross-cultural exchange. Fashion and style were likewise celebrated, with Cecile Levee honoured as Fashion Icon of the Year – People’s Choice.
Cultural performances were woven throughout the evening, reflecting the vibrancy of Jamaican life. Live performances by Adrianna Clarke and Shuga energised the audience, while poet Sharon Corinthian-Crawford delivered a specially commissioned spoken-word piece, Wi Tallawah, centred on resilience, pride and perseverance. Declaring that “we small but mighty — we surpass the rest,” her performance resonated deeply, particularly in a year shaped by the impact of Hurricane Melissa. The programme also featured an appearance by GenXS Carnival, offering a preview of the upcoming Jamaica Carnival season and reinforcing the role of celebration as cultural continuity.
More Than an Awards Night
As the night progressed, the focus briefly shifted from celebration to the ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa. With Jamaica still rebuilding, the ceremony took on deeper meaning, becoming not only a celebration of excellence, but also a moment of unity and renewed commitment.
Throughout the evening, several speakers underscored a shared message: recovery from Hurricane Melissa would take time, sustained effort and continued diaspora involvement. The impact, they stressed, was not confined to the immediate aftermath, but continued to affect schools, families and communities months later.
Attorney and community advocate Marlon Hill, who has played a central role in coordinating relief through partnerships with international and grassroots organisations, shared sobering figures while highlighting the scale of diaspora mobilisation. He noted that over US$12 million in relief supplies had already been delivered, supported by thousands of volunteers, adding that recovery is not a short-term effort. Reflecting on the collective response, Hill emphasised that “the need is still there,” urging continued support long after the initial surge of donations fades.
Echoing this call, Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General in Miami, reminded the audience that moments like these reveal the true strength of the Jamaican community. Praising the outpouring of regional and international solidarity, he observed that Jamaicans consistently rise to the occasion, noting that “almost everybody in this room has given back in some shape or form.” He encouraged ongoing engagement, stressing that recovery and nation-building depend on sustained diaspora involvement, not one-off gestures.
Together, their remarks reinforced a shared sentiment that ran throughout the evening: Jamaican excellence is not measured solely by individual achievement, but by the willingness of communities at home and abroad to stand together in times of need.
Looking Ahead: Celebrating 30 Years in 2026
As Jamaicans.com approaches its 30th anniversary in 2026, the Best of Jamaica Awards are set to evolve even further. Plans are already underway for an expanded Best of Jamaica Expo, designed to showcase Jamaican excellence across multiple sectors — from creative industries and food to music, innovation and Jamaican-made products. A dedicated vendor application portal will launch soon, inviting businesses and creatives from Jamaica and the diaspora to participate.
As the platform looks ahead, the mission remains unchanged: to tell Jamaican stories authentically, celebrate excellence unapologetically, and keep the global Jamaican community connected.
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