Bredrin Notes: An Interview with Joseph McKinson (KC: 1971-1978)

CAREER INTRODUCTION

Bredrin: Hail, Macky.  Could we start with career matters? What is your main career activity today?

McKinson:

I continue to work in Information Communications Technology, but in a commercial way. I am currently with one of the largest Technology distributors out of South America and manage a territory which includes Jamaica and several other Caribbean islands. Through B-to-B engagements a diverse portfolio of technology brands are embraced by our partner ecosystem providing varied solutions and solving end-user problems.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Bredrin: Have there been notable career challenges along your path, and how have you tackled them?

McKinson:

• Managing new and emerging technology through lifelong learning and training.
• Cross border partner management through travel and planning.
• Utilizing networking and value-added engagement in in the face of strong competition.

Bredrin: What matters have you enjoyed most about your career?

McKinson:

I have enjoyed the following:

• Meeting people regionally and globally and the exposure to different cultures.
• Being at the forefront of working in, learning and using many of these intriguing and emerging technologies.
• Frequent travelling which fuels cultural exposure already noted.
• Facilitating the fulfilment of client needs using technology.

Bredrin: Any other aspects of your career you wish to emphasize?

McKinson:

The embrace of Spanish. Partner ecosystems in the Technology world, in this neck of the woods, are replete with Hispanics.

The development of my Spanish over the years has served me very well here in travel and work.

Bredrin: You took a degree from UWI in the 1980s?  What was your area of specialization?  And how was this linked to your career that followed? Was your UWI degree important in setting you on your career path?

McKinson:

• Yes; my UWI degree was from 1983, with my specialization being in Mathematics and Computer Science.
• I believe that this was important in:
• Getting that piece of paper.
• Setting me on a career path as my job. A few years after UWI, I was a Data Processing Manager. Thereafter, I have always worked in ICT.
• Setting the stage for postgrad studies

Bredrin: Any postgraduate or other professional training you wish to mention?

McKinson:

At least two other areas I would mention are:

• Masters in Business Administration (MBA) – Nova University, Florida.

Complemented this with:

• Diploma in Spanish Translation – Language Training Centre, Jamaica

Conversational Spanish (Mastery I Level) - Language Training Centre, Jamaica

ACADEMIC TIME/PRE-KC

Bredrin: At KC, you were an academic and football star.

• Would not use the term ¨star ¨at all 😊

Bredrin: What were some of your main academic successes at KC?

McKinson:

These include:

• 8 O-Level subjects
• Maths at A Level

Bredrin: What was your route to KC?

McKinson:

It all started one Saturday in 1971. I had left the house -- early morning -- returning home at about 2p.m.

There was a big crowd in the tenement yard. However, this was a crowd with a difference. There was no fighting, no quarrelling, no police raid, no cussing, no shouting … none of what normally happened in that big yard. Furthermore, it was concentrated at the house where I lived. What's happening? I wondered as I walked slowly towards my house.

Then a man shouted: ¨See him deh¨. My walk hastily slowed to a stop as the crowd approached me. I turned and ran!

Ms Ricketts grabbed me and said ¨Whe yu a run go ? Yu pass yu Common Entrance¨

One Saturday morning about two weeks later, my mother and I set out to find the noble halls of Kingston College for first form registration. We never knew exactly where the school was.  It was early morn, and I walked slowly, looking for 2A North Street or signage, and/or a building or wall in white or purple or in purple and white. No such luck !! We had reached the Chinese Bread and Butter shop when our North Street neighbour´s blue and white signage caught my eyes. It was the first I was hearing about them!!!

My mother and I were eventually directed to from whence we came and finally we found Kingston College. I saw an elder, short and dressed in khaki-coloured shirt and pants with a rake in hand. ¨ Is this KC?, I asked, as we hesitantly entered the premises displaying some aged-looking buildings and unkept grounds . The answer was one big cut-eye. This I took as affirmative!!  Years later I found out that the character I had met was Taddy, arguably one of the best cricket pitch curators in the island.

Bredrin: How was your primary school experience linked to your steps at KC?

McKinson:

When my friends passed the Common Entrance Exam, (all for KC) leaving me at Allman Town Primary I felt bad.

This really inspired and motivated me. I had a serious Maths challenge. Joel Lawson would pass by in the afternoon to help me with the Maths.

Bredrin: Were there others coming into KC from your primary school?

McKinson:

Ellington (Billy) Meikle, late Joel Lawson, late Dorman Henry, and Raymond Ramsay had passed the year before (when I did not).

Calvin Breakenridge (Brent) and I passed on second Common Entrance attempt (plus 2 others for Wolmer's).

Bredrin: Any primary school teachers or influences you wish to note?

McKinson:

Yes, Ms Johnson…….her patience with slow kids ..like me.

Yes, Mr X with his impatience with me …. because of my Maths challenge. Always beating me in the head with a thick ruler.

STUDENT LIFE AT KC

Bredrin: What are some of your main memories as a student at KC?

McKinson:

• Passing Maths in the 4th form – mentioning this here because of the serious challenges that I had had at the primary level. Some kids are late bloomers.
• Jolting Joe sinks Ardenne article – speaks to perhaps my best football performance. The adrenaline was gushing so much that I wished the match never ended!!
• 1975 Manning Triple Champions – shows the importance of teamwork. No stars. Simply working together, playing 90 minutes of disciplined football each match. Well, there was a rising star, Douglas Bell.
• Spanish Prize for O´-Level.
• Being promoted at the end of the first term in First Form to 1Delta, highest Spanish stream (Bernard Jankee and I): Mr. Bruce visited 1 Delta to underscore to the form how well we had done.

Bredrin: Are Melbourne Park memories very different from North Street memories?

McKinson:

Yes, Melbourne are the formative years, that is, blood just starting to turn purple for many of us.

Youthful exuberance is relatively common also:

• Fighting on the first day of First Form – over a football …
• Banned from cricket by Mr Plummer, Sportsmaster, for knocking over the stumps (in a form match) because I thought that the umpire was cheating my class 1 Delta.

I recall 1 Delta having a crucial cricket match. I sneaked and opened the batting, despite being banned. I was doing well, picking singles and twos with ease.

Then I hit a very elegant boundary. This triggered a resounding applause from the crowd. I was settling to bat again, when I saw a man, apparently one of the applauders hastily leaving the pavilion, and walking onto the field, he waved vigorously to get the umpire´s attention.

It was Mr Plummer, Sports master. He went straight to the umpire and said something. He them came to me at the other end of the pitch and said nothing, whilst sternly pointing to the pavilion. Well, that was the end of my innings.

Bredrin: Did some teachers have a special impact on you or on your classes overall?

McKinson:

• Mrs Muriel Riley – English …. – She really took charge of my English in 3rd form and onwards.
• Mr Wilson – Spanish ….

I was the only A Level Spanish student at that time in KC.

Things were going reasonably well, until the classes, done in the afternoon, clashed with Manning Cup football training. I had to choose. Of course, football got the nod.

• Evans – Mathematics.
• Peter Maxwell -- English Literature.

Bredrin: What were some of you favourite subjects at KC?

McKinson:

Spanish, Maths.

Bredrin: Who were some of your fellow students and friends coming through over the years?

McKinson:

George Dallas, Oliver Smith, Patrick Dallas, Douglas Bell, Calvin (Brent)Breakenridge, late Joel Lawson, Barrington (Jabba) Pinnock.

Bredrin: Were there any rules or practices from your time at KC which seemed unjustifiable to you then?  Has your perspective changed over the years?

McKinson:

I can't recall any.

Bredrin': Would you say that KC today is significantly different from KC in your time as a student?   How so?

McKinson:

There are more resources available now. I remember, for example, training on a football field, which in essence was a dust bowl. Would have loved to roll some ball on the current one. The school is also more aesthetically pleasing.

Like most schools the embrace of technology through computer labs and other projects is aligned somewhat with today´s trends and needs.

However, I believe that students then were more committed – both academically and in extracurricular activities.

FOOTBALL TIME

Bredrin: And the football, Jolting Joe?

Remind us, please: you played Manning Cup Football for KC in what years?  And All Manning?  All Schools?

McKinson:

I played at every level of football that existed in those days. I clearly remember 1st and 2nd form teams.

We won the Colts Competition ´, and I was the competition´s leading goal scorer

Manning 1975, 76, 77  

All Manning 1977

All Schools    1977

Bredrin: How did KC do in your years on the team?

McKinson:

KC was triple-champion in 1975

My regular play time was 76 , 77. I think that easily we had enough talent to have won in 77, but the football Gods did not smile on us.

However, we salvaged the Walker Cup which then was competed for by the top 4 Manning Cup teams, beating Wolmer's 2 -0 in the finals

Bredrin: Who were some of your fellow ballers on your KC teams?

McKinson:

Some members over the years were Michael (Ratty) Edwards, Dave (Pompey) Brown, Bally Reid, Dougie Bell, Carl (Daddy) Grant Norris (Runkus) Bruce, Robert (Rodo)Rodney, Noel (Jubba) Rhudd, Fisher´,  JJ Johnson, Richard Searchwell, Vernon Strachan, (Oily) Sterling, Basil Watson

Bredrin: Any special memories of people or events?

McKinson:

George Thompson, our coach – was really a father figure, a mentor. A master tactician who architected the 1975 triple-champion team - a cohesive, collaborative and committed squad , defeating rivals with their galaxies of stars (JC, Vere Technical).

A disciplinarian and principled man, he was the epitome of composure. I recall that I would have disrupted this calmness once. In one heated match´ the opponents had scored on themselves.

Very jubilantly, I went and shook the scorer's hand, congratulating him on his own goal ´¨Good goal sah! ´

At half time, the coach was livid. The only sentence that reverberated in the change room was: McKinson, why you shook the boys hand?

No answer was forthcoming for my rather unorthodox action of the sport, as many times, I quietly, also asked myself the very same question. It remains unanswered to this very day.

Bredrin: Other football achievements?  Club?  UWI/Taylor Hall? National?

McKinson:

I played for the Arnett Gardens Premier League team in 1978…then went on to UWI in the following year

At UWI I captained the Intercollegiate team, winning the competition in my first year.

Captained the Taylor Hall team some 2-3 years and winning the Hall competition.

Captained the Intercampus (Mona, St Augustine, Cave Hill) Games team, winning all 3 years.

Bredrin: It must have been difficult combining football success at the highest levels with strong academic performance.  How did you do it?  Any guidance to share?

McKinson:

Keeping eyes on the prize and staying focused. In my early years, my mother tremendously helped me keep that focus. For example, when I was in 3rd Form at KC several of my friends had decided to choose Rastafarianism as religion. I decided that during the upcoming summer holidays I would take the plunge. I was doing well until one day my mother said to me: ¨Come here, a Rasta you a tun..¨ She never waited for an answer. I just remember getting a right hook that floored me. I scrambled to my feet and found a barber. She didn't tell me to go cut my hair. The right hook was telling enough.

Some of my friends at KC also helped me to stay on the straight and narrow path.  We formed a self-reinforcing group, with some of the older friends offering motivation and direction on academic and social matters.

Bredrin: Any other comments on your football achievements?  Or about cricket – I remember that you know how to hold the bat!

McKinson:

Yes, I was a member of a ¨pick-up ´KC first form team. We played against and beat St George's College. Vernon Strachan and I were opening batsmen.

Looking to identify Colts cricket players, George Atkinson invited second formers to a trial session at Melbourne. Whilst waiting for my turn to bat, I saw Peter Smith bowl a Michael ¨Whispering Death¨ Holding bouncer to my friend Marsh (who was an outstanding upcoming batsman at that time). The ball bounced off his head and sped to the boundary. I calmly took up my bag and went home – end of my cricket career.

FAMILY AND OTHER MATTERS

Bredrin: Do you wish to share information on your family life and other considerations that have influenced your development over the years?

McKinson:

The trek was westward, as the family moved from Allman Town to Jones Town and then to Arnett Gardens. All this took place in 1973 through 1982. We experienced first-hand the turbulent political violence and tribalism of that time as communities clashed in the name of their respective parties. Sometimes one would head home into a curfew, a police raid, a dragnet or gang warfare, a shooting or shootout.

Happenings such as these really affected movement, studying, training …but that only strengthened my resolve to do well.

The last match I played for Arnett Gardens against Tivoli Gardens ended abruptly. I had scored a goal that was ruled offside. Then, hell broke loose in the grandstand. Soon gunshots rang out and all ballers were on their bellies.

Months before this incident we had played another match at Up Park Camp, on neutral ground, under the vigilant eyes of soldiers. My team protested that a goal scored by Tivoli Gardens had gone through the side net. The referee tried to restart the game, but a spectator ventured onto the field, and  in perfect goalkeeper style, kicked the ball from hand to upper Up Park Camp.

Happy that that tribalism is now apparently buried in the past.

By the 4th form my understanding of Maths was really gelling. This was so to such an extent that I then decided to attempt O Level Maths exam, The day of the exam I got up at about 3 a.m. The plan was to work some past papers until say 5a.m, ¨hold¨ a short nap then get ready for school to sit my first O´Level exam.

I was barely into my first paper when there were loud, rapid bangs on the backdoor simultaneously punctuated by desperate shouts of my name. I opened the groaning door, otherwise it might have been forcibly separated from its hinges. Two men rushed in and immediately hid under the very table around which I was working my past papers. I recognized the two notorious community gangsters.    I was back on schedule and continued working my past papers as was originally planned, after locking back the door with the key.  

I asked why they were fleeing. They ridiculously informed that they and others had been shooting at a light bulb (target practice) and that that had attracted the police. I heard them let themselves out at about 6:00 a.m.

By the way, I was successful in the exam (Credit)…and moved on to Add Maths in the 5th form  

Bredrin: Are there identifiable ways in which KC has influenced you over the long term?

McKinson:

Areas such as:

• Unyielding spirit
• Self-Confidence
• Resilience
• Continuous improvement
• Teamwork

Not only have I garnered those skills at KC, but the college helped in honing them.

Bredrin: Looking back, what would you say are your main life accomplishments?

McKinson:

I would say that education achieved is key, as it puts me in position to provide for self and family

……coming from the very bowels of the ghetto.

Doing the things that I dearly love.  As I am very passionate about language, the ability to speak another language has proven invaluable.

Interviewed by Stephen Vasciannie

February 2026