The Hon. Godfrey G. Dyer was born in Spalding, Clarendon and attended the Sanguinetti Primary School, and later the Spalding Primary School where he sat the First, Second and Third Jamaica Local Examinations.
Mr. Dyer’s first job was at Knox Educational Service, Knox College where he worked for eighteen months after which he left and joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He served the force for thirteen years, the first two years 1960 to 1962 was spent in St. Mary and in mid 1962 was transferred to Kingston and appointed a Special Branch Detective. In 1963 he was transferred to Montego Bay with special assignment to the Sangster International Airport. He served until 1972 when he resigned at the rank of Detective Corporal and went into private business.
BUSINESS ENDEAVOURS
- Mr. Dyer started two businesses, An Insurance Agency and a Resort Villa Management Company. He continued operating these businesses and in 1977 he bought the sixteen bedrooms Wexford Court Hotel and over the years expanded the hotel to sixty six rooms and operated it for the next twenty nine years.
- Mr. Dyer sold the hotel in 2006 after surviving a very serious accident at Sea Castles in Montego Bay.
- Over the years Mr. Dyer has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial and voluntary activities.
- In 1983 he Co-founded the Hot 102 Radio Station and served as its Executive Director for over twenty five years.
- In 1993 Mr. Dyer Co- Founded Jamaica’s number one music festival, Sumfest and served as its chairman for the first three years and thereafter as deputy chairman.
VOLUNTARY SERVICE
- Mr. Dyer served as Chairman of “National Hotels and Properties” a government agency which operated in the 1980’s owning over nineteen hotels including Holiday Inn, Royal Caribbean and Intercontinental. Also in that same period, actively supervised the operation of the Oceana Hotel in Kingston and the Mallards Beach in Ocho Rios.
- Mr. Dyer served as President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) 1983 – 1984 and again 2003-2005. During his Presidency in 1983-1984 he assisted the government in the setting up of the “Jamaica Retained Account “which assisted the Government for a number of years to stabilize the Jamaican Dollar.
- He served as President of the Montego Co-op Credit Union during the 1980’s and again in the 1990’s.
- President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1982-1984.
- President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Jamaica in 1985.
- Vice President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica 1984.
Mr. Dyer also served as director of the following entities:
- The Jamaica Telephone Company
- Jampro (Jamaica Trade and Invest)
- Jamaica Credit Union League
- Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association
- Jamaica Pegasus Hotel
- Director, Jamaica Tourist Board
WORLDWIDE SERVICE
Mr. Dyer has been very involved in the Kiwanis International Movement and served in the following positions:
- President of the Kiwanis Club of Falmouth 1974.
- Lieutenant Governor for Kiwanis in Northern Jamaica and Grand Cayman 1976.
- Governor for Kiwanis in 1995, with responsibility for Eastern Canada and fourteen other countries in the Caribbean.
- President of the Kiwanis International Foundation 2002-2003, with head offices in Indianapolis, Minnesota, USA and jurisdiction in over ninety countries across the world.
- Mr. Dyer holds the distinction of being the only non- American to have held that position.
COMMUNITY and INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
- National Award, Order of Jamaica, O.J. (for exceptional contribution to tourism)
- National Award, Order of Distinction in the Commander Rank, C.D.
- Distinguished Lieutenant Governor, Kiwanis International Award
- Distinguished Governor’s Award for leadership
- Robert F. Connelly Distinguished Award, Kiwanis International’s Highest Award
- St. James Parish Award for service in Tourism
- The Prime Minister’s Distinguished Award for Service in Tourism
- Recipient of the Hotelier of the year award in 2002 and again in 2005, given by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association
- Lifetime achievement award, given by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association
- Citation – renaming of Sunset Boulevard to the Godfrey Dyer Boulevard in Montego Bay, St. James
- Mr. Dyer currently serves in the following positions on Boards and Advisory Bodies:
- Chairman, Tourism Enhancement Fund, 2007-2011 & 2016 to present
- Director, Montego Bay Convention Centre
- Director, AJAS Aviation Services
- Director, Bulwark Insurance Agency
- Member, UDC Advisory Council, Montego Bay
- Mr. Dyer is married to Odette and has one daughter and four sons.
