A dreamt of a life of service to God and so she applied to become a nun after finishing 5th form at Alpha Academy. The Mother Superior wisely told her to wait a year and see if she had the same convictions and you guessed it, during that period she met the man who would become her future husband. Though she did not get to wear a habit, she instead cultivated a different habit, one
of service as Jean Lowrie-Chin has blazed several professional and philanthropic trails that are living testimonies to her faith, fortitude and fearlessness.
This public relations powerhouse has for more than 40 years made companies, products and services super successful household names. All of this while raising a family and establishing initiatives that have aided the forgotten, the elderly and the disenfranchised. Buzzz Magazine visited Lowrie-Chin at her new offices housed in the Phoenix Central Commercial Complex, a cosy, contemporary building her team designed and constructed complete with meeting and games rooms, elevator and fully fitted to accommodate the elderly and disabled. We wanted the low-down on Lowrie-Chin, from media and public relation to elderly advocacy and now real estate, Jean is just jocund in all aspects of her life that is built on professionalism and buoyed by prayer.
Last November marked the 40th anniversary of the signing of her first PR contract when she stepped out in faith on her own.
In 1979, she singlehandedly launched PRO Communications Limited (PROComm), the longest standing company offering public relations as a primary service in Jamaica. She had landed her first big client which was the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel who also provided her with rental space in which she could be the creative genius they had recognised her to be. She was booked and busy…and all of 26 years old.
“I remember rolling up to the Pegasus. My dad had died two years prior so I had all his furniture as he was an accountant. I went in the office sat down and said to myself, ‘Jean what have you done?’”
The weight of the responsibility of starting her own business had hit her hard but rather than be overwhelmed, she was determined to succeed.
Having resigned her job at Dunlop Corbin where a salary was certain, Jean took a risk that quickly paid off. “My starting at Pegasus came about kinda weird. Dunlop had always hosted children treats, taking them to the Pegasus and
“Public Relations Powerhouse”
I noticed that there wasn’t any protein in what they were eating so I approached the marketing manager who happened to be Carole Guntley at the time and she arranged for the kids to have hamburgers.