Miramar’s city manager, Whittingham Gordon, and the fastest woman in the world, Elaine Thompson-Herah are CNW’s male and female persons of the year 2021.
Whittingham Gordon
On September 1, 2021, Miramar commissioners approved the appointment of Jamaican Whittingham Gordon to oversee the city’s daily operations. Gordon, a 30-year resident and 26-year employee of Miramar, took over from Vernon Hargray in November as the new city manager, becoming the first Jamaican ever to hold this position. He previously had the role of deputy city manager.
Miramar is the 13th largest city in Florida, the fourth-largest, and one of the most diverse in Broward County. Forty percent of the population was born outside the US, and it has the largest concentration of Jamaican residents, at 15 percent. This concentration of Jamaicans makes it the fifth highest in the United States. The makeup of the city commission reflects the density of Jamaicans, where every member has heritage relating to the Caribbean Island.
Read more about Whittingham Gordon
Elaine Thompson-Herah
There was nothing but pride felt across the diaspora in 2021 as track and field fans watched Elaine Thompson Herah assert her dominance and earn the title of “Fastest Woman Alive”.
In the first Olympic games since Usain Bolt’s retirement, Thompson Herah gave Jamaicans a reason to be hopeful and something for which to cheer. The Jamaican ace sprinter dominated world sprinting at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, where she won three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relays. Thompson Herah was also the first woman to retain the sprint double at the Olympic Games.
