10 NEW YORK, NY: T HE CORNWALL College Old Boys’ Association – New York (CCOBA-NY) broke the COVID-19 hiatus with the staging of its 63rd anniversary gala on Saturday, November 19 at the trendy Greentree Country Club, New Rochelle, NY. Patrons from a wide cross section of the community, including several alumni associations, were treated to a cocktail reception followed by a sumptuous fourcourse dinner and an awards ceremony which saw three persons being honoured, Jerry Dillon, Baldwin McIntosh and Neville Bell. They were duly recognised for service to humankind, community empowerment, and education, in that order. McIntosh, a certified IT specialist and president of the Maldon High School Alumni, said after the event that he was honoured to be so recognised by the Cornwall College Alumni, who are among some of his closest friends and associates. Following the awards ceremony, patrons attending the annual gala, the first since 2019, were treated to a rousing performance by Jamaican vocalist Nadine Sutherland, backed by New York’s True Tribute All Star Ensemble in a live concert segment. For a full 30 minutes, the reggae band, led by LeRoy Graham, Jr had patrons on their feet dancing and singing along to some of Nadine’s hits. Resident DJ Wilton Williams, aka ‘Prentice’ of Soultone Disco, took over from there and kept patrons on their feet until the wee hours of Sunday morning. The coordinating masters of ceremonies, John St Omer and Richard Lue, lived up to their promise of “less talk andmore action”as they kept the evening’s affair moving along very smoothly. BOSTON: THE AUTHENTIC Caribbean Foundation (ACF), a Boston-based not-for-profit organisation, marks 10 years of service to the CaribbeanAmerican diaspora this year and has planned a calendar of events to celebrate this milestone. The year-long celebration under the theme, “10 Years Authentic!” will shine a spotlight on the foundation’s record of sustained, high-engagement community activism, and on the impressive results. ACF will kick off“10Years Authentic!” with fundraisers; a“Fall Fish-fry”on December 3 and“Rooftop Glow”on December 9. The first event of 2023 will be the Afro-Caribbean Black History gala on February 25, followed by International Women’s Day on March 8. A series of community events is planned across various cities in April; and June will be Caribbean American Heritage Month, with its own calendar. The full annual calendar of events will be posted on the foundation’s website: www.authenticcaribbeanfoundation.org. A leading voice of the CaribbeanAmerican diaspora in the northeastern US, ACF is immersed in resource and capacity building, spearheading initiatives on a broad spectrum of community needs, while building solid partnerships with like-minded organisations, community leaders and political leadership. ACF advocates on social and political issues in the US and the Caribbean, bridging the ambassadorial and corps, Caribbean governments, and the people of the diaspora, a release notes. RICH HISTORY, DIVERSITY The foundation’s core work focuses intently on the disabled community in Massachusetts and across the Caribbean. Its grassroots work is carried out through health fairs, vaccination drives, food drives, summer heat relief with free AC units, and heaters for the winter months, and more. During the COVID-19 pandemic ACF collaborated in a series of online fora to discuss the economic, social and healthcare related impact of the pandemic on individual countries and on relief efforts. In 2021 the foundation took on an ambitious programme in partnership with Lesley University, based in Cambridge, Mass, titled“Building Inclusive Teaching and Learning Classrooms”, to provide neuro-divergent training to over 500 teachers across the Caribbean, empowering them to better serve children on the autism spectrum. Closer to home, the children’s programme Pickney Time, which highlights elements of Caribbean culture, is an ACFproduced full immersion experience at select elementary schools in Massachusetts. In its quest to propagate the culture, ACF produces numerous annual events such as the AfroCaribbean Black History Gala, Caribbean American Heritage Month celebrations, and the Caribbean-American Rum Festival, all showcasing the rich history and diversity of the community. ACF founder and CEO Andrew Sharpe has been recognised for his leadership in ACF’S work in the community. No recognition has been more gratifying than that of President Joe Biden, bestowed during Caribbean American Heritage Month 2022. Sharpe notes, “It is tireless work but we proudly carry the mantle for Caribbean nations and their diaspora. Our mission is largely directed at the disability community but we represent all sectors. We have much to offer as a people and we want to highlight that.” Authentic Caribbean Foundation marks 10th anniversary Mayor of the city of Brockton, Robert F. Sullivan (right), officially presents to Andrew Sharpe and Donna Frett of ACF, the Proclamation observing June as “National Caribbean American Heritage Month” at a flag-raising event recently. CONTRIBUTED DONOVAN WILSON, vice president of Blackbird Worldwide has been appointed president of the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations USA Inc. Wilson is the immediate past president of St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) Alumni Association USA Inc, a corporate transportation professional and a tax professional who has been registered with the Internal Revenue Service and New York State for over 15 years. He became a director of UJAA in 2015 and was elected vice president in 2018. He graduated from Bernard M. Baruch College with a bachelor of arts degree in corporate communications and a minor concentration in industrial psychology. He has worked in the transportation industry for over 20 years and is adept at travel supplier relationship management. AS UJAA moves into the next year it is his vision that the organisation will continue to be a voice in the education space for the children of Jamaica and that it will work, in conjunction with various stakeholders, to create and deliver new and better ways of advancement in education for our children. Donovan Wilson is new UJAA president WILSON CCOBA-NY delivers on ‘more action, less talk’ at reunion gala Baldwin ‘Bunny’ McIntosh (right), president of the Maldon High School Alumni, accepts his award for community service from Barry Harvey (left), president of Cornwall College Old Boys’ Association/NY chapter, during the ceremony at the Greentree Country Club, New Rochelle, NY on Saturday, November 19. CONTRIBUTED THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 8, 2022 - JANUARY 5, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS
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