Seven to Receive Consul General’s Independence Award

Seven Jamaican nationals in the Northeast United States will be honoured with the Consul General’s Independence Award for outstanding community service and devotion to the Diaspora movement.
The presentations will be made at the Grand Independence Ball slated for August 18 at the New York Hilton & Towers Hotel.
The honourees are: Hugh Lawrence, educator and former president of the Mico (College) Old Students’ Association, New York; Elaine Coleman community development activist; Blane Stoddart, former chair of Team Jamaica Bickle, Philadelphia and community activist; Michael Escoffery for preservation of the arts and culture through his outstanding body of work; Patrick Jolly, General Manager of Tower Isle’s Frozen Foods, for charitable contributions; Sabrina Hosang, Director of Operations for Royal Caribbean Bakery/Caribbean Food Delights/JerkQzine, for her dynamism and commitment to community empowerment; and Jose Richards, President of Sons and Daughters of Jamaica, Inc. for community activism.
According to Consul General, Dr. Basil Bryan, “this year’s honourees represent the many faces and facets of the Jamaican Diaspora especially here in the Northeast United States and so they are being specially recognized for their professional accomplishments and spirit of community involvement.”
“They represent a mix of youth and experience, community and corporate concerns, who have and continue to equip themselves well both inside the boardrooms and the community fora,” he noted. Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall, will be the guest of honor at the Independence Ball, which will include a silent auction to benefit the Boy’s Town charity and will feature entertainment by The Fab 5 Band with guests Dwight Pinkney and A.J Brown.
The Grand Independence Ball concludes a full schedule of activities in New York to mark Jamaica’s 45th anniversary of Independence. The events included a thanksgiving service on July 29 at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens; book signings by Jamaican authors on July 31 and August 2 at the Consulate; a flag-raising ceremony at the Brooklyn Borough Hall; an awards ceremony at New York City Hall on August 7; and a youth symposium at the Jamaican Consulate on August 9.