Jamaican Among Nine Women of Great Esteem

Jamaican Jeanette Hosang, president and co-founder of the United States-based Royal Caribbean Bakery and Caribbean Food Delights, will be honoured with the 2006 Women of Great Esteem (WGE) Emerald Award, for her contribution to business and community development. She is among nine women, who will be recognised for excellence in various fields, at the 10th annual awards ceremony on March 25 at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. The other eight women are American Bernadette Sheridan for medicine; Dr. Louise Pyant (Haiti), Helen Dorcas-Foster (Bermuda), Raji Reddy (Guyana), and Marie Jocelyne Michel (Haiti/Sweden) for education; Senator Lorraine Berry (United States Virgin Islands), Paula Cox (Bermuda), and Lindiwe Maseko (South Africa) for politics and government.

An enthused Bishop Sylveta Gonzales, a life-long Brooklyn resident and founder of the WGE, said that the awards ceremony, previously held at the United Nations Millennium Hotel in New York City, was being moved to Brooklyn this year, to stimulate and support economic activity in the borough. “Moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn marks a turning point in the history of the organization, whose focus is to celebrate and stimulate economic growth in Brooklyn. Our honourees will stay at the Brooklyn Marriott, our florist, our printer, our band.every vendor is from Brooklyn,” Bishop Gonzales said.

Guests will move from the award ceremony at the Brooklyn Museum to the nearby Palm House at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for dinner and dancing. The Hon. Dame Jennifer Smith, former premier of Bermuda, will deliver the keynote address under the theme: ‘ Healing the world through wisdom, knowledge and understanding’. Jamaican Yvonne Graham, Deputy President for the Borough of Brooklyn and a past WGE honouree, will chair the function.

The annual award ceremony recognizes the increasing contribution of women, who have excelled beyond normal expectations in a multi-cultural society. Starting this year, the WGE event will be recognized as the ‘Emerald Awards’ as an honour to the women of the world who, like the emerald, is a precious gemstone, which improves relationships and meditation, strengthens clairvoyance and psychic abilities, and aids in mental illness.