The Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) Caribbean American Heritage Awards Gala was held on November 17, in Washington, DC at the JW Marriott hotel.
The event was attended by over 200 people from across the country who started the evening by sipping cocktails at the receptions immediately preceding the awards dinner.
Dame Maureen Bunyan opened the evening welcoming all as one of the hosts of the Gala. Her co-host Jason Martin joined her on stage for remarks thanking all who were in attendance and offering congratulations to the awardees. Bunyan and Martin also recognized Dr. Claire Nelson who was acknowledged as the real force behind the successful event. Dr. Nelson in remarks to the audience urged everyone to excel and join forces in advancing the interests of Caribbean Americans.
Guests were treated to live music during dinner and then the program began with Dame Bunyan serving as emcee.
The awards program recognized people from across the Caribbean in a number of areas of excellence. The awardees included:
The list of awardees included
- Glendon F. Archer, PhD (Guyana)- Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award
- Clive O. Callender, MD (Barbados) – Excellence in Medicine Award
- Jennifer Carroll, Former Lieutenant Governor of Florida (Trinidad) – Trailblazer Award
- Eliot Engel, Congressman – Outstanding Political Leadership Award
- Prof. Henry Lowe, OJ, CD, PhD, DCS (Jamaica) – Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award
- Shauna “Etana” McKenzie Morris (Jamaica) – Excellence in the Arts Award
- Nneka Norville (Guyana) – Vanguard Award
- Karl A. Racine (Haiti) – Forerunner Award
- Walker A. Williams Jr. – Legacy Award (Special Tribute-Posthumous)
- Bevil Wooding (Trinidad & Tobago) – Excellence in Science and Technology Award
Each awardee was presented with a unique hand crafted award by the Ambassador from their Caribbean home countries. Each awardee provided short remarks talking about their journey and hopes for the future.
A silent auction ran throughout the evening with proceeds dedicated to victims of the hurricanes which recently ripped through the Caribbean.
Live music by steel band PANLARA and the Image Band added to the overall sense of festivity during the evening which ended with an after-dinner party for all attendees.
Congratulations to the awardees and to the organizers of this wonderful event which was recorded and will be broadcast on Boxing day (December 26, 2017)
