The 1998 2nd
Annual
Community Recognition Award
Recipients
Eng. Jacques Dady Jean, Chairman of the Community
Recognition Awards Committee with his wife Karrie.
| Dr. Westley A. Roberts was born in Jamaica, W.I. , and is married with four children. Dr. Roberts has been a Pastor at Peoples Baptist Church in Boston since June of 1982. He is a member of theConference on Faith and History, the Society for the Study of Black Religion, and the American Society of Church History. He served in many different organizations including the Massachusetts Baptist Charitable Society - currently the President; John M. Perkins International Study Center, Jackson, Missippi - Chairman, 1979 - 1983; the Black Ecumenical Commission of Massachusetts, Covenantal Council, 1982 - 1985; and the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, currently the President. |
| Dr. E. Leo Whitworth, Jr., a native of Kingston, Jamaica, W.I., is a Laypreacher at Greenwood's Memorial Methodist Church, he is also on the board of directors of The United Methodist Urban Services (UMUS), Mattapan Head Start Health Advisory Committee and is a Star Volunteer for Career Opportunities for High School Students. Dr. Whitworth, President and CEO of Whitworth Dental Assoc. was recently one of the recipients of the Community Awards from Action for Boston Community Development. Dr. Whitworth was honored for his work with the Mattapan Family Service Center and with the youths of Mattapan. He is on the board of the Mattapan Family Service Center and work with the children in the head start program. Along with being a Clinical Professor at Harvard University's Dental School, he is heavily active in the community and serves as a member of Northeastern University's Corporate Board. |
| Jeannine Crisp was born in Jamaica, W.I. She immigrated to Boston with her family in 1968 and has lived in the Roxbury and Dorchester areas since that time, with the exception of three years spent in Great Falls, Montana during the eighties. She is married with two children. Jeannine participated in the Metco program for most of her early education, she is a graduate of Brookline High School and currently holds a bachelors degree earned at Emerson College. Over the years she has held various positions at John Hancock, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield and the Stride Rite Corp. In August of 1996, she began her own company, Crisp International, an Import and export Management Company focusing in the region of the Caribbean and Latin America. In 1997, she published the first edition of the Massachusetts Directory for the West Indian/ Caribbean community and plans to expand the Directory to include other states in New England. |
| Harvey Alford is an attorney practicing law with the firm of Alford & Bertrand, P.C., with offices located in Mattapan, Quincy and Watertown. He graduated from Boston College and New England School of Law and has been practicing law for almost twenty years. Alford & Bertrand focuses in the areas of immigration, debt relief, personal injury and discrimination. They have been heavily involved with the Haitian community in the City of Boston for several years and has given $20,000 in scholarship funds to Haitian-American High School graduates attending college at Boston University and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Alford & Bertran has also been active in supporting the Louis D. Brown Peace Curriculum which sponsors the training and peace courses in the Boston Public School Department and Harvey Alford has taught courses at the Brighton High School in the peace curriculum for a three year period. |
| Claudine Charlet was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and is the
youngest of the award recipients. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1995. She is a
junior at Hyde Park High School where she is the Vice President of the Junior Class.
She is also a member of the Academy of Finance. Miss Charlet hosts a radio news
segment every tuesday night along with her father on WRCA 1330AM. She uses the air
waves to promote moral values among her peers. Miss Charlet speaks French, Haitian Creole, Spanish and English. |
| Wilce Mascary was born in a small village named Fond-des-blancs in the southern part of Haiti. He immigreated to the U.S. in 1988. Mr. Mascary helped to create COFEX, INC., (Comite des Fond-des blancois de l'exterieur) a Massachusetts-based not-for-profit organization aimed at raising money to fight poverty in his hometown. The organization also has an objective to help the Haitian new comers into the Massachusetts area in many kinds of social services such as immigration, housing, finding work, etc. In 1994, Mr. Mascary attended Northeastern University with the amibition to become an Electrical Engineer which is about to concretize next June. Now he is dreaming about building a power plant in Haiti so he can contribute to resolving the electrical problems in that lovely land. |
| Arthur L. Sutton, Jr., was born and raised in the City of Boston. He has worked as a licensed building contractor in Boston and around the New England states for over thirty years. He has been actively involved in many community organizations throughout the years to promote economic development in the Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan communities. His focus has always been to help young people succeed in all aspects of the building trade. During the times of the "Black Movement" he was a forerunner, in Boston's neighborhoods, to establish organizations vital to the uplifting of the community. Mr. Sutton is currently an elected member of the Codman Square Neighborhood Council, the Four Corners Steering Committee, a member of the Azusa Christian Community Center, the Codman Square Merchants Association, along with many others. In 1994, he began a newspaper The Boston People's Voice Newspaper. He saw another way to help and be involved in the progress of the city; to promote the young and old people to learn what is happening in their neighborhood and the surrounding areas. The Boston People's Voice Newspaper is a free bi-weekly minority newspaper. It claims to educate, promote, and encourage positive actions by people within the neighborhoods of Boston. |
| Cathy Jessamy-Babb was born born in
Barbados. She is the Editor and Publisher of the Caribbean Basin Magazine
which features Caribbean history, culture and theater both nationally and
internationally. She is working toward a doctoral degree with a double major in
Higher Education/ Adult Educationand International Relations. Mrs. Jessamy-Babb is
the President of Caribbean/ American Historical, Cultural and Theatrical Association of
N.E., an organization which she created to promote the Caribbean culture. She is
also the President of Cathy Jessamy-Babb Productions, Inc. (since 1985).
Mrs. Jessamy-Babb is a professor at Salem State College. She is also a commentator on the radio program Caribbean Connections, aired on WRCA 1330 AM on Saturdays from 11:00am-6:00pm. Mrs. Jessamy-Babb is a former representative for the Barbados government to the United Nations. Mrs. Jessamy-Babb is married with two children. She enjoys working hard to educate people about their history and culture. |
| Boston Main Streets is a $4.2 million
public-private initiative of the City of Boston with the National Trust for Historic
Preservation to revitalize Boston's many neighborhood commercial districts through locally
established Main Street organizations. Mayor Menino established Boston Main Streets as the first city-wide Main Streets program in the United States. Ten commercial districts were designated in 1995, and another ten are scheduled for the next two years. Main Street is a comprehensive approach to providing merchant groups and community residents with the tools and information necessary for the historic community center to compete in today's marketplace. Its four key areas of work -- community organization, promotion and image change, design and physical improvements, and economic restructuring -- help neighborhood Main Street organizations capitalize on their unique historical, cultural, and and architectural assets while also addressing the many economic development needs around small business retention and recruitment. Boston Main Streets was the recipient of the 1996 City Excellence Award for Neighborhood Pride, and were chosen from more than 90 teams who competed in six different categories. |
Galerie Haitienne is one of the oldest creole
radio broadcasting organization in Massachusetts designed to inform and educate the new
Haitian immigrants. Its programming includes shows focusing on public health issues
presented by specialists from the Mass. Department of Public Health, civic education,
sports, news and entertainment. Galerie Haitienne has become an important asset to
the community. |