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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The second annual Jamaican Independence Ball hosted by the Rochester Jamaican Organization, was held on July 25th, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.. We were delighted to have celebrated the 46th anniversary of Jamaica’s birth as an independent nation.
Since we last met, Jamaica has continued to build on its rich legacy of international prominence. Millions of people continue to flock to our homeland as a tourist destination, Reggae music continues to gain in international appeal and Jamaican Usain (a.k.a Lightening) Bolt set a new world record in the one hundred meters dash, smashing the old mark set by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell only a few years ago.
Since we celebrated our 45th anniversary, the people of Jamaica have also elected a new government. The People’s National Party government of Jamaica’s first female Prime Minister Portia Simpson has been replaced by Bruce Golding’s Jamaica Labour Party.
As we celebrate our 46th year of independence, we Jamaicans in this new Diaspora should become active in the local communities of our adapted homeland even as we seek to build on the legacy of our great nation and do everything we can to propagate the Jamaican culture. Curry goat and white rice, salt fish and ackee, mackerel and banana, fried dumpling and plantain should continue to grace our tables, the domino games should never stop in our basements, Red Stripe beer should continue to flow and of course, there should be no Jamaican household where the sweet sound of reggae music does not echo under the watchful eye of a black green and gold flag.
So as we pay our respects to the elders before us and we welcome and nurture a new generation of Jamaicans, lets us all be mindful of, and continue to live out the true meaning of our creed - out of many one people.
I hope all enjoyed the festivities and remember that your support is critical for this organization to continue its support of Jamaica’s youth and its elderly.
Thank you all for being there and as usual “unu walk good and tek care” until next year.
Deloris Lewis President – Rochester Jamaican Organization, Inc.
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46th Independence Gala |
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‘So as we pay our respects to the elders before us and we welcome and nurture a new generation of Jamaicans, lets us all be mindful of, and continue to live out the true meaning of our creed - out of many one people’ |
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Rochester Jamaican Organization, Inc. P.O. Box 24287 Rochester, NY 14624
Phone: 585-234-2119
Email: rochesterjamaicanorg@yahoo.com
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To contact us:
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Deloris Lewis |
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About our Guest Speaker, Consul General of Jamaica to NY Hon. Geneive Brown Metzger
Mrs. Brown Metzger has also been a Director of Policy and Government Relations at the National Council of Negro Women, Senior Administrator at New York Civil Liberties Union, and at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. She was the national Managing Director of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the U.S. Supreme desegregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1977, she also was the administrator of the 25th anniversary celebration of the same case.
Her very successful consulting practice was merged with the worldwide Public Relations firm Ruder Finn in 1990, where she established the Emerging Markets and Caribbean Business division. Ruder Finn currently manages the Public Relations account for the Jamaica Tourist Board and Air Jamaica Limited.
In 1999, Mrs. Brown Metzger received the Centennial Award presented to an Outstanding Past Student of St. Hugh’s High School. She also received the Minority Business of the Year Award from the National Minority Business Council (NMBC), and the Achievement Award from the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York. She has been featured in The New York Times, on FOX NY television, The Jamaica Gleaner, and in several U.S. and Caribbean media.
She is an amateur classical violinist and a devoté of the arts, serving over the years on the Caribbean Steering Committee of the Brooklyn College Center for the Performing Arts, the Board of Directors of the Paramount Center for the Arts and special committee of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She’s the founder of the Amadeus Circle, and the One World Arts and Culture Fest, a multi-day cultural celebration on the Hudson River in northern New York.Mrs. Brown Metzger holds a Bachelors from CUNY and a Masters from Columbia University. She is married to Dr. Stephen Metzger, an Economist. They have two daughters. |
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46th Independence Gala Beneficiary ROSE HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL Rose Hill – Manchester – Jamaica W.I.
The approximately 150 years old Rose Hill Primary School (formerly Elementary then All-Age) situated in rural Manchester, has faithfully served the district of Rose Hill and the surrounding communities with distinction.
This small rural school, which has always been served by a small staff of committed, dedicated teachers – (a Principal and two assistants) is proud of the caliber of citizens it has produced over the years.
Recently it has weathered many challenges – not least of which have been rural migration and the latest hurricanes which almost completely destroyed the school plant. With repairs now completed and some upgrading done and with a promised donation of running water, the staff is forging ahead with the business of education.
The area of need identified by the current Principal and the immediate past Principal (both former pupils of Rose Hill School) is that of enhancing the capacity for the use of information technology for teaching and
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VISION BAND
Vision Band performs for many different organizations, churches and groups. In addition, they have performed in various country clubs and clubs in the New York City (5 boroughs) area, Florida, Kingston, Jamaica, Minnesota, Rochester (summer festival), Barbados, Rhode Island etc.
Vision band exhibits a sound that gets bodies moving and feet dancing. Vision performs soca, reggae, rhythm & blues, oldies, jazz etc. which takes the band to their own level. Vision’s performances are delivered with an electric energy that leaves audiences begging for more, much more. |
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Mrs. Geneive Brown Metzger was appointed Jamaica’s eight Consul General to New York City on February 21, 2008, succeeding Hon. Dr. Basil K. Bryan. Up until her appointment, Mrs. Brown Metzger was a Public Relations & Marketing Consultant –-working in that industry for the past 28 years. She has lived most of her adult life here in these United States where she established the firm Geneive Brown Associates in 1984.
She is a founding member of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), the Jamaican Association of Alumni Associations (UJAA), and has served on several trade and investment Boards in the USA. She also served on the African American Advisory Board to Westchester County Executive, Andrew Spano and on New York Governor Cuomo Committee on Black Affairs in the 1980’s.
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learning. with the two functional computers they now have, the teachers would be able to make greater use of these, if other equipment such as a multimedia projector, a printer or a scanner were present. This would be especially useful since multiple grade levels (grades 1, 2 & 3) are simultaneously housed in the same classroom due to limited resources. As a result, teachers are challenged to find materials and activities to keep students in divergent groups on task and learning, in the midst of the teacher’s divided attention in the classroom.
The school would greatly appreciate donations that will increase its capacity to enable students to function as technologically literate individuals in their current environment and to prepare them for the secondary stage of education and for life. The school would then be assisting students to be true to its motto: “Not for school but for life we learn”. |
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