Friends of Jamaica 23rd Annual Gala

Nov 5, 2005

Waldorf Astoria, NYC

A very generous and passionate group of people, indeed—I’m talking about American Friends of Jamaica, the organization, headed by Former Ambassador Glen A. Holden, which dedicates itself to the economic, educational and lifestyle advancement of the people in Jamaica. The organization has made much progress despite the devastating effects of Hurricane Ivan this past summer. Advancements have been made in the field of medicine, with the founding of the Mombey Hope Medical (thanks to Mr. & Mrs Sydney Engel)—a modern, state-of-the-art facility with many forms of diagnostic medicine and treatment available. This is quite an achievement considering that Jamaica is still a developing country.

The event was fabulous. It started out with David “Squeeze” Annaki, the Master of Ceremonies for the night, welcoming the audience, after which Dr. Leacroft sang both the Jamaican and American National Anthems most beautifully. The National Anthems were followed by a touching film presentation of the work which American Friends of Jamaica is doing for the Jamaican communities. Of course, it would be pointless to mention the work that Friends of Jamaica is doing for the community without including Michael Lee-Chin, a great philanthropist, indeed, who’s great vision took him from rags to riches, being born into “humble circumstances” and ending up purchasing AIC Limited in 1987, where he took AIC to the top, turning it into the largest privately-owned investment firm in Canada (with assets exceeding $11 Billion.) He then took revenues from the empire he created and invested them into Jamaica, to further the cause of Friends of Jamaica, facilitating university scholarships and better elementary school education, and realizing his vision that all children in Jamaica, regardless of economic stature, should have access to quality education.

When Mr. Lee-Chin took the podium to receive his International Humanitarian award, he gave great insight into his formula for success, highlighting different essential character traits, including the focus one needs to perservere after his/her goal, the courage to stick with his/her pursuits, and the confidence that he/she can attain his/her goal. Mr. Lee-Chin then reiterated the classic quote “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” His incredible growth started with an education for which he paid $2,000 for this first year in college and, after having personally contacted the then Prime Minister of Jamaica regarding his vision and need for education—showing his him grades, Mr. Lee-Chin received from Jamaica a full scholarship to attend his second, third and fourth year of college. Listening to Mr. Lee-Chin was a great inspiration to everyone at the event.

This beautiful event could was complimented with a wonderful dinner, an elegant dessert, and plenty of dancing. We had the pleasure of meeting a number of dignitaries who were on hand to support this wonderful cause, including Ambassador Glen Holden (Ret.) of Jamaica, the President of Friends of Jamaica; Ambassador to Jamaica Gordon Shirley; Dr. Basil Bryan, Consulate General of Jamaica; The Honorable Dr. Omar Lloyd Davies, M.P., Minister of Finance and Planning of Jamaica; Assemblyman Nick Perry; Derrick Cox, President of the Jamaican American Chamber of Commerce; Benjamin Chavis, President of the Hiphop Summit Action Network (HSAN); Gary Foster, President of Upliftment Jamaica, and many more dignitaries who were on hand to give their support. Ms. Chin, from the VP Records Co., was also on hand.

We at Liberty News Online Magazine would like to thank Mr. Lacy Wright, Treasureer and Executive Director for American Friends of Jamaica, for being kind enough to open an invitation for us to come and write about this wonderful event.

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve