CLQ01082021 - Page 24

By Nelson A. King New York State Sen. Zellnor Y. Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) this week issued Senate Commendation Awards to healthcare workers and community leaders who have shown exceptional dedication to Brooklyn and New York this year. Myrie, who represents the 20th Senatorial District, said “the Commendation Award is the second-highest honor the Senate can grant to an individual, and is reserved for those who go above and beyond in their service and commitment.” Each honoree was presented with their award and a proclamation honoring their service. “During this dark year, we have seen several bright lights who have provided extraordinary service to our community by stepping up and helping others,” Myrie said. “As frontline workers in our hospitals and nursing homes, advocates for our tenants and businesses, Sen. Zellnor Myrie (left) with and Prof. Richard Green. Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s Offi ce �� Caribbean L 24 ife, JANUARY 8-14, 2021 and activists working with and for our young people, these incredible individuals have shown remarkable dedication in the midst of a global pandemic, a recession and an ongoing fight for racial, social and economic justice. “Presenting the Senate Commendation Award is one of the highest honors I can bestow on these community leaders,” he added. “I am so proud to recognize them for their service.” The awardees comprised included Kings County Hospital employees Arthur Tuohy, Captain Barry Felton, Dr. Joseph Gorga and Gem Snagg; McKinny Nursing Home employees Angela Cooper, Fredrick Okunade Adeyemi, Janet Ethel Larghi and LaJenna Bartley; Dale Charles, IMPACCT Brooklyn; Dr. John Flateau (Medgar Evers College); Prof. Richard Green, Medgar Evers College and Crown Heights Youth Collective; Judith Goldiner, Legal Aid Society’s Civil Law Reform Unit; Dr. Robert Gore, KAVI (Kings Against Violence Initiative); and Pastor Gilford Monrose, 67th Precinct Clergy Council. Jamaican hotelier Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart dies By Nelson A. King Legendary Jamaican hotelier, and founder, owner and chairman of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and their parent company Sandals Resorts International, Gordon “Butch” Stewart died Monday evening. He was 79. Stewart was also chairman of The ATL Group and its subsidiaries, Appliance Traders and the Jamaica Observer, according to Barbados Today. The online news outlet said Stewart passed away in the US while receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. “It is with great sadness that I share with you today the passing of our founder and chairman, and my father, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart,” said Adam Stewart in announcing his father’s death. “This news seems almost unbelievable, since our chairman was as involved and forward thinking as ever,” he added. “He chose to keep a very recent health diagnosis private, and we respected that wish. “The Hon. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, OJ, a distinction he was so proud of, was a gifted entrepreneur,” Adam Stewart continued. “He was a marketing genius and talented showman, but those who knew him best recognized that he was a dreamer who could dream bigger and better than anyone. “It was often said, ‘the best thing for people around him to do is be dream catchers,” he said. Jamaica’s minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett expressed deep sadness at the passing of the tourism stalwart. “Butch was truly an icon and innovator, philanthropist and, perhaps, the greatest marketer tourism has ever seen,” he said. “Sandals is, indeed, the largest and most enduring brand created by a Caribbean entrepreneur in tourism and arguably the world today, and the standard by which luxury All Inclusive is judged. Myrie honors community leaders ��