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24  THE COURIER SUN  •  FEBRUARY 16, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Black History Month Honorees at Queens Black History Month celebration Jacqueline Grace Boyce Executive Director Southern Queens Park Association Borough President’s Award For Jacqueline Grace Boyce, it’s all about making a better life for kids across southern Queens. Boyce is presently the executive director of the Southern Queens Park Association (SQPA), which oversees five local after-school programs and is responsible for managing events and areas within Roy Wilkins Park. Her career has been dedicated to social work in the community. She served as director and manager at the Human Resources Administration for 33 and was director and manager for the Office of Family Services, Office of Legal Affairs and the Division of Foster Care Preplacement Services and Bureau of Child Enforcement Services. Boyce is also heavily involved in local politics as the Democratic District Leader in the 29th Assembly District, a post she was elected to 20 years ago. She represents the areas of Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens. She’s also a member of the Democratic County Committee of Queens County and is executive member of the Elmer H. Blackburne Regular Democratic Club. Boyce has also been a member of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and was elected President of the Queens County Section for three four-year terms. She was also elected to serve on the National Board of Directors of the National Council of Negro Women from 2005-2009 working side by side with the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Chairperson and President Emeritus. Her tremendous involvement in the community will be recognized by Borough President Katz with a special award at the borough president’s Black History Month ceremony. “If I can help somebody as I pass along the way then my living shall not be in vain,” Boyce said. Elsie Saint Louis Executive Director Haitian American United for Progress Civic Award Elsie Saint Louis leads the Haitian Americans United for Progress Inc. (HAUP), a community-based organization dedicated to empowering and serving the community through education, training, culture sensitive programs and events, and other support services and programs since 1975. Under her leadership, HAUP has carried out a multimillion-dollar capital campaign which has gained significant support from New York state and city governments. The New York Times has featured her writings on the appropriate responses to the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti in January 2010. HAUP has received numerous awards and commendations for its dedication to service for the benefit of the poor in the Greater Cambria Heights community. Nathaniel Valentine Journalism Award Nathaniel Valentine is a second-generation New Yorker who has lived in Queens for more than seven decades. During his childhood, Nat developed a love for music and art. Nat was married to Rosalie Clinton in 1959, the same year he was hired by the U. S. Postal Service assigned to work at JFK Airport. During his 30 years of service, he spent his off hours playing music and taking photographs. Upon his retirement in 1989, Nat was able to devote all his time pursuing his photographic skills. Now, 27 years later, Nat has photographed many of the events in southeast Queens being published by several news organizations. He has also done documentary photos for major construction firms, traveled around the United States documenting conferences and special events, and to foreign countries covering medical missions and private expeditions. Nat says he loves what he does and when asked how he is doing, he always says, “marvelous!” Ralph McDaniels Video Music Box host Lifetime Achievement Award Growing up in Brooklyn and Queens, McDaniels aspired to be a DJ. He attended New York Institute of Technology where he studied communications– TV–film and graduated with a B.A. It was at this time that he started noticing an alarming array of talented hip-hop artists continuously being rejected and suppressed by mainstream media, and he wanted to give those overlooked artists a platform where they could be acknowledged by the consumers who craved them. McDaniels decided to take matters into his own hands and approached a local TV station with an idea to host a music-video show called Video Music Box (VMB). With radio, TV, and film under his belt, McDaniels had his feet firmly planted in almost every facet of hip-hop culture. In 1996, McDaniels would go on to add fashion to his repertoire with the creation of a New York Urban Fashion show called “The Phat Fashion,” which would feature start up urban clothing lines of designers such as Daymond John of FUBU. Soon after, McDaniels further cemented his place within the urban fashion scene with the launch of Uncle Ralph’s Urban Gear, a Brooklyn-based clothing store and T-shirt line. By 1997, McDaniels was hired as an onair personality to host a hip-hop radio show on New York’s Hot 97 that reached over 6 million listeners within the Tri-State area. Shearon Smith, Entrepreneur St. Best Jerk Spot Business Award Shearon Smith was born in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, West Indies, and came to St. Albans, Queens in 1986 with her husband Winston and two small children. Smith began her career in the banking industry as a mortgage administrator with Amalgamated Bank of New York for 25 years. Later, Smith decided to follow her longtime dream to become a business owner and opened St. Best Jerk Spot in Springfield Gardens. St. Best was named after Smith’s community St. Elizabeth, as a way to honor her Jamaican heritage. With a widely known signature dish, jerk chicken, St. Best Jerk Spot soared in popularity and has been widely supported by community. Smith’s passion for providing wholesome meals and giving back has led to an annual tradition on Labor Day where St. Best offers free food to customers. Additionally, St. Best often partners with local community organizations, catering to parties, meetings and other events. Smith now resides in Rosedale with her husband and is the mother to three, and grandmother to four. Bill Briggs President & CEO Youth and Tennis Academy Sport Awards The Youth and Tennis Academy came into existence as the result of a single question asked by two 8-year-old boys in 1972. They asked Bill Briggs if he could teach them how to play tennis. He then began coaching five young boys who came from home without fathers. The combination of teaching the sport of tennis and serving as a mentor to these youngsters became part of the mission of Youth and Tennis Academy. As a result, one of the youngsters served as coach for many years at the Academy. Since 1972, the Academy has taught over 30,000 youth how to play tennis. The program has grown to include not only tennis, but to provide academic and social support services to children, adolescents and their families in our community. The Youth and Tennis Academy seeks to encourage youth to become socially, emotionally and physically more competent, not only for competition in tennis, but for competition in life. Bill started playing tennis out of a curiosity and desire to broaden and enhance his life. Little did he realize that that desire would lead him to start a tennis academy. He competed in tennis championships on the East Coast and many local amateur tournaments in New Jersey, Connecticut and winning the Masters Event in Queens, NY. In addition to tennis awards, he has received numerous community awards: the Lions International, Rotary Club, York College Leadership Award, Citibank Citizenship Award, NAACP Community Service Award, Martin Luther King Leadership Award, and was inducted into the New England Tennis Association Hall of Fame for 30 years of service.


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