The Caribbean American Cultural Group, Inc.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2, JULY, 2017

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Who We Are The Caribbean American Cultural Group (CACG) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization located and operating in Port Saint Lucie, Florida for the past 33 years. This organization is governed by a set of by-laws, rules and regulations to which members are held accountable. The organization has a Board of Directors and elections are held every two years. Meetings of the board and general membership are held monthly.

CACG’s goals and objectives are to improve the lives and image of the peoples of the Caribbean in the community, through responsible and progressive citizenship.

Community involvement, cultural presentations and charitable giving, continue to be a vital part of CACG’s mission. Each year scholarships are awarded to high school graduates heading to college. These include the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which is funded from the proceeds of our annual MLK Day Memorial Service.

Annual Sports Days, organized by CACG, are always exciting occasions when the CACG houses compete vigorously. It is always exciting to see both adults and children giving their all on the track. Friday Games Night provide additional fun, when games such as dominoes, ludo, and card games are enthusiastically played and competition is always keen.

Hallmark annual events include our MLK Service in January, Caribbean Independence Service, which is held on the first Sunday in August, followed by our Independence Dance the following Saturday, and our Fall Dinner Ball in October.

Treasure Coast Jerk Festival …… Page 6

Upcoming Activities …… Page 7

CACG Officers, …... Page 8

Directors

& Committee Chairs

Profile of the Quarter …… Page 2

What We Did Recently …… Page 3 & 4

Crossword Puzzle …… Page 5

Dis & Dat …… Page 5

Take A Look Inside

Mr. Fitz H. Dickson III was born in Harlem, New York City (NYC), in 1946. His parents are from Anegada, British Virgin Islands. He has been married to his loving wife, Robin Parker-Dickson for 26 years. They met 33 years ago when they both worked for the New York Transit Authority. Growing up in New York City as a “Caribbean African American,” he was faced with the bigotry and racism of the sixties, but this did not squelch his desire to pursue a successful career.

Mr. Dickson’s father was a New York City postal worker while his mother, Daisy, worked in the New York City school system. He was raised in his aunt’s apartment in NYC. This aunt was a devout Garveyite; therefore, in Mr. Dickson’s own words, “I knew about the teachings of Marcus Garvey and black history before I knew about Santa Claus.”

He graduated from George Westinghouse Vocational High School in 1964 with a diploma in radio and TV Repair Technology. His first child was born in 1965, who unfortunately passed in 2000. His other children are: Veronica, currently living in Long Island; Fitz IV, who retired from the army after 21 years, currently living in Tennessee and majoring in farming; and Terrence, currently a West Palm Beach police officer. He has nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Mr. Dickson started his career with the New York City Transit Authority at the bottom of the ladder, “busting leads”, which is the term used on the railroad to disconnect heavy electrical conductors which are connected between the railroad car body and the propulsion assembly. Because of his prior knowledge of troubleshooting electronics circuits, he soon became adept in troubleshooting and repairing problems in the main group of the propulsion control system. He passed the necessary test to become a supervisor and was promoted to be a Deputy Supervisor. After 28 years with the NYC Transit Authority, Mr. Dickson retired in 1996. Looking back on his life experience, he has one simple advice for young people entering the workforce, “Stick with it. Know what your goal is and work towards it even through frustration and setbacks.”

He related a sobering experience that he will never forget. So sobering that it brought tears to his eyes. This was on the occasion of his first visit to Jamaica. Seeing black people in control in all strata of society — police, judges, Members of Parliament, Prime Minister — was all new to him. It was the first time he saw black people in positions where respect is given and received. Being a devout Garveyite, he asked his tour guide to make a stop at Marcus Garvey’s grave site. This was an unscheduled stop, but the tour guide obliged. While he was paying homage and adu-lation to the person who did so much to liberate the minds of black people, a group of black educators from the Washington DC school system, with whom he was travelling, were quite upset that their tour was diverted to view Garvey’s grave site.

After Fitz retired from his job with the NYC Transit Authority in 1996, he relocated to Port Saint Lucie and joined CACG in 1997. He has described his service to CACG as a labor of love. He has volunteered for work in the CACG organization as a building maintenance person, doing painting, carpentry, gardening and other maintenance work for many years. He has served as a CACG Board Member, served on the Ball Committee, Scholarship Committee, Enter-tainment Committee and the MLK Committee. He has also served as chairman of the Scholarship Committee and is particularly proud to see this committee growing from two scholarship awards to ten awards this year. Fitz is the cur-rent bar manager.

The life of Fitz A. Dickson III embodies the advice that he has for young people entering the workforce, “Stick with it.”

[W. Reid]

PAGE 2 Profile Of The Quarter VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEES

Treasure Coast High School - (MLK Jr.)

Arielly Medeiros Dias is a dual enrolled student at Indian River State College and Fort Pierce Westwood High School graduated with a 3.95 GPA and is now enrolled at the University of Florida with plans to major in biology. She is the recipient of one of our MLK Jr. scholarships. She worked with Sr. Stephen Lapointe at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Dr. Ronald Cave at the Insti-tute of Food and Agriculture, and became convinced that a career in agriculture should be her goal. Her hope is to become an international biologist with a doctorate degree.

Larnie Petit-Frere will begin her career in Biomedical Science, starting with her enrollment at the University of Central Florida. She stated that to become this type of sci-entist would require her to become a Ph.D. and would require many levels of training, but in the end, it would be worth it because it’s what she is passionate about. With her mother on disability and her father working two jobs, she knows about hard work and wants the American Dream.

Fort Pierce Westwood High School – (MLK Jr.)

Jennifer Arriola graduated from Fort Pierce Westwood High School with a 3.97 GPA and is now enrolled at Indi-an River State College to major in Criminal Justice. She is also the recipient of our second MLK Jr. scholarship this year. She has volunteered at Teen Court through the Criminal Justice Program, where she has served as a bail-iff and as a defense attorney. Jennifer plans to become a police officer one day. In the end, she hopes to join the army, where doors can open for her, for she wants to serve her country and become an immigration lawyer to help others.

Fort Pierce Central High School

Darcie W. Milfort is a dual enrolled student at Indian Riv-er State College, and will be enrolled at the University of South Florida to pursue a career in journalism. She likes being in front of people expressing her thoughts, and writ-ing has never been a challenge to her. She noted, that as the years have gone by, her passion for public speaking and writing have increased, and her parents made it clear that in the future, she needs something that would be ful-filling in life. She stated that a job is a source of income, but a career is a source of financial stability and joy. Her organizational and time management skills were noted by her guidance director as beyond someone of a mere 17 years of age.

Vicky Laura Oralus will continue her career in Criminal Justice enrolling at Florida International University. She was raised by her Dad who is a single parent. As a young woman who has been part of the St. Lucie Coun-ty School System since kindergarten, she notes that she is thankful for the opportunities provided for her educa-tional journey, and the push that her teachers gave her

(Continued on page 4)

SPORTS

READY! It was time again for CACG’s annual Sports Day, Saturday, June 3, 2017, which was held at Sports-man's Park-West located at 220 N.W. Irving St. Port St. Lucie, FL. CACG’s three Houses — Blue, Green and Red competed fiercely but friendly against each other in track events.

SET! All eyes were on the regimented presentation of the colors by the Color Guards from the Treasure Coast High School. This preceded an inspirational speech from the Port St Lucie Chief of Police John Bolduc. CACG 10th Annual sports day was declared open.

GO! Was the insistent cry from the starter all day which sent the athletes on their way and the crowd in a frenzy, cheering on their runners. Competitors were from all age groups. The inherent propensity for track and field was evident all day in the younger athletes, as were the vicarious thrills on their parent’s faces. For the competi-tors on the other side of the age spectrum, one has to wonder what could have been, had they pursued a ca-reer in track and field.

Blue House had the early lead coming into Sports Day by virtue of points gained from victories in Ludo, Scrabble, French Dominoes and Darts. Red House was second and Green House was holding up the rear. On Sports Day the tables were turned due to the outstand-ing performances by the Green House athletes.

Blistering displays of speed and endurance were on show all day by all athletes. When the dust settled Green House came out winners, Red House was second and Blue House third. It was great to be a part of and a witness to the coming together of people competing hard but amicably against each other. Sports is truly a unifying component of life and good living.

[Conrad Brown]

Page 3 What We Did Recently VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 4 What We Did Recently VOLUME 5 , ISSUE 2

(Scholarship awards — from page 4)

to be a dual enrollment student at Indian River State Col-lege, where she will obtain an Associate’s degree this spring. She has also participated in the Teen Court as a bailiff and as an attorney. After completing her degree, she would like to become a certified paralegal or lawyer’s assistant to gain more experience, and continue on to graduate school to become a lawyer. She has not decided what area of law she would like to practice, but her inter-ests are corporate law and criminal law.

Kevin Alec Pertuch is a dual enrollment student at Indian River State College where he will attain his Associate’s degree before graduating from high school. He will enroll at the University of Central Florida where he hopes to earn a Bachelor’s degree as well as a Master’s degree. His ultimate goal is to obtain a Doctorate in English. In the past two years, enrolled at Indian River State College, he has figured out that he has a passion for Literature and creative writing. Kevin noted that he was diagnosed with Group B Strep Bacterial Meningitis as an infant, and throughout his schooling he has had a bit of difficulty doing some things that are second nature to others. He mentioned that he is legally blind and can never drive, but the good thing is that he will be staying on campus and can walk everywhere he needs to go.

Amy Bui will be enrolling in the University of Florida to pursue a career in Chemistry. She noted that as a young child, numerous dreams and aspirations have flowed through her mind providing her with the motivation to do well in school. She became increasingly interested in medicine and medical practices. She wants to be a phar-macist, where she can give back to the community.

Jordon Charles Wilkerson is a dual enrollment student at Indian River State College. He will be attending Florida A&M University to major in Mechanical Engineering. One of his academic coordinators, noted that she has watched him grow from a timid, quiet pre-teen into a humble responsible young man. She observed him take an active engagement in his academics, while balancing sports and a social life. He participated in various work-shops that were hosted at school, which, she believes made him a leader and a better student. Jordon noted that after graduation, he plans to pursue a career with either General Motors or the Ford Motor Company to become a design engineer.

Andersen S. Aurelien will be enrolling at the University of Florida to major in Biology. His aspiration is to be-come a doctor. Andersen states that his passion is assist-ing females in reproductive health, by being an OB/GYN. He will also be graduating with an associate’s arts degree from Indian River State College. His ultimate ca-reer goal is to provide affordable health care and the

appropriate assistance to women in marginalized popula-tions and communities from the United States to Haiti and Indonesia.

St. Lucie West Centennial High School

Grayson S. Warren will continue his education by enrol-ling at Indian River State College to study Digital Media. He stated that growing up, he was taught the following skills to achieve his goals in life.

Firstly, determine what sets your heart on fire, keep on the positive side, make a plan, and lastly, make it happen. What set his heart on fire is being creative, designing characters and stories that make people experience pow-erful emotions that can change their lives, even for a mo-ment. Being a dual enrollment student, he can now con-centrate on his passion of being a concept artist and look forward to working in the gaming industry at the conclu-sion of his studies.

[James Haughton]

HIGH TEA

The CACG headquarters was brimming with guests as the organization recently celebrated its 3rd Annual High Tea, Fashion Show & Silent Auction. This is one of many civic events held by CACG throughout the year.

The High Tea helps to promote fellowship among the culturally diverse group and helps to provide funding for CACG’s civic programs such as scholarship awards.

Emcee Phil Stephenson opened the affair with a talk about the finer points of tea party etiquette. Many were surprised to learn that extend-ing one’s pinky when holding your tea cup is considered rude.

During refreshment, attendees enjoyed a festive fashion show. Professional dancers Greg Delekta and Gill Bo-gacik with the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Stuart brought cheers with their performance of rumba, cha cha and salsa dances.

Adapted from “The Luminaries”

CACG SINGERS

CACG Gospel Fiesta hosted by our CACG Singers is an annual event put on to raise funds to defray the cost of our annual Independence Service held in August. (continued on page 7)

Page 5

ACROSS

1. CARIBBEAN AMERICAN ORGANIZATION 3. SOUTHERNMOST US CITY ON MAINLAND 7. COUNTRY IN AFRICA 9. FAR AWAY 10. CLASSIC TRUCK 11. CONSUMER REPORT (ABBR.) 13. MARLON — 15. LAUGHTER 16. PERIOD OF TIME 17. WHAT SOME JAMAICANS CALL THIS LONDON BOROUGH 20. BIND 21. LAND MASS 22. BEGINNING 23. BREAKFAST STAPLE (PL.)

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8

9

10

11 12

13 14

15

16

17 18 19

20

21

22

23

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

W. Reid

Answers on page 7.

Promise that you won’t cheat.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

DOWN

1. NATIVE WEST INDIAN

2. SOUTH AMERICAN CARIBBEAN

COUNTRY

3. TROPICAL FRUITS

4. REFERENCE TO INDIA (PREFIX)

5. ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF EDU (PREFIX)

6. STEPPING IN MILITARY STYLE

8. PET NAME FOR GORDON

10. WHAT YOU PAY TO TRAVEL (PL.)

12. SOUTH AFRICAN CURRENCY (PL.)

14. INSTRUMENT OF CONTROL

18. BEVERAGE

19. FALL BEHIND

20. — AND FRO

21. PRONOUN

Dis and Dat Watch Your Words. We know that the same words can mean different things, but even that meaning can have differ-ent meanings, depending on the context. This smart kid (or so he thought) went to his teacher and asked, “Teacher, what is the meaning of the word ‘conclusion’.” The teacher answered, “Conclusion means the end of something.” This young man got quite swell-headed and was very anxious to use his new-found big word. He went to church the following Sunday, just as the parson was riding in on his horse. This was in the days when the status symbol was a horse and not a Cadillac. The smart young man saw a burr on the end of the horse’s tail. He ran up to the parson and shouted as loud as he could so that everybody could hear his new big word, “Parson! Parson! There is a burr on your horse tail conclusion!”

@@@ @@@ @@@

Caribbean Proverbs

> > > If you can’t ketch Quaku, you ketch im shut.

> > > When snake bite you and you see lizard, you run.

> > > Not everything good fe eat good fe talk.

> > > Every dog have im day, and every puss have im four-a-clock.

> > > Rain a fall but dutty still tuff.

> > > See and blind, hear and deaf.

> > > No hang you hat where you have to tek tick tek it down.

[P. Young] [Members and friends are invited to submit proverbs.]

………………………………………………

Labor for learning before you grow old, for learning is better than silver and gold. Silver and gold will vanish away, but a good education will never decay.

……………………………………………..

Page 6 Treasure Cost Jerk Festival VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

On July 29, 2017, all roads lead to the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. The big event will be the presentation of the first annual Treasure Coast Jerk Festival by the Caribbean American Cultural Group. West Palm Beach had its Sun-fest in early May, the Garlic Festival was held in Delray Beach last year, but has now been moved to Lake Worth. The annual Greek Festival and Octoberfest are quite popu-lar in Southern Florida, but when it comes to cultural diver-sity, exotic food and scintillating music, none of the other festivals can compare with the Treasure Coast Jerk Festi-val.

This festival is as unique as the Caribbean people them-selves, who are a mosaic of Africans, Europeans, Chinese, Indians (from India), Lebanese, Jews, the indigenous people of the Caribbean and the Americas. Classifying na-tive Caribbean people can be tricky since various people call them by different names in different locations, but throughout the region, they have been known by one or more of the following names: Arawakan, Caribs, Tainos, Lucayans, or Amerindians. The name “Caribbean” is derived from the Caribs who populated the region adjacent to what is now called the Caribbean Sea.

This diversity is responsible for the rich blending of music in the Caribbean. From the Southern Caribbean regions of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, to the Greater Antilles con-sisting of Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, you can dance to the beat of reggae, mento, calypso, soca, sal-sa, cha-cha, rumba and many other genres of music. The reggae genre, which was popularized by the Jamaican ar-tiste, Bob Marley, now has a world wide following. Any worthwhile Caribbean American party must have a pre-dominant quota of reggae and soca music.

The history of the Caribbean is also reflected in its cuisine.. When the British captured Jamaica in 1655, the Spanish colonists fled, leaving behind a large number of slaves. Rather than be re-enslaved by the British, they escaped into the mountains of Jamaica, where they mixed in with the local Tainos. They were later joined by other runaway slaves. Ultimately, the British had to recognize their inde-pendence.

Wild pigs were plentiful in “them there mountains” and these “Maroons,” as they were called, put their skills of open pit barbequing to good use and created what we now call jerk pork. This jerk pork was so spicy and appetizing that now people are jerking everything from chicken to fish.

Boston Bay in Portland, Jamaica, is the birthplace of the legendary “Jamaican jerk pork.” All jerk pork and jerk chicken are measured against the Boston Bay standard. There are a lot of cooks who claim that they are jerking pork and chicken, but if you have tasted the Boston Bay jerk products, it will be easy to distinguish between the real thing and the fake. [W. Reid]

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GOTO: www.cacgpsl.com Facebook page: Caribbean American Cultural Group

Page 7 Upcoming Events VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1

MLK Jr. Memorial

CACG Singers…. continued from page 4)

The CACG hall was full to capacity for this event.

Everyone was dancing in their seats while singing along with the CACG Singers. Kudos to Creswell Scott and the

CACG Singers for a spiritually uplifting program.

[ F. Williams ]

JULY 4 ………. BBQ

JULY 9 ………. CABARET

JULY 15 .…… ANNUAL FAMILY DAY PICNIC

AT FT. PIERCE JAYCEE PARK

AUG. 5 ……. BACK -TO- SCHOOL GIVEAWAY

AUG. 6………. INDEPENDENCE SERVICE

AUG. 12 …… INDEPENDENCE DANCE

SEPT. 4 ……….LABOR DAY BACK- A- YAAD STYLE

SEPT. 23 ……...BUS TRIP

OCT. 7….……..… ANNUAL FALL BALL

NOV. 4 ……..….. 70S/80S THEME PARTY

NOV. 18 ……..... SPORTS APPRECIATION PARTY

NOV. 16 .……... THANKSGIVING BASKETS GIVEAWAY

DEC. 9 ……..…. BUS TRIP FT. LAUDERDALE BAPTIST

CHURCH PAGEANT

DEC. 16 ……..... ANNUAL MEMBER CHRISTMAS PARTY

DEC. 21 …….… CHRISTMAS TOYS GIVEAWAY

DEC. 30 …….... ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY

[Submitted by M. Thompson]

@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @

ACROSS

1. CACG

3. MIAMI

7. UGANDA

9. YONDER

10. FARGO

11. CR

13. BRANDO

DOWN

1. CARIB

2. GUYANA

3. MANGOES

4. INDO.

5. ADE

6. MARCHING

8. GORD

10. FARES

12. RANDS

14. REIN

18. ALE

19. LAG

20. TO

21. IT

15. HA

16. ERA

17. EALIN

20. TIE

21. ISLAND

22. ONSET

23. EGGS

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Exquisite hats paraded at the High Tea

@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Page 8 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1

CACG OFFICERS

President …………… Neville Lake Financial Secretary … Karlene Knight

Vice President ……… Arthur Alexander Treasurer ………….... Mezrena Brown

Secretary …………… Marcia Grubb Assistant Secretary…...Merlene Pryce

AUDIT ………………………..……. MELROSE SANGSTER

BALL ……………………………...… DOROTHY MCFARLANE

BENEVOLENCE …………...…. FIONA WILLIAMS

ENTERTAINMENT …..……... PAULETTE BLAIR-ALEXANDER

MAXINE THOMPSON

FINANCE …………………….….. ERROL TYRELL

INDEPENDENCE SERVICE … DOROTHY MCFARLANE

MEMBERSHIP ………...……. JIM HAUGHTON

MLK SERVICE ……………...…….. DAWN BLOOMFIELD

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT … PHIL STEPHENSON

ROY JACKSON

PUBLIC RELATIONS …….…….. WILL EUROPE

NEVILLE LAKE

SCHOLARSHIP ……….…….…….. VASCO COOMBS

. LORRAINE HUNTER

SPORTS ……………..……………… DOUGLAS WALTERS

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PAULETTE BLAIR-ALEXANDER JAMES HAUGHTON PHILLIP STEPHENSON

DAWN BLOOMFIELD DOROTHY MCFARLANE MAXINE THOMPSON

The CACG BEACON is a publication of the Public Relations Committee of CACG. Editor: Wilberforce Reid

CONTACT US: www.cacgpsl.com; email: cacginc1984@yahoo.com

Phone: 1-772-237-4022 (office), 1-772-834-2522 (President)

Address: 10012 S. Federal Highway (US 1), Port St. Lucie, FL 34952