Achievement Award Winners
BOROUGH PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Marcia V. Keizs became the sixth president of York College, a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), in February 2005. The native of Kingston, Jamaica and graduate of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada is also a member of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and part of the American Council on Education’s Commission on Effective Leadership. She has over 30 years of experience in the CUNY system as both an administrator and a professor. Before her appointment as president of York College, she was the vice president of academic affairs at Bronx Community College/CUNY for seven years.
Under Keizs’ leadership, York College has strengthened its academic programs by gaining national accreditations and creating new academic offerings in Aviation Management, Pharmaceutical Science, Journalism and Generic Nursing. Keizs has been credited with placing York firmly on the path to excellence within the CUNY system by her peers, regionally and nationally.
Keizs has served on the boards of the National Council on Black American Affairs, Teachers College Alumni Council, Morris Heights Health Center in the Bronx and the Association of Black Women in Higher Education. Keizs is the founding editor of the New York Carib News and has published articles in her area of specialty, African American Literature.
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: The Varied Internship Program, Inc. (VIP) is a Drug Prevention-Program funded by the New York State Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, founded by Professor James Blake in 1991. The program, located in Jamaica, is designed to involve local merchants in the training and mentoring of youth (ages 14-18) through paid and volunteer internships. The program also provides seminars and workshops on job awareness, career exploration and self-esteem.
The program is known to have a profound impact on young adults, according to Director Nettie Johnson-Burgess. VIP is unique because it involves parents’ participation, field trips and youth from various cultural and economic backgrounds.
The program is “building bridges and bridging gaps” within the community by collaborating with schools and community organizations to achieve a common level of understanding, according to Johnson-Burgess.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Lee Jones has a very diverse résumé but a lot of it has to do with the city in which he lives. A native New Yorker, Jones was born in Manhattan and raised in Jamaica, Queens. Jones attended Jamaica High School where he was captain of the basketball team. Upon graduation, Lee enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years. He was discharged as a sergeant.
In 1964 Jones became a licensed real estate salesman in Richmond Hill and six years later he became a licensed broker. He took his success to a higher level when he purchased Brita Realty, the company he had been working for, from its original owners. In 1979 his office became a franchise, operating as Era Brita Realty Corp. The firm was primarily engaged in the resale home market, managing apartments, appraisals and purchasing houses for renovation.
It was around this same time that Jones started a career in refereeing while his real estate business was a success in southeast Queens and parts of Nassau County. In 1970, after refereeing for a few years at the high school and collegiate level, Jones became an official on the staff of the National Basketball Association. His career as a referee lasted for 25 years, but in 1998 he returned to the NBA as Assistant Director of Officiating. In 2001, Jones sold his business, Era Brita Realty and in 2004 he became a part-time supervisor of officials for the NBA.
In September 2007 Jones retired from the NBA for good. He is married with his wife, Pat, in Babylon. He has lived in Long Island since 1964.
BUSINESS AWARD: RCL has been serving unique and authentic Southern cuisine for over 30 years. The founders of RCL, James and Helen Sanders, opened a small fish and chips establishment in 1972 that catered to the local residents of Rockaway one evening per week. The Sanders received approval throughout the community. Subsequently, the company has grown to national heights, leading to what is now known as RCL Enterprises.
Their lunch and dinner menu cater to their original community with affordable prices. Most dishes can be bought at the $8-12 range. The business extended into the accessory boutique market in 1990. RCL Enterprises specialize in customizing and enhancing various events for all occasions. They have also recently teamed up with the award-winning chef, Conroy Walker, who has been trained at George Brown Arts & Technology in Toronto, Canada.
RCL has helped feed those in need in the community in addition to building their business. A few organizations that RCL Enterprises has reached out to are: Queens Hospital Center Pediatric AIDS Clinic, Queens School for Cancer Care, South East Queens Jr. Olympic Games and Friendship Baptist Church, where the company feeds the homeless twice a week.
CIVIC AWARD: Maurice Braithwaite believes that “the community is an extension of our homes and we must be involved.” Braithwaite was called “the complete citizen” by Dr. Juliet Emanuel, a St. John’s University professor and friend.
Braithwaite is the executive secretary of Community Board 8. The native of Guyana has given back to his community in many ways, such as: volunteering as the speech and debate team coach at St. Francis Prep, staging dramatic productions and once serving as president of the Flushing Suburban Civic Association. He has served as a mentor at the Harlem YNCA Mentor Program as well.
The Civic Award will add to a list of awards that Braithwaite has been recognized for. He has been the recipient of community awards from St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, the Flushing Suburban Civic Association and the Metropolitan Area Minority Employees. He has been recognized with a Black Achievers in Industry Award as well.
Braithwaite received his engineering degree at City College and became involved in the Guyana Cultural Association. He puts his degree to use in his community by volunteering to train and coach engineers in team building, workgroup effectiveness and territory management. He is 69 years old and has been married to his wife, Rosemarie, for 39 years. They have two sons and four grandchildren.
CULTURE AWARD: Bill Jacobs currently serves as the Music Director for the Afrikan Poetry Theater in Jamaica. He is also directing a funded Music Roots Project in two schools in Queens. His early interest in music started to develop during his childhood in Queens. His father held a doctorate in music education and he would meet musician friends of his father such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald.
Jacobs completed his bachelor of fine arts major studies at Empire State College and continued his studies with the great composer and musician, Weldon Irvine. He also studied four years at Billy Taylor’s Jazzmobile in Harlem, and two years at the Barry Harris Jazz Cultural Theater.
Jacobs continues to study about black music development in America. His studies inspired him to fund his organization, Bill Jacobs Ensembles, and write and perform music programs for children and adults.
Bill Jacobs Ensembles offers a wide range of education programs, including instruction in an African-American Music History Program done for an assembly of children. Private lessons are also offered on any instrument a child may aspire to play. According to Jacobs, Ensembles gives the same attention to detail, discipline, motivation, theory, and creativity.
