By Nelson King
Former UN Ambassador Dennie Wilson receives award, flanked by CACCI president Dr. Roy Hastick (L) and chairman of the Board Edmund Sadio
The Brooklyn, New York-based Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) last Sunday evening honored former United Nations Ambassador Dennie Wilson at a gala ceremony, marking the organization’s 29th anniversary.
Wilson – a Union Island native, who was also Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, under the Labour Party administration of late Prime Minister Robert Milton Cato, in the early 1980s – was among 11 honorees at the five-hour-plus-long event at Tropical Paradise Ballroom on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn.
During his tenure in the House, Wilson also served as a representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to be in the presence of such distinguished honorees,” said Wilson, who was Deputy Ambassador, then Ambassador, to the UN, from 1995-2001, under the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration of Sir James F. Mitchell, after receiving the award. “Awards are special, but this one is a very special one.”
Wilson, who currently works as an administrator with New York City’s Department of Education (NYCDOE), said he joins a “long line of distinguished men and women” who have received CACCI’s Community Service Award.
He lauded his childhood sweetheart and wife of 33 years, Idica, a Girls High School and Grammar School alumna, whom he described as “a solid rock of support and strength” for him and their two daughters, Denica and Tedra.
“Without her, my life would not have been the balance in which to function properly,” Wilson said. The Wilsons are originally from Campbell village in Ashton, Union Island.
Mrs. Wilson has been an Adjunct Professor in International Finance and Marketing at York College in Queens, City University of New York (CUNY), for the past two years.
Wilson, who is also founder and chief executive officer of the proposed Rockaway (Queens, New York) Community Stem Charter School (RCSCC), thanked the Almighty for his “many blessings and for His steadying hand on my life.
The RCSCC is scheduled to open in September 2015 and, according to Wilson, the group comprises “a diverse background of professionals” in the disciplines of education, law, diplomacy, real estate, accounting, social work, school safety, fund development and philanthropy.
Wilson – who possesses extensive background in public policy, diplomacy and real estate management, and serves on the board of trustees of Spartan Medical College in St. Lucia – has two Master’s degrees – a Master of Science in Education (Queen’s College, CUNY) and a Master of Science in Administration and Leadership (College of St. Rose at Albany, New York).
He also holds certificates in School Building Leadership and School District Leadership, and an advanced Certificate in Education. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in political science from Fordham University in New York.
Wilson was a school teacher in Union Island and Bequia in the early 1970s. He was also a customs/revenue officer in the mid 1970s, from where he launched into politics.
