For the second consecutive year, The Caribbean Voice newspaper will celebrate Caricom Day with a dinner and awards ceremony in the Caribbean-populated borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. This year`s event is scheduled for Saturday, July 26th from 6 at 11 p.m. at the Brooklyn YWCA Hall, located at 30 Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn.
As Caricom celebrates its 30th year of existence, the Caribbean Voice Newspaper will mark the event by honoring twenty pioneering Caribbean business persons and professionals residing in the United States and Canada, particularly the areas of Washington, Massachusetts, Florida and of course, New York.
This years honorees include: fashion designers, Francis Hendy and Marie Jean, wife of Wyclef Jean; Ed Ahmad of Ed Ahmad Group of Companies; Robert Fung, vice-president of Yorkton Securities, Toronto; Patty King of Miami; Colette Phillips Communications of Massachusetts. First Republic Mortgage Bank, Universal Airlines, VP Records, the Laparkan Group and Diversified Financing of Washington, D.C. corporate honoree is and Dawn Stanley of Western Union.

This years keynote speakers are John Harricharran, one of the leading motivational speakers and writers in the world, and for the second consecutive year - Dr. Edwin Carrington, Secretary General of CARICOM.
Also making remarks will be New York City`s Deputy Mayor, Dennis Walcott, who is of Barbadian descent. Special guest this year is Wyclef Jean, famed singer/producer extraordinaire.

Several CARICOM consul generals in New York as well as Caribbean-American politicians, officials of the Caribbean Hotel Association, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry are expected to also attend. Tickets are $100 and must be bought in advance because of a limited number of seats.
Caricom Day celebrations will begin with cocktails followed by dinner, keynote addresses and the presentation of the 2003 awards and will end with a networking hour. A new feature this year will be the one-day business expo showcasing Caribbean businesses. Haiti is the featured nation this year and at least one company from Haiti is confirmed to attend, along with businesses from Florida, California, North Carolina and other states. Tables for the expo are $25 each.

The CARICOM Day Dinner/Business Awards and Expo was launched with the goal of providing a forum for Caribbeans in the Diaspora to become more connected with CARICOM, for Caribbean Diaspora Businesses to interact and network and for pioneering business persons to be honored for their achievements.
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