(Long Island, NY) Senator Tom Croci hosts his second annual Black History Ceremony. The event is to mark Black History Month and will honor several outstanding individuals in the 3rd Senate district, including: Ms. Joann Neal; Ms. Florence Joyner; Ms. Jacqueline Martin; Ms. Juanita Samuels; Mr. Matthew Moore; Reverend Lawrence Mosley, Jr. and the keynote speaker will be Dr. Jennie Williams from Stony Brook School of Medicine. There will also be performances by the Bellport Boys and Girls Club Steel Drum Band and the 3-D Dance Studio.
WHEN: Friday, February 26, 2016
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Brentwood Public Library, 34 Second Avenue, Brentwood
All interested members of the media and public are invited to attend.
Brief descriptions of honorees are included below:
- Ms. Joann Neal – Active community advocate for the Bellport area and former foster care caseworker for SCO Family Services, where she encouraged foster children to pursue and complete their educations. Joann is also the founder of the Boys and Girls Club Steel Drum Band and has received honors from Newsday, Administration for Children’s Services and SCO Foster Parents Association.
- Ms. Florence Joyner – Since 1994, Florence has worked as Executive Director of Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), a not-for-profit organization in Amityville, NY. She coordinates and organizes computer training, life skills programs, customer service classes and work ethic sessions for the disadvantaged, the unemployed, and the under-employed.
- Ms. Jacqueline Martin – For the past 17 years, Jacqueline has been working for the Bellport Hagerman East Patchogue Alliance as a housing counselor, a “Weed and Seed” program coordinator, as well as an anger management coach. Jacqueline has developed programs such as the Read and Play program, the Refuse to Fail program, the Thinking Outside The Box program, and the National Night Out program.
- Juanita Samuels – Juanita spent seven years as a service member in the United States Army Reserve and has had a 21-year career working for Suffolk Transportation. Through her work at Suffolk Transportation, Juanita has become involved with the Islip Food for Hope program, helping to raise money every year for Thanksgiving baskets for those in the local community who are less fortunate.
- Matthew Moore – Matthew is a first generation college student, who recently graduated with a Masters from Stony Brook University. Matthew has devoted his volunteer and professional efforts to his goal to close the achievement gap by empowering college-bound minority students to overcome barriers to a path to higher education.
- Reverend Lawrence Mosely, Jr. – Currently serving as Pastor of Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Central Islip, Pastor Mosley is the architect of new ministries that are designed to engage church goers and meet the needs of the congregation. Living by the motto both he and his late father are known for, “Determined to Live for Christ,” Pastor Mosley has dedicated his life’s work to fighting for the underprivileged.
- Dr. Jennie Williams, PhD – Dr. Williams is Associate Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University’s Department of Preventive Medicine. Currently, Dr. Williams is focused on determining what role molecular genetics plays in the initiation of colon cancer in African Americans and cancer health disparities. By studying single nucleotide polymorphisms, which affect gene function, she hopes to locate genes that are associated with cancer in African Americans. Additionally, Dr. Williams is investigating variations in treatment responses among diverse populations. Her research is part of the latest trend to begin personalized cancer treatment to ethnic minorities in a new discipline that researchers call “precision medicine,” in which a person’s genes, proteins, and environment are used to aide in the development of therapies for treating certain types of cancer.
