Guyanese to be honoured for exemplary service in Queens, New York

By Natasha Waldron Anthony

Guyanese-born Maurice Braithwaite of Flushing, Queens, New York, will be honoured with the Civic Award as part of the Black History Month events. The Queens Borough President, Helen M. Marshall, will be hosting the African American Heritage Awards ceremony on February 5, 2011 at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, and will present the award to Braithwaite for his outstanding community service. 

Braithwaite serves on several committees, more notably, as Executive Secretary and Budget Director of Community Board #8, of which he has been a member for some 20 years. He told Guyana Times International recently: “It is an honour, really, to receive this award, because very few people are given this award.”

He highlighted some of the responsibilities of the Community Board #8 Capital Expense and Budget Committee, of which he is chairman: “Every year, we come out with a list of priority things that the city needs to do, like fix streets, repair sewerage; and we prioritize these things and send them to the city…we have human services parks public safety, transportation, community zoning.” 

He also serves as the President of the Flushing Suburban Civic Association, which is the watchdog of the community. The association ensures the needs of the community are met and essential services are provided. 

Braithwaite also works with young people as a mentor at the Harlem YMCA Mentor Program, and is also a coach for speech and debate at St. Francis Prep High School.  He has been involved in speech and debate at St Francis Prep for more than 20 years; and late last year, during the annual dinner following the end of the speech and debate season, the school celebrated the milestone achievement and named an award in Braithwaite’s honour. The Maurice Braithwaite Award was presented to the most outstanding speech and debate student. 

Braithwaite is also the Drama Director at the Guyana Cultural Association, of which he has been a member since its initiation in 2003. Since he has worked all his life in drama, and is dedicated to fulfilling his passion and love for theatre, he also functions as the Drama Instructor at Parsons Beacon Child Center of New York. 

Braithwaite insists that, while he is absorbing the honour associated with achieving the award for his outstanding service to the community, “I’m not really impressed about it; I don’t see anything impressive about it.” 

Braithwaite is the recipient of other awards, such as the Black Achievers in Industry and the NAACP Community Service Awards. He migrated to the U.S. in 1971, is married and has two children.