Plantation, Fla. (March 11, 2021): On Monday, March 8, eight consuls general from across the Caribbean and India, as well as Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness and a number of business leaders, convened at Island SPACE Caribbean Museum. The gathering marked the first in-person meeting of the current Caribbean consular cohort, and was celebrated with a tour of the first Caribbean heritage museum in the western hemisphere, followed by talks and a meal.
Present were Dean of the Consular Corps Gilbert Boustany of Antigua and Barbuda, and Consuls General R. Oliver Mair of Jamaica, Linda Mackey of The Bahamas, Neval Greenidge of Barbados, Tassa Jean of St. Lucia, Stéphane Gilles of Haiti, Dianne Perrotte of Grenada (deputy), and visiting from Atlanta, Georgia, Asim Kumar of India.
Haitian Consul General Presents $5,000 Donation
Haitian Consul General Stéphane Gilles (center) presents a $5,000 check to Island SPACE Board Member Tamara Philippeaux (left) and Executive Director Calibe Thompson. | Photo: David I. Muir
Gilles presented Island SPACE with a $5,000 donation in support of the museum’s programming and development. “The consular corps are invaluable partners in executing our mission,” said the nonprofit’s Executive Director Calibe Thompson, “We appreciate their commitment to supporting Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, and their decision to visit with us for the first gathering of their cohort. We were very grateful and pleasantly surprised by this contribution from Mr Gilles on behalf of the Haitian Consulate in Miami.”
“This meeting embodied the museum’s motto ‘Island SPACE, a place where Caribbean cultures unite,’” said Mair. “We are all invested in the success of this organization, and strongly believe it will positively impact our individual and collective constituents.”
At a socially distant, informal round table, Holness championed partnerships in infrastructure, trade and commerce between the Caribbean and Broward County. Topics of conversation included local and regional development and the establishment of a world trade center within the county.
Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, located in Plantation, Fla., is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:00a.m. through 7:00p.m. and Sundays from 11:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m. General entry fees are $10 per adult and $5 per child. Donations, sponsorships, memberships and volunteer commitments are encouraged. Learn more at www.islandspacefl.org .
Island SPACE is supported in part by Florida Power & Light Company, Grace Foods, Westfield Broward Mall, the Broward County Cultural Division and the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Helen and Frank Stoykov Charitable Endowment Fund, David and Francie Horvitz Family Fund, Ann Adams Fund, Mary and Alex Mackenzie Community Impact Fund, Blockbuster Entertainment Unrestricted Fund, Robert E. Dooley Unrestricted Fund for Broward, Harold D. Franks Fund, and Jan Moran Unrestricted Fund.
Island Society for the Promotion of Artistic and Cultural Education (Island SPACE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of arts, culture, history, and educational initiatives that represent the Caribbean region, in South Florida and the broader diaspora community.
