On Tuesday, June 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson joined by Mistress of Ceremonies Juanita Lara — Development Director at BronxNet Television and a recipient of the Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) grant — recognized outstanding leaders in the Bronx and New York City’s Caribbean Community at the Andrew Freedman Home located at 1125 Grand Concourse.
The honorees this year were:
- Founder and CEO of Bullzii Marketing, LLC, Andrea Bullens;
- Director of operations for the Bronx Tourism Council, Julius Drake;
- Director of franchise development and community affairs of Golden Krust Omar Hawthorne;
- And artistic director of Something Positive, Inc. who is also an adjunct professor of dance at Lehman College, Michael Manswell.
Receiving a posthumous tribute was beloved Emmy Award-winning NY1 News Journalist and Anchor for NY1’s News All Day noon newscast, Ruschell Boone, who died September of 2023 at the age of 48 due to complications related to pancreatic cancer.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Boone’s family immigrated to the United States and settled in the Bronx. She graduated from Truman High School and later from Baruch College before working at New York 1 News beginning in 2002.
During the ceremony, Gibson presented a proclamation to her husband, Todd Boone, pronouncing June 25 as Ruschell Boone Day in the Borough of the Bronx.
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