by Nelson A. King in New York

St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ New York Consul General Cosmus Cozier was honoured last Sunday on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.

Cozier, who has been the nation’s first official Consul General, and has been serving in that capacity for almost five years, received the special recognition from the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Ex-Teachers’ Association during its 23rd Anniversary Luncheon at Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn.{{more}}

The gala event also commemorated the birthday of America’s most prominent civil rights leader ever.

The slain Dr. King would have been 77 years old last Sunday. His birthday was celebrated last Monday as a public holiday in the United States.

Jackson Farrell, a public school teacher in New York City, who serves as president of the Ex-Teachers’ Association, said Cozier was honoured for “the tremendous job he has done, and continues to do, in the (New York) metropolitan area.”

“This brother has served St. Vincent and the Grenadines well,” he said. “He has served it so well that, during the (recent) election campaign, he was told whichever party won he would still be the Consul General.

“I think that in itself gives a testimony to the type of service Mr. Cosmus Cozier gives to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he added.

Cozier, a former parliamentary representative for the Grenadine islands, said he will continue to forge greater linkages within and without the Vincentian community, despite numerous challenges.

He expressed gratitude to the ex-teachers group for the honor and for its continued contribution to nation-building.

“I’ve often said in the past, organizations are like dinosaurs,” he said. “You have to be committed or the organization will soon fall to the ground.

“Over the 23 years that this organization has been in existence,” Cozier added, “they have contributed immensely to the development, not only economically but in every sense of the word, to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”

Prior to becoming Consul General, Cozier, a former banker, was very active in the community, serving for a decade as president of the Brooklyn-based Bequia United Progressive Organization, then becoming chairman of its Policy Advisory Committee.

He was also very active in fraternal organizations, such as the worldwide Independent Order of Mechanics Preston Unity, serving as Grand Master for District Grand Lodge #1, which encompasses organizations in New York, New Jersey and Texas.

As consul general, Cozier initiated a Renal Failure Relief Fund to assist impecunious nationals afflicted with renal disease.

At home, he worked in the government service, from 1961 to 1978, rising to Senior Accountant in the Department of the Treasury.

He was a New York Chemical Bank manager for almost a decade and, subsequently, a banking consultant for Chase Mellon in Leonia, New Jersey.

The ex-teachers also presented bouquets of flowers to others who, in one way or the other, have made their indentation in the Vincentian community in New York.

Among them were: Ela Toney, a retiring registered nurse at Inter Faith Medical Center in Brooklyn, and Dotsy Jones, 81, considered the oldest patron at the gala affair.

Ellsworth John, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS), Lennox Daniel, Deputy UN Ambassador, and Cyril Thomas, Deputy Consul General, were among dignitaries at the elaborate ceremony and celebration.