Nelson King gets SVGNANY honour

Vincentian born, US based Nelson King was toasted by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Nurses Association of New York (SVGNANY) at the association’s annual awards ceremony and luncheon staged at the grand El Caribe Country Club, on Strickland Avenue in Brooklyn, New York on June 22.{{more}}

King, a man of many hats, was presented with a plaque in recognition for his contribution to St Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as in New York.

Not new to being recognised, King has had several civic, military and work related awards bestowed on him over the years, from Vincentian based organizations, as well as other Caribbean organizations.

After Sunday’s honouring, he said: “I was very surprised to be honoured by the SVGNANY. It is with humility that I accept the award. It will serve as an impetus to continue to do what I love, which is serving the community.

“I want to thank the SVGNANY for bestowing this special honour on me; also, I especially want to thank president Celia Bramble, the business manager Judith Lewis, who is also my colleague at Medgar Evers.

“I must thank God, my wife, my late parents, who are the ones who inspired me, my friends and supporters,” King said, as he spoke fondly of the career he began as a teenager in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

King disclosed that his involvement in community work was jolted after he saw the need for persons to know what was going on in the rural areas, and more so his home village of Chateaubelair and the wider area of North Leeward.

Before moving to the United States of America in the 1980s, King is said to have been among the pioneers of organized cricket in the North Leeward community.

His work in North Leeward was not restricted to sports, as he was instrumental in the formation of the Clubland drama group, while he was a local preacher at the Chateaubelair Methodist Church.

Still into his devotion to the church, King is a certified lay reader at the Fenimore Street United Methodist Church in Brooklyn.

A media practitioner at present, King possesses 20 years of public health experience, having worked in a number of supervisory and managerial posts with the New York City Department of Health, Hygiene and SUNY Downstate Medical Center and University of Brooklyn.

King’s current social work also involves service as an associate member of the Central Brooklyn Lions Club and the public relations officer of the Brooklyn based St Vincent and the Grenadines Relief Steering Committee of New York.

An avid cricketer, King took part in the early beginnings of the Brooklyn Cricket League and the American League, where he played for teams such as Cameroon, Rorama and Casablanca.