By Danielle Domond-Bishop\u00b7Friday, June 26, 2026\u00b75 min read<\/p>\n
Five crystal awards sat in a row on a mirrored table at the Chateau Mar Golf Resort on Thursday, June 25, 2026, waiting for the people who earned them. One by one, the honorees were called forward, and by the end of the night, the Lauderhill Chamber of Commerce had lived up to its motto, \u201cTogether We Grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second annual Caribbean Heritage Awards Night, held from 6 to 10 p.m. during Caribbean Heritage Month, drew elected officials, faith leaders, business owners and families. Guests walked a red carpet and stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, and 14-year-old Shyla Dave, a runner-up in this year\u2019s Lauderhill Rising Star competition, opened with the national anthem.<\/p>\n
Mayor Denise D. Grant arrived with a proclamation. With Commissioner John T. Hudson helping to read it, she declared June 25, 2026, \u201cLauderhill Chamber of Commerce Day\u201d on behalf of herself, Vice Mayor Richard Campbell and Commissioners Sa\u2019rai \u201cRay\u201d Martin, Melissa P. Dunn and Hudson. More than 40% of Lauderhill residents trace their roots to the Caribbean, chamber leaders noted. \u201cWe claim the joy, we claim the energy, but we also claim the innovation and the resilience,\u201d Chamber President Sharon McLennon said.<\/p>\n
A keynote on goodness and justice<\/p>\n
The evening\u2019s keynote came from Broward County Court Judge Jackie Powell, a Jamaican jurist and one of the night\u2019s honorees, who received the Legacy of Justice Award. First elected to the Broward bench in 2018 and reelected in 2024, Powell presides over civil matters and is also an ordained minister. She opened by leading the room in a verse of \u201cGoodness of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am standing here tonight as a testimony that God\u2019s goodness runs after you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She then turned her remarks into a lesson in legal survival, warning that a monetary judgment can follow a person for up to 20 years and that tenants facing eviction for unpaid rent have only five days to deposit it with the court before a judge can hear their case. \u201cIf you get nothing out of what I said tonight, please encourage them not to bury their heads in the sand,\u201d she told leaders in the room, before closing on Jeremiah 29:11. \u201cYou were not created to be destroyed. You were created to be something good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Honoring service, faith and leadership<\/p>\n
The Legacy of Service Award went to Debbie Banner, recognized for 23 years with the Lauderhill Police Department and continued service through the Kiwanis Club of Lauderhill. A familiar face in the community, Banner can be found advocating at nearly every event. \u201cAs we say in the Caribbean, one one coco full basket,\u201d she said, noting that small acts of service add up \u201cto create something strong, meaningful and lasting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Legacy of Faith Award honored Bishop Henry Fernandez of the Faith Center, the Plantation ministry he founded in 1991 with just 11 members and now leads with his wife, Co-Pastor Carol Fernandez. The couple also founded the University of Fort Lauderdale. Chamber leaders praised his Hurricane Melissa relief work in Jamaica, where they said he helped raise about $150,000 and traveled to the island to ensure it reached families hardest hit by the Category 5 storm. \u201cNever allow the circumstances of life to convince you that your dreams are out of reach,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
The Leadership and Lifetime Achievement Award went to retiring Lauderhill Police Chief Constance Stanley, who has served the city since 1994 and arrived straight from receiving the department\u2019s accreditation. The room rose for a standing ovation. \u201cI\u2019ve been dedicated from the day I started, and I\u2019ll be dedicated until the day I depart,\u201d she said. Stanley retires in November.<\/p>\n
Threading the honors together was the chamber\u2019s own story. Its founder, former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, now a candidate for U.S. Congress in District 20, recalled starting the organization 14 years ago. \u201cGovernment cannot do it by themselves. We need partnerships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Mr. Housing,\u2019 the Downpayment King<\/p>\n
The evening\u2019s most personal tribute was saved for last. Chester Bishop, the affordable housing advocate introduced from the stage as \u201cMr. Housing,\u201d though the community knows him better as the \u201cDownpayment King,\u201d received the Empowerment Award for decades of expanding opportunity and helping families into homes.<\/p>\n
Broward County Commissioner Hazelle P. Rogers introduced her dear friend, recalling that the two met on the campaign trail in 1995. \u201cChester will use all of his resources to help every client that comes into his office, and that\u2019s what we needed,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the only way we create wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop grew emotional as he accepted the award.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I began this journey, I did not set out to build a legacy,\u201d he said. \u201cI simply believed that every person and every family deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHousing, more than shelter, is the foundation for opportunity, stability, health, education and hope,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He thanked elected officials by name, praising Rogers for \u201calways fighting to find more money for affordable housing\u201d and calling Grant \u201cthe one person who, when you call, picks up the phone.\u201d Then he asked a woman in the audience to stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cLydia Glasgow, if you could please stand up,\u201d he said. When he set out to open a minority-owned title company, few people were willing to help him. Glasgow, then a loan officer at Barnett Bank, now Bank of America, was the exception. \u201cBack then, not too many people helped a minority title company, but she did. She helped me the first several years. And I just want to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He thanked his wife and daughters, who were in the audience, and the partners who have walked the affordable housing road with him over the years.<\/p>\n
As the night drew to a close, Commissioner Rogers offered the final word. \u201cI\u2019m serious about education. I\u2019m serious about our children. I\u2019m serious about housing,\u201d she said. \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone tell you, you can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message in the ballroom matched the words engraved on the awards: strong communities are built by people who choose to care, contribute and serve. \u201cWe have a lot of work to do,\u201d Bishop said, \u201cbut I know we have wind behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second annual Caribbean Heritage Awards Night was hosted by the Lauderhill Chamber of Commerce at the Chateau Mar Golf Resort, 3501 Inverrary Blvd., Lauderhill. For information about the chamber, its programs and upcoming events, it can be reached at 4300 N. University Drive, Ste. D-203, Lauderhill; (754) 206-4206; or info@LauderhillCoC.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stay Informed with CNW<\/p>\n Get the latest Caribbean news delivered to your inbox. Free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Danielle Domond-Bishop\u00b7Friday, June 26, 2026\u00b75 min read Five crystal awards sat in a row on a mirrored…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-321333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}