Judge Emille Cox with offi cials and dignitaries, including Consul General, Howie Prince (far right)
Photo by Nelson A. King
Caribbean Life, Jan. 25–31, 2019 3
By Alexandra Simon
State Sen. James Sanders Jr.
(D—Far Rockaway) started a collection
drive for federal workers affected
by the government shutdown in
Rosedale on Jan. 18. The Queens official,
along with the American Federation
of Government Employees and
the Rosedale-Laurelton American
Legion Post 483, launched the drive
to assist government employees currently
on leave or working unpaid.
The partial shutdown, which started
on Dec. 22 after President Trump
and Congress were unable to come
to an agreement on a border wall
proposal, is currently affecting over
800,000 workers.
Sanders says the community
should come out and show support
to the people who have not received
a paycheck since the shutdown started.
“These hardworking men and
women who serve our nation should
not be punished, or left struggling to
support themselves and their families
over Trump’s feud with Congress,”
he said. “We should all do our part
to help these federal workers during
their time of need.”
In the partial shutdown, several
federal agencies are affected, including
the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), Department
of Agriculture, Internal Revenue
Service (IRS), Immigrant Customs
Enforcement (ICE), and more. People
employed at these agencies have to
continue working without pay until
the shutdown comes to a close.
By Nelson A. King
As they seek to honor those whose
ideals they cherish, the Brooklyn-based
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)
Ex-Teachers Association of New York
on Sunday bestowed special honor on
retired Vincentian Judge Emille Cox.
Cox’s honor, at Grand Prospect Hall
in Brooklyn, was part of the gala 36th
anniversary celebration of the group
and came on the day preceding the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. public holiday
in America.
“Over the years, we have honored
leaders, teachers, doctors, lawyers, families,
organizations and even institutions,”
said Dr. Herman Ambris, a St.
Vincent and the Grenadines Ex-Teachers
Association of New York trustee, in
introducing Judge Cox. “Still, we continue
to seek out those whose values
represent the greater good. This year,
we find them in our honoree.
“As a student par excellence, he epitomized
all the goodness and nobility
of the human endeavor,” added the
medical doctor about Judge Cox, who,
he said, was “a friend to all” and was
“calm and judicious in his deliberations
as a prefect at the SVG Boys’ Grammar
School — traits that would eminently
prepare him for his current assignment.”
Dr. Ambris, an alumnus at the Grammar
School — one of the leading secondary
schools in SVG — and an erstwhile
student of Judge Cox at that
school, said the judge — a Union Island,
SVG-born administrative supervising
judge of compensation (retired on
recall), Division of Workers’ Compensation,
New Jersey Department of Labor
and Workforce Development – was, at
the Grammar School, “an outstanding
athlete and a fierce competitor, the gold
standard of respect, tolerance, sensitivity,
sensibility and courage.”
“We are told by those intimately
knowledgeable of his work that his colleagues
revere his judgements and his
poise,” Dr. Ambris added. “Arguably,
men of his ilk abound — men whose
lives and accomplishments illuminate
an often drab and conflicted society.
“But, in our opinion, he is unique,
for none shines brighter in his particular
calling,” Dr. Ambris continued. “We
are graced, yet humbled, by this giant
in our midst, and fervently thank his
wife (Elvia) and family for allowing us
to experience this moment in his presence.”
Jackson Farrell, president of the
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ex-
Teachers Association of New York and
another former student of Judge Cox at
the Grammar School, said Cox, among
other things, was a radio personality at
the then Windward Islands Broadcasting
System (WIBS).
The retired public school teacher in
Brooklyn said Cox, the sole honoree,
“has touched the lives of a wider Caribbean,”
adding that he was also “an
accomplished comedian, athlete and
Master of Ceremonies.”
In his brief remarks, at the gala
luncheon, Howie Prince, St. Vincent
and the Grenadines Consul General to
the United States, saluted the judge for
his “sterling contribution to the law in
the US.”
Judge Cox lauded his wife for encouraging
him to attend law school and
stated that it was “a blessing” to become
a judge in the US, given his humble
beginnings in Ashton, Union Island.”
He expressed gratitude to God for
“His hand in my life.”
He told patrons at the ceremony,
in his acceptance speech, that he was
“truly grateful for this recognition.”
“It is especially meaningful to me,
coming from a group such as yours,”
he said.
“In scripture, it states that a prophet
has no honor in his own country,”
Judge Cox added. “This award today,
coming from the citizens of my country,
takes on a special meaning, and I
greatly appreciate it for that reason.”
Don Bobb, the Vincentian-born popular
Caribbean radio personality, who
served as Master of Ceremonies, said
that Judge Cox had taught him French
and Spanish in Form 2A at the Grammar
School.
After migrating to Brooklyn in 1970
to attend college, Judge Cox obtained
his bachelor’s degree in economics)
from Long Island University, downtown
Brooklyn, where he was a member of
the school’s General Honors Program.
Afterwards, he was employed as a
Methods Analyst with Prudential Property
and Casualty Insurance Company.
Within three years, he was promoted
to associate manager of his division, but
left to attend Rutgers University School
of Law in Camden, NJ.
From left, State Sen. James Sanders,
and William McDonald, commander
of the Rosedale-Laurelton
American Legion Post 483, with
some food items at the announcement
of the food drive collection
for federal workers on Jan. 18.
Offi ce of State Sen. James Sanders Jr.
SVG ex-teachers honor Judge Cox
Drive
to help
federal
workers