Friend of the Consulate Award
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Carolann Gilkes
C
arolann has been deemed the “Care Buddy Genie” for the energy she has brought to the project, delivering considerable donations of stuffed toys for the children at the Paediatric Ward, Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
L
York City Public Schools. She works closely with the Executive Director overseeing the day to day operation of the PSAL. She also facilitates major championship events at all professional arenas including Yankee Stadium, Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, City universities, and CUNY colleges. Additionally, Lorna oversees all pristine functions such as the PSAL Wingate Awards dinner for the outstanding student-athlete in each sport, NY Yankee/New Era Pinstripe/PSAL Scholar Athlete dinner, and the National Girls and Woman in Sport Day.
Keeping in line with the PSAL tradition of introducing sports and educating students about them, Lorna was instrumental in establishing the First Interscholastic Cricket Program in the United States in 2007. Lorna has had the privilege of leading PSAL student groups to Ghana, Africa (2006), Brazil (2008) and Spain (2016). As testimony to her success, she is the recipient of numerous service awards from prominent organizations: Board 42 Basketball Association, Board 37 Basketball Association, International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IABOA), NYC Coaches Association, Nassau Cricket Association, United States of America Cricket Umpires Association and a City of New York Proclamation from Council Member Ruben Wills. In 2016, she was inducted in the NY Cricket Hall of Fame and was honored by The Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy for introducing cricket to the New York City public schools. A strong administrator, Lorna is hoping to lend her skills to building other Barbadian organizations.
Lorna Austin
orna Austin - Class of ‘82, has been a member of the Daryll Jordan Secondary School Alumni, New York, (DJSSANY), from its genesis in 2019. After leaving Barbados in 1985, she joined Community District Sports in the NYC Department of Education, responsible for coordinating all intramural sports in the Junior High Schools and overseeing the summer Big Apple games program in the five boroughs. In 1996, Lorna accepted a fulltime position with the NYC Department of Education, Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) as the Executive Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director of the PSAL. Founded in 1903, the PSAL provides and governs all interscholastic competition in the New
46
(QEH), Barbados. No one escapes her when she is fundraising for the Care Buddy Project, started three years ago by Treva Holder. If you do not wish to donate, do not let her see you. Or answer the phone – she sources from all over the country. An extremely proud Barbadian from St. John and St. Philip, Carolann migrated to the US in 1983 when she was 15. She attended George W Wingate HS in New York and joined the work force at
18 after having her only child, Tiffany. After several secretarial and administrative assistant positions for different firms on Wall Street, Carolann changed course and began working for Delta airlines in 2005. Whilst at Delta, she got the call for New York City Transit Authority in 2006, and there she has remained. A Bus Operator, Carol loves to ‘Move NYC’, connecting with patrons being the favourite part of the work. She worked unrelentingly on the frontlines of the MTA throughout the pandemic. Carol, who recently became a proud grandmother, or GlamMa as she prefers, to Zylo, has been married to Aiden – Inches – since 1992. Now, to get her into other campaigns!