NEW YORK(JIS) - His Excellency, the Most Honourable Sir Howard H.F. Cooke, former Governor General of Jamaica, will deliver the keynote address at the 71st Anniversary Dinner & Awards Presentation Ceremony of the Jamaica Progressive League (JPL) on Saturday, September 8, 2007 in the Bronx, NY.

The gala event will be held at The Elegant Rose Hall Banquet facility on White Plains Road at the border of Mt. Vernon and starts at 8:00 pm. with a reception.

Seven persons - including Sir Howard Cooke - who have supported the JPL while giving outstanding service to the New York Jamaican community over the years, will be recognized and honoured by the League and New York City Hall.

The honourees include; Hon. Adolfo Carrion, President of the Borough of the Bronx; Dr. Karl Rodney, publisher of the New York Carib News and a former JPL president; Dr. Basil K. Bryan, Consul General of Jamaica; Dr. Julius Garvey, son of National Hero, Marcus M. Garvey and a community activist; Robert ‘Bob’ DeSouza, CEO of Trans-Continental Express Shippers, NY and Solomon Goodrich, Historian and Chairman of the Southeast Queens Association, NY.

League president, Sadie Campbell said that after 71 years, the grassroots organization is as relevant today as it was when it was first formed in l963.

“It is important that we celebrate such a milestone, lest we forget and become complacent that we neglect to pass on to future generations the rich legacy that we inherited and are being sustained by,” Ms. Campbell noted.

She said that it was important to remind the Diaspora of the pivotal role that the JPL played in Jamaica’s difficult transition from Colonialism to Independence and its agitation for change in US Immigration policies in the mid 1960s.

Ms. Campbell noted that the upcoming event is pivotal in demonstrating to the community that the League is alive and well-positioned to continue its commitment and support in the nation building process at this critical juncture.