Back in the fall of 1989, at the Christening gathering of one of our CAFCI'ers, it was obvious that the Western Communities was growing. As more and more people of Caribbean decent were moving to the area, we felt there was a void. Ten friends got together to explore the idea of forming a club that would act as a channel for getting to know one another, be of support to each other and to participate in cultural, humanitarian and social activities. Hence,
Winston & Rhonda Davis, Peter & Karen Diedrick, Mark & Leonie Escoffrey,
Ledlo & Junette Powell, Charmaine Morrison and Shirley Palmer
founded the Caribbean American Friendship Club, Inc. (CAFCI).
Letters were sent out to friends and acquaintances to attend a meeting on December 9, 1989 at the home of Winston and Rhonda Davis. The response was overwhelming. Over 50 persons were in attendance. The proposal for a CAFCI Club was unanimously accepted. The late Enricius Evereteze received a huge round of applause when he was the first to put his hand in the air with his membership Check of $40.00 for himself and his wife, our FIRST Charter member of CAFCI. Many signed up that night. Of those there are 15 members who are still helping to continue the dream 20 years later.
Gerald and Pearl Damon, Winston & Rhonda Davis, Adrienne Ferrin
Kenneth & Hazel McKenzie, Greta McMorris, Ethel Palmer, Shirley Palmer,
Ledlo & Junette Powell, Jess & Victoria Santamaria and Marjorie Schleifer.
Although we had our inaugural meeting on December 8, the Board got together and hosted our FIRST New Year’s Eve Party at the Royal Dragon Restaurant with an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet ‘till 3am, a tremendous success and a testimony that CAFCI was the right way to go. Under our FIRST President Ledlo Powell, in 1990, we met in different member’s homes and had many FIRSTS that year. Our FIRST Annual Family Picnic at John Prince Park, Pool party at the Royce Hotel with Keith Lyn, and our FIRST Annual Friendship Ball at the Portuguese American Club. Subsequently, Jess Santamaria offered complimentary use of his Wellington Mall Center Court for our New Year’s Eve Party, a kindness for which we were grateful and which we took advantage of for the next 17 years. Neil continued as president in 1991, as CAFCI began donating to Charitable and Humanitarian efforts. One of our members Dermott Sutherland initiated the idea of members helping the Club by organizing fund-raising efforts for the Organization. Dermott’s FIRST famous “Fish Fry” (and he caught every fish) was such a huge success that he continued for several years as did Mark Escoffery’s Curried Goat Feast. Our Friendship Balls were held at The Holiday Inn and the Airport Hilton, both to the tunes of “Charmaine Forde & Sash”.
In 1992 under The Late President Vivian Ferrin’s two year term CAFCI became more involved in community affairs. We participated in the 10 year anniversary of Crestwood Middle School where CAFCI produced our FIRST play called “Carnation Market” written by member Gwen Osbourne. Under the invitation by U.S. Sugar Corporation we toured the cane fields and visited with the farm workers in Clewiston. We were now meeting at the Royal Palm Beach Civic Center. CAFCI also launched its FIRST Business Awareness Event, promoting businesses among our members. We also had our FIRST International Night experiencing the foods and cultures from the different islands. President Ferrin proposed a Student Assistance program that Jannette Sharpe-Paul and Marjorie Schleifer developed and expanded into the program from paying student college application fees to what it is today. We continued to have our parties and even cruised to the Bahamas developing a true camaraderie among the membership. Royal Palm Beach finally completed its Cultural Center, so now we can not only have our monthly meetings there we can have our Balls, Parties, Expos and more. This is when CAFCI had two garage sales from member donations to purchase material for 40 table cloths, which members sewed and we invested in flatware for our functions.
Ernie Garvey took over as President in 1994 with a mission to expand our youth programs. Members Gwen Osbourne, Ethel Palmer and Sylvia Johnson raised funds for the Student Assistance Committee by holding a raffle which netted $1,000.00. What a great start for the Student Assistance Awards. We also had our FIRST Business Expo with vendors and displays. A need was presented to CAFCI for funding to help the Zora Neale Hurston Museum, the first Black operated museum in Palm Beach County. Adrienne Ferrin and Lydia Patterson held a sale and auction to raise funds which were accepted with immense gratitude. “Bay Roots” band kept the dance floor full at our signature event, of the year - The Annual Friendship Ball.
Jannette Sharpe Paul who became president in 1996 promoted health and education awareness. Under her leadership she initiated the FIRST Health Awareness Month in CAFCI where members were educated on pertinent Health issues. This expanded into a Health Expo in collaboration with our local hospitals. CAFCI also began volunteer efforts with the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition where several of our members were trained to tutor those in our community who needed to learn to read, a tremendous asset to the community.
President Ferrin took the gavel for one more year in 1998 when he started the wheels in motion for bidding on Village property for CAFCI’s very own Cultural Center. While those efforts did not result in a building we were very proud to be granted an office to call our very own. The efforts continued and thus far CAFCI was able to bid on three different Village properties, always seeking possibilities to find our own CAFCI Cultural Center.
In 1999, CAFCI underwent reorganization and became Caribbean American For Community Involvement, Inc. The same acronym just different wording. With Vivian Ferrin as Chairman of the Board and Lawrence Logan as President, CAFCI finally became a 501(C)(3) Corporation and celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
Under President Logan CAFCI expanded its community outreach. We participated in several Martin Luther King, Jr. Parades in Riviera Beach, starting the first year with just a car in the parade and expanding to building floats for the next couple of years. Each time CAFCI won trophies for their efforts. And… if you are ever in Washington D.C. look for CAFCI’s name on the National Monument in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.. CAFCI’s efforts with the American Cancer Society were recognized over the years with trophies for “Best Food”, “Most Laps walked thanks to our Scouts and one year having the distinct honor of the CAFCI Team Picture being placed in their National Calendar. A great honor!
In 2002 our new President was Fred Pinto with Vivian Ferrin still as Chairman of the Board. Now since we are a 501(C3) organization it’s time to concentrate on raising funds and applying for grants. CAFCI was very fortunate to apply and receive from the Palm Beach County Cultural Council a cultural grant which afforded us the opportunity to host three quality programs, Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Youth Talent Show, and Cultural Field Day. Further collaboration with the Village of Royal Palm Beach has also aided in putting on these great community projects. CAFCI also put on its Silent Auction, under Adrienne Ferrin and Junette Powell, which netted over $5,000.00. This idea caught on as a fun and easy way to raise funds and became an extension to our Annual Friendship Ball. Not loosing sight of our mission to be a support to each other the Sunshine Committee was formed under the leadership of Elet Cyris and Marjorie Schleifer who still today extend the hand of friendship.
Rhonda Ferrin Davis was elected President in 2004 with Lawrence Logan remaining as Chairman of the Board. Carrying the dream and vision of our founding members to be an integral part of our community (a club that preserves and treasures our culture), the Cultural Committee under the leadership of Amanayea Abraham launched CAFCI’s first “Cultural Diversity Day, a collaborative effort with the Village of Royal Palm Beach and a grant from the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. This wonderfully positive contribution to the community in which we live was one of the dreams of our forefathers and has been continued through the years by Elet Cyris. The Student Assistance Committee was expanded to present monetary incentive awards to college bound students from our membership. Funding came from generous donations from one of our local business “Dumplings Restaurant” and a grant from the Port of Palm Beach. Our charitable donations extended to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A highlight of the year was when Charter- Life member Jess Santamaria donated $10,000.00 to CAFCI and challenged us to match it by the end of the year. Through fundraisers and silent auctions we were able to meet and exceed his challenge. Our Annual Friendship Ball moved to the Kravis Center under the direction of Ernie Garvey. Sheer elegance!
"Coming Back Home" was the theme of Amanayea Abraham’s Presidency. Under her leadership there was a rejuvenation of the old CAFCI spirit of volunteerism and caring for our members. We started the year with an Appreciation Valentine’s Day Party and brought the Annual Friendship Ball back home to an elegantly scrumptious evening.
Now as we celebrate 20 years of Excellence under President Genieve White we look back at all the amazing contributions CAFCI has been able to accomplish over the past 20 years and look forward to an even more amazing future.