Vincentians who settled in New York built their own organizations first: hometown associations, alumni groups, sports clubs, benevolent societies, cultural groups. Each had its own officers and its own calendar. The council was formed so that those groups could speak and act together, and so that the community could mark its national days as one body rather than a dozen.
That is still the arrangement today. The council does not replace its member organizations. It carries what no single group can carry alone: the Independence programs with the Consulate General, the fundraising that gets athletes to the Penn Relays, the honors, the relief shipments, and the COSAGO Scholarship.
The luncheon series and the filing
The Independence luncheon is the oldest continuous thread in the council’s record. Press coverage in 2015 described that year’s event as the twenty sixth in the series, which places the first luncheon at about 1990. The council was incorporated in New York as a domestic not for profit corporation in Kings County in 1993.
Those two dates do not resolve into a single founding year, and the council does not force them to. Work was already being done under the council’s name before the paperwork was filed, which is how most community organizations in Brooklyn began.
About the dates. The seal carries 1989. The New York not for profit filing is dated 1993. Federal 501(c)(3) recognition on the IRS business master file is dated August 2025. The council does not describe itself as founded in 1989 as a 501(c)(3), because that would combine three separate records into one claim.
Presidents
The presidency has changed hands several times, and two holders served long terms. Where the public record is thin, the years below are given as they were reported at the time.
| Years | President | Noted |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 to 1998 | Dr. Errol G. King | Emergency room surgeon at Kings County Hospital, and a founding member of the council. Died on 13 August 2006, aged 64. |
| About 2004 | Arnold “Lydon” Charles | Named as president in coverage of council honors in that period. |
| 2009 to 2024 | Laverne McDowald-Thompson | Fifteen successive years. Now Vice President and chair of fundraising. |
| 2024 to present | Crispin Friday | Current president. |
The work, decade by decade
Independence. The ecumenical service of thanksgiving and the gala luncheon have run together each October for more than thirty years, with the Consulate General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Venues have moved with the community, from halls in Brooklyn to Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach from 2022.
The Penn Relays. Getting Vincentian schoolchildren to Franklin Field has been a council effort since long before it had a name on a website. The prayer breakfast, the walkathon at Marine Park that Club St. Vincent has organized since 2015, the uniforms, the housing, and the bus to Philadelphia are all part of the same annual push.
Relief and gifts home. The council has sent hospital and home equipment to St. Vincent and the Grenadines over many years. After the eruption of La Soufriere in 2021 it worked alongside the relief effort led from New York rather than running a separate appeal.
The scholarship. The COSAGO Scholarship was launched in 2025 in memory of Dr. Errol G. King and Dollis Forbes, founding members of the council. Two awards were presented at the luncheon on 26 October 2025, to Laniya Simmons and Sarai McIntosh.
The year in the council’s calendar
- Spring. Walkathon at Marine Park, organized by Club St. Vincent for the Penn Relays effort.
- Late April. The Penn Relays in Philadelphia, with a council bus and support for the athletes.
- September, in a relay year. Prayer breakfast in Brooklyn.
- The Sunday before the luncheon. Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving.
- Late October. Independence gala luncheon, honors, and the scholarship presentation.
Dates are confirmed with the member organizations each year and published on the events page as soon as they are settled.