1

Senate Resolution

2

A resolution recognizing Don Daly for his constructive and

3

beneficial community service work improving the conditions

4

of Caribbean-born Floridians and of Caribbean people in

5

their countries of origin.

6

7

     WHEREAS, Don Daly is President and CEO of CRI

8

Communications, Inc., and of Caribbean Upliftment, Inc.,

9

organizations dedicated to providing links between Caribbean-born

10

residents of the United States and their homelands and to

11

improving their living conditions and the living conditions in

12

Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, and

13

     WHEREAS, CRI Communications, Inc., (CRI) is dedicated to

14

gathering and disseminating responsible news and cultural

15

information from the Caribbean to North American Caribbean

16

nationals through radio and television broadcasts, town hall

17

meetings, and other forms of communication, and

18

     WHEREAS, a native of Jamaica, Don Daly joined the Bank of

19

Nova Scotia in 1967, working there until he moved to New York in

20

1970, where he earned his Associate of Arts degree from the New

21

York City Community College and his Bachelor of Arts degree in

22

Social Sciences and his Master of Science degree in Urban

23

Development from Stony Brook University in Long Island, and

24

     WHEREAS, in 1980, he moved to South Florida and worked as a

25

Distribution Manager for the Miami Herald until 1996, founding

26

CRI Communications in 1987 and broadcasting a radio program

27

featuring news, sports, interviews, general information, and a

28

variety of music to an audience reaching from the Palm Beaches to

29

Miami and the Bahamas, the majority of his audience living in

30

South Florida and comprising people from more than 35 countries,

31

and

32

     WHEREAS, in 1995, he expanded the program to include

33

television broadcasts on PAX-TV, featuring news and sports from

34

the Caribbean as well as documentaries on Jamaica and other

35

historical and cultural subjects, and

36

     WHEREAS, in the Caribbean community, Don is considered a

37

pioneer in the field of communications, being the first to

38

provide live coverage of general election results from Jamaica in

39

1989, 1993, 1997, and 2002, and

40

     WHEREAS, Don has also put enormous effort into planning,

41

coordinating, and raising funds for humanitarian efforts in Miami

42

and overseas, including the organization of a medical team of

43

more than 100 doctors and medical and dental students from Nova

44

University of South Florida who annually spend 11 days in Jamaica

45

administering health care to more than 3,500 people living in

46

underserved areas, and

47

     WHEREAS, in the 7 years of this medical mission, more than

48

21,000 indigent Jamaicans have received free health care and

49

medication, some through an additional group Don has organized of

50

podiatry doctors and students from Barry University, and

51

     WHEREAS, Don also makes time to assist various local civic

52

organizations with the planning and promotion of events to raise

53

funds for their organizations' charitable causes; he has served

54

for more than 10 years as the master of ceremonies of the Jamaica

55

Independence Ball; he organizes and coordinates town hall

56

meetings in association with several attorneys, doctors, and

57

public and private entities to disseminate information across

58

Florida to various groups; and he is a founding board member of

59

the Unique Coalition of Minority Business, Inc., and the Jamaica-

60

USA Chamber of Commerce, both located in Miami, and

61

WHEREAS, Don has received multiple awards for his

62

outstanding community service, including the Broward County Board

63

of Commissioners Library Division "Unsung Hero" award for his

64

selfless giving of time, resources, and talent; a proclamation

65

from the Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor and the Board of

66

County Commissioners recognizing him as a pioneer in

67

communications; recognition by the Antigua and Barbuda

68

Organization for his significant contributions to the promotion

69

of their sports and culture; the Jamaican Prime Minister's "2003

70

Medal of Appreciation" for his outstanding contribution and

71

service to Jamaica and the Jamaican community; Nova University's

72

SNMA award for his outstanding generosity and selfless

73

contributions; an award from Barry University for his outstanding

74

dedication to the Barry 2003 medical mission; and the Jamaican

75

Nurses Association's 2006 Humanitarian Award, NOW, THEREFORE,

76

77

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

78

79

     That the Senate pauses in its deliberations to recognize the

80

manifold contributions Don Daly has made to the well-being of

81

Caribbean-born Floridians and to Jamaicans and others having

82

underserved health needs, and to applaud his success in

83

supporting productive communication among Floridians, Americans

84

in general, and the peoples of the Caribbean.

85

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with

86

the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Don Daly as a

87

tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.