NATIONAL WEEKLY | THURSDAY, JAN 2 – JAN 8, 2020 | VOL. 17 NO. 1
N E T W O R K T H E
M O S T
W I D E L Y
C I R C U L A T E D
C A R I B B E A N
A M E R I C A N
N E W S P A P E R
I N
F L O R I D A
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2019
PERSONS
Mayor Dale V.C. Holness
OF THE YEAR
Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness, the first Caribbean American to serve as the mayor of a U.S. county is The Caribbean National Weekly's Male Newsmaker of 2019. Mayor Dale V.C. Holness was born in Hanover, Jamaica, W.I. on April 2, 1957 and migrated to the United States at age 17. He graduated from Plantation High School, then attended Broward College, where he served on the student government as a freshman senator. He became a general manager at McDonalds at age 20, and bought his first house at age 22. He became a Realtor in 1983, and started his own real estate company, All Broward Realty, in 1988. The company is currently led by his daughter Richelle Dahlia Holness, one of his six surviving children. His political record is well documented as a Broward County Commissioner representing District 9 from November 2010 to present and during his six years of public service as a Lauderhill City Commissioner and Vice Mayor (2007, 2010). Commissioner Holness' District represents a population of over 200,000 people located in parts of or all of Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Lauderhill, Tamarac, Oakland Park, North Lauderdale, Lauderdale Lakes and the unincorporated communities of Roosevelt Gardens, Washington Park, Boulevard Gardens and Franklin Park. In November of 2019 he was unanimously appointed by the Broward Commission to
cori “coco” gauff
Delray Beach resident and rising tennis star Cori “Coco” Gauff, who became a star as the youngest player at the 2019 Wimbledon tennis tournament in England, is the Caribbean National Weekly's female newsmaker of 2019. Since July 1, 2019 the name Cori “Coco” Gauff became known nationally and across the world of tennis as the 15-year-old soundly defeated her idol, tennis icon Venus Williams, 39, in two sets – 6-4, 6-4 in the women singles first round at the Wimbledon tennis tournament in England. Gauff, an African-American, was the youngest ever competitor to qualify to play at Wimbledon in the professional era. Entering Wimbledon she was ranked 313 in the world, and although she had been playing impressively before, she was considered to be there just for the experience. Those, including her parents, who have witnessed Gauff's progress in the sport in recent years expect her to excel on the international circuit. In a post-game interview after defeating Venus Williams, Gauff said she never thought she would have won and “I'm literally living my dream right now.” Gauff made her ITF debut in May 2018 as a qualifier into the 25K event at Osprey, where she won her first professional match. At age 14, she won her first Junior Grand Slam Title in June 2018 at the French Open. continues on B4
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW