During
the sixties within the Trinidad & Tobago Fire Services a
group of Firemen decided to form a team of Volleyball
players and choose the name Hawks, with Mr.Oswald McClean as
a prominent member. A part from the sporting activities, the
group ventured into the promotion of parties, boat-rides and
other forms of fund-raising and entertainment. In 1970 Mr.
Desmond Chase, an officer in the fire services and Director
of the Recreation Center of Public Service Association,
invited Hawks to enter into some joint ventures. Hawks was
considered to be one of the most successful promoters in
Trinidad & Tobago. In 1972 having migrated to the US,
Mr. McClean held discussions with a number of individuals
who had also migrated to the US. Extensive discussions were
held regarding the formation of a Chapter of Hawks in New
York. It was agreed that the Mission should be tailored
quite differently and after obtaining legal advice Hawks
Fraternal Club was incorporated in Albany, New York.
The
Mission was: Maintain and promote the Culture of Trinidad
& Tobago, to do all such manner of things to lend
cohesion to the Afro-American & West-Indian Communities,
at that time there existed an obvious misunderstanding
between these two groups.
Hawks
joined the National Urban League and established relations
with the NAACP. In addition we successfully gathered all the
Caribbean Consulates together at our Annual Dinner-dance and
was quietly responsible for enhancing the West Indian
Consular Core. Hawks established working relations with the
Trinidad & Tobago Consulate and to this day we have been
called upon to render assistance in areas where protocol did
not allow the Consulate to operate. Members of Hawks have
traveled with the consulate during the terms of earlier
representatives to lend assistance to Nationals in the
Tri-States area. During the Mid-seventies and beyond, Hawks
played a major role in attracting patronage to our national
Airline BWIA by way of word of mouth and free promotions, we
also established relations with the Tourist Promotion
Office. Hawks has contributed goods, services, and money to
many and varied charitable institutions, in Trinidad &
Tobago e.g. St. Martins Assoc. School for the Deft, School
for the Blind, Coitere of Social Workers, Ministries of
Health, Sports and Education.
Since 1975
each year at our Annual Awards Dinner Dance Hawks has
recognized individuals in the fields of Art, Education,
Culture, Media etc. We are proud of the fact that long
before anyone else Hawks recognized such individuals as Elie
Mannet, Starlin, and Caysm Steel Orc. WLIB, Carib News,
Caribbean Chambers of Commerce, Lord Pretender, Roaring Lion
and dozens of other Individuals and Institutions. We have
been the recipient of several awards and Citations. As an
active member of the Trinidad & Tobago Alliance, we have
endeavored to keep this Organization alive and focused.
Hawks has been involved in the West-Indian American Day
Carnival since 1973 and has made significant contributions
to its development by the high standards of it's portrayals,
having captured the Band of the Year title on many
occasions. We are proud to state that over our 29 years of
promotion of Fund-raising activities, all of our functions
have been of a very high standard.
Recognizing
that in order for the Organization to continue to thrive,
the mission should be adjusted to meet the needs of the
Information Technology era. Thus, we have embarked in a
"New Direction" called the "Millennium
Generation" If you would like to be part of this
endeavor, then help Hawks International to continue to
thrive by supporting our sponsored activates. Thus helping
us to create the next chapter in this enriched legacy!
Dare
to forge the future . . . make the difference.
