Southern New Jersey Won Over by First-Ever Dominican get-together in the Garden State

On Friday, October 14, 2011, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and elected government officials united with filmmakers and athletes to help GFDD, and its partner institution The Dominican American Chamber of  Commerce of Southern New Jersey, to come together at the first ever Dominican Get-Together in the Garden State.  The evening’s highlights included a screening of the acclaimed Dominican inspired documentary “The
Republic of Baseball” under the auspices of promoting a better understanding of the richness and diversity of Dominican culture and creating a forum for reflection and discussion of topics relevant to the Dominican community.
 
The event took place at the Rutgers University Camden campus and was opened by the
co-hosts of the event, the Dominican American Chamber of Commerce in Southern New Jersey (DACCSNJ), President and CEO, Miguel Amador, and Secretary, Francia Reyes.  The DACCSNJ, which also serves the Philadelphia area less than a mile away, is an association that promotes economic programs designed to strengthen and expand the income potential of all businesses within the trade area and discover and correct actions which prevent the promotion of business expansion and growth in the
Dominican community. President Amador said that the evening was a unique opportunity encouraging entrepreneurs and business owners to continue to invest in the economic and social development of the region.
 
Mr. Amador then introduced the Mayor of Camden, Ms. Dana Redd, who thanked the Dominican Community for their contributions to the city’s economic rebirth and gave an overview of the many exciting new initiatives in a city brimming with
history, energy, diversity and an exciting future. The city, she said,  is guided by a mission to serve and build Camden”s diverse community by effectively, efficiently and equitably enhancing the quality of life of residents, attracting private investment, stimulating growth citywide and delivering services with a commitment to excellence.
 
Yamile Eusebio, Director of the GFDD’s New York Office, then took the floor and expressed how
honored GFDD was to partner with the Chamber on the evening’s events. Ms. Eusebio went on to describe how the objectives of the Dominican Get-togethers are primarily to promote a better understanding of the richness and diversity of Dominican culture; to enjoy and celebrate its prominent figures and upcoming talents; and to create a forum for reflection and discussion of topics relevant to the Dominican community in the U.S. and at home. The audience was then
treated to a 10 minute video documentation of GFDD’s projects and programs followed by a screening of the evenings featured documentary “The Republic of Baseball”.
 
 “The Republic of Baseball” is a personal story of the epic 1962 World Series as told by 
brave and talented Dominican stars of baseball, Juan Marichal, Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda & Willie McCovey. A lively and informative Q and A session followed with the film’s producer, Rob Ruck, whose skillful documentary adaptation peeled back the pages of history to give Dominican baseball players their well deserved place in the pantheon of ballplayers from a country which produced more major league baseball players per capita than any other place in the world. In the
film, the writers, producers, protagonists and others explored baseball as an iconic sport for the DR and one that has brought global attention to the Caribbean country as the birthplace of world-class baseball players.
 
The Panel was honored to be joined by Dominican MLB outfielder and designated hitter Luis Polonia, who was signed by the Oakland A’s as an amateur free agent in 1984, and would make his Major League Baseball debut with them on
April 24, 1987.  He went on to play for two World Series Championship teams, winning with Atlanta in 1995 and the New York Yankees in 2000. Now retired from the game–.but not from baseball– Polonia is passionate about the tradition of the game, running his own baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic.  
 
He announced plans to bring his own Dominican brand of baseball to new generations of players in the US. He intends to invest in a
Baseball Academy foundation that will scout promising talent and provide them quality instruction and education and help them to realize their maximum potential. He feels deeply that young people in the US do not have the same access to baseball education than those in the rest of the Americas. Polonia, who is a self-taught player and given no official help in breaking into the notoriously difficult major leagues, feels that it his responsibility to give back to the youth. Polonia came with
his son Ronald, who is also an aspiring baseball player.
 
In her acknowledgements, Yamile Eusebio said that it was clear that those in attendance demonstrated a real desire and passion to elevate the image of Dominicans living in the US, as well as contributing to their local communities. She particularly thanked the Dominican American Chamber of Commerce, and its very active board of directors and volunteers, for the opportunity to do this event, as well
as Mayor Dana Redd for Camden’s unwavering support of the Dominican community at large.  She added it was an honor for GFDD and FUNGLODE to have been able to collaborate seamlessly with such effective institutions in an initiative which has brought promising results for future collaboration.
 
 About the Initiative:
 As a part of its mission to promote the understanding and
appreciation of the Dominican culture, values and heritage, and to create opportunities for discussions of contemporary issues relevant to the Dominican society in the homeland and abroad, GFDD reaches out to the Dominican community living the New York Metro Area and to all those interested in the Dominican culture by organizing ongoing events.
 
For more updates, including an upcoming Dominican Get-togethers in the Big Apple on November 18 go to www.dominicangettogethers.org