On Sunday, February 23, New York State Senator James Skoufis presented the Middletown Branch of the NAACP with an Empire Award in recognition of our service to the community.
Senator Skoufis presented the award to NAACP Middletown Branch President Danielle Matthews and Immediate Past President Gail Jeter at a Black History Month celebration held by the Union AME Church in Warwick Village. The church’s senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Ann Marie Bentsi-Addison Posey, led the celebration. Warwick Village Mayor Michael Newhard also attended and joined in celebrating Black History and the work of the NAACP.
Other members of the Middletown Branch’s executive committee were on hand to join the celebration, including Treasurer Manny Tirado, Youth and Young Adult Engagement Chair Judy Battista, Communications Chair Wayne Patterson, and at-large committee members Donna Douglas and Africa Staples.
Empire Awards are presented by members of the New York State Senate for special recognition to New Yorkers who have contributed to their communities. The Middletown Branch was reactivated in January of 2024 after approximately a decade of inactivity. Senator Skoufis particularly recognized the branch’s work to improve youth literacy and English Language Arts through book giveaways, efforts to register and engage voters in the electoral process, and work to engage youth and young adults in activism and the work of the NAACP.
The NAACP Middletown Branch is one of 53 NAACP branches in New York State, and one of seven in the Mid-Hudson Region. The branch serves all people who live and/or work in western Orange County, including the cities of Middletown and Port Jervis as well as the towns of Chester, Crawford, Greenville, Goshen, Hamptonburgh, Minisink, Montgomery, Mount Hope, Deerpark, Wallkill, Warwick, and Wawayanda.
The NAACP’s mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.
