Dr Roy Hastick has died

by Linda Straker

• Roy Hastick died today from Covid-19
• Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce paid tribute to Hastick in February 2020
• Caribbean Tourism Organisation awarded him “Distinguished Caribbean Citizen Award” in 2018

Grenadian Roy Hastick, who founded the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), has died. A victim of the Covid-19, Hastick died in a New York hospital on the morning of Thursday, 9 April 2020.

He is one of the dozens of Grenadians who have lost their lives from this coronavirus which has no known cure, and has affected more than one million and caused the death of thousands worldwide.

Only in February 2020, he was one of 4 business leaders that the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce paid tribute to for their role as outstanding business and community leaders.

Hastick who is from the parish of St David, migrated to the United States in 1972 and worked for several years as an administrator, community advocate, entrepreneur and newspaper publisher.

As president and CEO of the CACCI for 30 years, Hastick helped put in place a structure that serves the small business community. CACCI assists people who want to start and grow their own businesses in a climate of unity among diverse cultures.

In 2018, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) presented the “Distinguished Caribbean Citizen Award” to him during a CACCI small business development power breakfast meeting. The honour was part of CTO’s Industry Awards given annually during Caribbean Week New York festivities.

“The Caribbean Tourism Organisation recognises Dr Roy Hastick for his longstanding commitment to representing the interests of Caribbean people at the New York City and State levels,” said Hugh Riley who was the Secretary-General for the organisation. “His steadfast endeavours to strengthen commercial links between the Caribbean and the region’s Diaspora are particularly worthy of commendation and for that reason, we have bestowed the Distinguished Caribbean Citizen Award on him.”

As president and CEO of CACCI, Hastick has helped grow the state-wide membership organisation to over 1,700 and provides expertise in providing business assistance to small start-up and emerging businesses in areas of business planning, financing, procurement, preparation for certification and business expansion, tourism and export/import opportunities.

CACCI’s extensive track record of service delivery includes sponsoring over 600 business networking meetings and establishing partnerships with the US government and private business entities.

Over the years, his organisation sponsored numerous trade missions to the Caribbean, convened business meetings and held briefing sessions on behalf of several Caribbean Heads of State including Prime Ministers of Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Barbados, Haiti, Dominica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Chief Minister of Montserrat.