After working for the New York City Transit Authority for 27 years, Yvonne Peters, the Vincentian-born founder and president of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Cultural Group, Inc. (CACG) and the Miss New York Continental Cultural Pageant, has retired, throwing a lavish party on May 31 at Africa House in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
The celebration, which also marked Peters’s birthday, attracted family members and several of Peters’s friends, associates, and community members.
“As I celebrate this milestone and reflect on my life’s journey, I realized that I have come this far by faith amidst my achievements and challenges – the hustle and bustle on my journey and realistically raising my three children,” Peters, who was born in Kingstown, the Vincentian capital, told Caribbean Life exclusively.
With 26 siblings — eight of whom are on her mother’s side — Peters said she dropped out of high school but later graduated from St. Joseph Convent Commercial Institute in Kingstown.
As a teenage mother of two daughters, supported by her parents and family, Peters said she spent much of her adolescent years playing netball.
Later, she said she became a qualified netball umpire, a masquerader, a double second player in Abucalypse Steel Pan Orchestra, a founding member of Avenues United Netball teams, a dedicated member of Avenues United Sports and Cultural Club, and a founding member of Avenues United Village Youth Pageant—all in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“My aspiration was to help the young people in my community to become active, mixed and mingled; (and) organized picnics, sponsored walks, bake sales, etc.,” Peters said.
After migrating to New York in 1984, she said she was “determined to become a part of the American dream.
“I worked as a nanny for many years and never lost the vision of my purpose of the new world, America,” she said.
Peters said she attended any available training or educational classes, whether swimming, adult education, computer training, or exercise.
“Daytime soap operas did not captivate much of my attention,” she said. “I had rather spent my downtime pursuing information that was knowledgeable and would inspire me,” she said.
But Peters said her love for netball remained “a constant” in her life.
In Brooklyn, she said she was a member of and netball player for Hairoun Sports Club; president and player of Islanders Netball Sports Club; founder and president of Antillians Sports and Cultural Club; member of Vincy Foreign-Based Club; vice president and treasurer of the Caribbean American Netball Association (CANA); and founder and president of CACG, which organizes the Brooklyn-based Miss New York Continental Cultural Pageant.
Peters said that when her nanny job became part-time, she “found the courage and enrolled” at John Jay College for Criminal Justice. This resulted in an internship at NYC Transit, where she was employed for 27 years.
“And today, I’m proud to be a retiree,” she said. “Today, I am grateful and thankful for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me and the existence of my children and grandchildren.
“I believe in forgiveness and enjoy a good laugh,” she added.
In paying tribute to his mother, Derone Kitwana “Kee” Woodley told celebrants: “Today, we celebrate a woman whose strength, grace, and love helped shape the lives of everyone around her, especially my sisters and me.
“As her only son, I have had the unique privilege of witnessing firsthand the balance she’s always maintained: fierce, disciplined, and rooted in tradition yet grounded in love,” he said. “Born and raised in beautiful St. Vincent (and the Grenadines), she brought a spirit of resilience and joy that carried us through every chapter.
“She worked tirelessly—not just in her career, but in raising us and our extended family without a second thought, guiding us with wisdom, laughter, and unshakable support,” Woodley added. “She sacrificed so much to ensure we had what we needed, naturally becoming the glue that held us together.
“Now, it’s her time to rest, roam, and enjoy the life she has so richly earned,” he continued. “And I can’t think of a better way to mark this moment than with a poem that captures her next chapter.”
The poem says in part: “The emails stopped, the meetings ceased/My calendar at last released/No more alarms at break of day/Now I just snooze the stress away/I’m trading spreadsheets for a breeze/I’ve clocked in years—now I clock out/With zero doubts and not one pout/This chapter’s mine, long overdue/
To rest, to roam, and just be me—too true.”
Shannon Ramona Peters, Yvonne’s second daughter, said her mom is “absolutely phenomenal.”
“She’s the kind of person who lights up every room she walks into, with a heart so big it could fill an entire universe,“ she said. “Her strength, wisdom, and endless love make her the best mom ever. There’s truly no one like her.
“She always knows just what to say or do to make everything better, and her unwavering support has shaped me into who I am today,“ Shannon added. “Whether it’s through her kindness, her patience, or her ability to make each moment feel special, she proves, time and time again, why she is simply amazing. I’m beyond lucky to have her in my life.“
In congratulating Peters on her retirement and birthday, Adonna Lewis-Dudley, CACG director, said Peters “has now moved on from the everyday’ 9 to 5‘ to now the life of leisure to do what she wants, when she wants and that’s if she wants.
“However, what she has not retired from is her work for the community – being an inspiration for those in need, creating opportunities for the youth, creating workshops and spaces for them to express themselves, and, more importantly, paying it forward to help another.,“ Lewis-Dudley added. “Donating and supporting other organizations are also a big part of her life.“
As CACG director, Lewis-Dudley said she has “seen firsthand the passion, love, and even the finances Yvonne Peters pours into the organization.”
She said CACG was founded over 15 years ago with the vision to help the community’s youth “be nurtured into leaders of tomorrow.“
Lewis-Dudley said Peters’s “aspiration was to create a group of well-minded individuals from different aspects of life to work with youth in every capacity that would help them through everyday challenges.”
She said CACG has successfully provided the youth with scholarships, work experiences, travel opportunities, funding, and much more.
“Yvonne Peters is definitely a pillar in the community, and she has and is always there to help others,“ Lewis-Dudley said. “And it is my prayers that the community is there to support her as well.
“Know that, with retirement, she is even more committed to her organization, CACG, though never wavered, to continue with the tradition of cultural pageant shows, the tea parties, meet and greet events, and more,“ she added. “Love and respect to you, Yvonne, for a job well done.”
