Vincent Getchum HoSang, OD, (born August 5, 1940) is a Jamaican-American businessman and philanthropist, who is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Caribbean Food Delights and Royal Caribbean Bakery.

Early life and education

HoSang was born in Springfield St. James,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

to Mr. and Mrs. Henry HoSang who had migrated from China in the early 1900s. He is the eighth child of ten, six boys and four girls. At age 12, HoSang's parents moved to Montego Bay. He received his early education at

Cornwall College Cornwall College may refer to: * The Cornwall College Group, in Cornwall and Devon, England * Cornwall College, Jamaica * Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, Cornwall, Ontario, Canada {{Disambiguation ...

. In February 1968, HoSang migrated to the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Career

In February 1978, HoSang and his wife bought a fast food store known as Kingsbridge Delight in the West Bronx, selling fried chicken, shrimp, ribs, and French fries. In 1980, Sunrise Bakery on Dyre Avenue, which was owned by another West Indian, became available. The HoSangs bought it in December 1980 with the intention of making it a full-fledged Jamaican bakery and changed its name to Royal Caribbean Bakery. In 1984, they expanded into a 15,000 sq ft.facility on East 233rd street in the Bronx where Caribbean Food Delights was incorporated and became the frozen food division of Royal Caribbean Bakery. The company at this stage expanded into the wholesale trade. Three years later in 1987, both companies expanded into a 20,000 sq ft facility in

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, New York. The HoSangs next bought a 73,000 sq. ft. building on 10 acres of property in

Tappan, New York Tappan ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, New York, United States. It is located northwest of Alpine, New Jersey, north of Northvale, New Jersey and Rockleigh, New Jersey, northeast of ...

in 1993 and named it Caribbean Food Delights.

Philanthropy

HoSang established the Vincent HoSang Family Foundation (VHFF) in April 2002 as a means of giving back to the community and educating future entrepreneurs. The VHFF is a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

that comprises the philanthropic arm of Caribbean Food Delights and Royal Caribbean Bakery. The foundation funds full scholarships for six students studying entrepreneurship at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

. The Vincent HoSang University of the West Indies Venture Competition (UWIVC) was started in 2002. Sponsorship was taken over by the foundation since its inception. Each year, the foundation is involved in a range of philanthropic projects, such as serving over 4,000 meals to student athletes at the

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every year, and donating US$250,000 to

Missionaries of the Poor The Missionaries of the Poor OJ () is a Roman Catholic monastic religious institute of Brothers and Sisters dedicated to ''"Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross"'' to serve the poorest of the poor. Its members use the nominal letters MOP (wh ...

in Jamaica to build a place of worship, a food pantry, and other community activities.

Personal life

HoSang met his wife, Jeanette (née Leefatt), who is from

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, in

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and got married in August 1976. The couple have four children: Damian, Sabrina, Simone and Brian. Brian HoSang was involved in a fatal motorcycle crash on May 12, 2008 at the age of 24.

Honors and awards

* Commonwealth Award,

St. George's Society The Royal Society of St George is an England, English Patriotism, patriotic society established in 1894 to encourage interest in the English way of life, and English History of England, history, ideals, Convention (norm), customs and traditions. ...

of New York (2010) *

Westchester County Board of Legislators The Westchester County Board of Legislators is the legislative, policy-making branch of Westchester County, New York. The powers of the Board are enumerated in the county's charter. A key power of the Board concerns finances: appropriating funds ...

Citation (2012) *

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(Hon.), University of the West Indies (2012) *

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

Community Leadership Award (2013). * Officer of the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

, Jamaica (2015) *

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

Citation (2018) * Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in the Family Business category in New York (2019).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HoSang, Vincent Living people 1940 births Jamaican people of Chinese descent People from Montego Bay Jamaican businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American retail chief executives Businesspeople from the Bronx Cornwall College, Jamaica alumni Officers of the Order of Distinction Jamaican philanthropists