Brooklyn's Progress
February/March 2005

On Feb. 24 the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and its Minority and Women Business Owners Committee will honor Samuel Dunston Sr., President, National Allotment Insurance Agency and Pamela Green, Executive Director, The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, during its Annual Black History Month Celebration at Akwaaba Mansion, 347 MacDonough St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Samuel L. Dunston Sr. has worked in the insurance and employee benefits fields for more than 40 years.  He began his career as an insurance agent in North Carolina.  In 1977 he started his own insurance company, National Allotment Insurance Agency, Ltd.  What began as a home-based insurance business has now grown into a company offering a full line of insurance and financial services.

Mr. Dunston is active in civic and business organizations throughout Brooklyn including serving on the Brooklyn Chamber Board of Directors and as co-chair of the Chamber’s Minority and Women Business Owners Committee.  He is also active with the Brooklyn Hospital Community Advisory Board, CABS Nursing Home, the Greater New York Chapter of the National Business League, The Brooklyn Sports Foundation, the Brooklyn Sportscasters Association and the United States New Independent States Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Dunston and his wife, Rev. Patricia Dunston, have five children.

As Executive Director of the Weeksville Society, Pamela Green is responsible for the management and expansion of this historic African-American preservation and education organization.  Ms. Green’s primary responsibilities include managing the complete restoration of four historic houses and the creation of a new cultural/education facility, strategic planning, fundraising, and implementing new educational and cultural programs.

Weeksville is one of the first free African-American communities, established in 1838.  Ms. Green has overseen the $3 million restoration project for the historic houses on Hunterfly Rd. Weeksville was home to the first African-American woman physician in New York State, the first African-American policeman in New York City and other professionals including craftsmen, laborers, ministers, teachers and farmers.  The grand opening of the historic houses is planned for spring 2005. 

Each year, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and its Minority and Women Business Owners Committee (MWBO) hosts a Black History Month Celebration to recognize the achievements of African-Americans.  The Chamber’s MWBO Committee addresses the specific needs of minority and women business owners including procurement, networking and advocacy.