Outstanding Leadership in Queens
2003 Honoree of the Queens Federation of Churches

Grace V. Lawrence

Grace V . Lawrence is a native New Yorker, a product of the New York City Public Schools and Long Island University. From an early age, she has been an active member of the Church of the Resurrection, East Elmhurst, where she serves in several organizations and committees. She received the Church's Meritorious Tribute for "dedicated and outstanding service in the Church's Mission."

Her name is synonymous with the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center – which she currently serves as Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Library Action Committee of East Elmhurst and Cultural Center. In the early 1980s when library funding was jeopardized, Grace Lawrence led the community's fight to keep the Langston Hughes Library from closing. She mobilized the community, enlisted the help of all of our elected officials, lobbied in both Albany and Washington, all to secure a level of funding to ensure its permanence. Under her leadership the Queens Borough Public Library incorporated the Langston Hughes Library as one of its blanches in 1987. That same year, then Governor Mario Cuomo presented an award that recognized Langston Hughes Community Library as an outstanding institution. She served on the design team for the new 24, 000 sq. ft. building for the Langston Hughes Library from 1996 until it opened in 1999.

Grace is President of the East Elmhurst-Corona Civic Association, committed to maintaining the quality of life standards in the community. She is also President of the 96-97-98-99-100-104th Streets Block Association in Corona, and Second Vice President of the Jackson Heights Community Development Corporation.

She is a life member of the Corona-East Elmhurst Chapter of the NAACP and an executive member of Community Planning Board #3 and of several of its committees. She is a member of the 115th Precinct Community Council, the Board of Jerome Haldeman Sr. Day Care Center, founding Board member of Neighborhood Housing of Northern Queens, and of the Frederick Douglass Democratic Club.

Grace's talents, energy and enthusiasm for challenge and to make a difference caused her to become involved to make positive changes in the community to enhance the lives of the youth and neighbors and, at the same time, to build bridges with others who work on quality of life issues affecting the community at large.

Grace has been recognized with awards and commendations from many organizations and officials. The Board of Trustees of the Queens Borough Public Library presented her with the "Granirer Award," inscribed "Amazing Grace'‘ – for contributions to the Queens Library. She was one of ten persons in the tri-state area selected and showcased on Fulfilling The Dream, the 8th annual WCBS-TV special celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King's life and work which aired last year. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation awarded her the 2002 Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership Development, presented last August in San Francisco.

Grace is happily married to Paul Lawrence who is also active in the community.