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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 07/18/2024-REPORTED OUT TO THE FLOOR 06/28/2024-REPORTED OUT TO THE COMMITTEE ON RULES AND JUDICIARY BILL NO. 35-0239 Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands February 28, 2024 An Act honoring and commending Mrs. Claire Lorraine Brown Roker for her dedicated service to the Virgin Islands community by naming the visitors center at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, the “Claire L. Roker Visitors Center” PROPOSED BY: Senators Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Javan E. James Sr., Angel L. Bolques, Jr., Donna A. Frett-Gregory, Samuel Carriόn, Franklin D. Johnson, and Marise C. James WHEREAS, Claire Lorraine Brown Roker was born on April 13, 1938, at Frederiksted 1 Hospital, Frederiksted St. Croix, Virgin Islands; 2 WHEREAS, Claire is the third child born to Wilhelmina Jackson Brown and Henry 3 David Brown; 4 WHEREAS, prior to her family’s move to the United States mainland, Claire attended 5 the St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Frederiksted until the third grade; 6 WHEREAS, in 1956, Claire graduated from Andrew Jackson High School, in Queens, 7 New York; 8 WHEREAS, after Claire graduated from high school, she held several administrative 9 positions—including, at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) as secretary, and 10 2 worked for Foot Flair Shoes as a receptionist on the 69th floor of the Empire State Building in 1 New York City, New York; 2 WHEREAS, Claire earned credits in business administration and accounting at the 3 College of the Virgin Islands; 4 WHEREAS, Claire met Christian “Wally” Waldermar Roker at the Bernice Johnson 5 Dance School in New York City; 6 WHEREAS, Claire married Wally Roker in November of 1958; 7 WHEREAS, Claire’s interest in and love for the entertainment and tourism industries 8 grew tremendously through her work assisting Wally“, a member of the original Heartbeats 9 singing group, in the production end of the music business industry; 10 WHEREAS, Claire had opportunities to meet, interact and travel with performers 11 including the Isley Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Nat King Cole and the 12 Shirelles; 13 WHEREAS, Claire is the mother of three daughters, Chrystal Michelle Roker Clendinen 14 (now deceased), Laura Renee Roker Tibbs, and Chyrise Lorraine Davis Eleonora, and the 15 grandmother of five and the great-grandmother of seven; 16 WHEREAS, in 1964, Claire visited St. Croix and introduced her two eldest children to 17 their paternal grandparents Christian and Christina Henneman; 18 WHEREAS, with Wally traveling internationally and there being an excellent support 19 system at home, Mrs. Roker decided to stay on St. Croix with her mother Wilhelmina Jackson 20 Brown and her maternal aunt, the well-known educator Delta Minvera Jackson Dorsch; 21 WHEREAS, in January 1965, Claire started employment as a Passenger Service 22 Representative with Pan American Airlines until the company left the territory in 1975; 23 3 WHEREAS, in 1975, Claire was employed as a Travel Agent for Farrelly’s Travel 1 Agency, St. Croix; 2 WHEREAS, in 1978, Claire successfully opened Roker’s Travel & Tours Agency 3 influenced by Delta Dorsch’s community work with the Business and Professional Women’s 4 organization and mentoring by educators and professional women, including Business and 5 Professional Women member Octavia Ross and Evelyn Williams, part owner of Roker’s 6 Travel; 7 WHEREAS, from 1982 to 1987, Mrs. Roker was employed at Cruzan Rum as Pavilion 8 Manager and Tour Manager; 9 WHEREAS, on February 9, 1987, Mrs. Roker was appointed by Governor Alexander 10 Farrelly and Lt. Governor Derek M. Hodge as Assistant Director of Tourism under 11 Commissioner of Tourism Eric Dawson and Assistant Commissioner of Tourism Leona 12 Bryant; 13 WHEREAS, in her time as Assistant Director of Tourism, Mrs. Roker brought the 14 Smithsonian’s 1990 Festival of American Folklife to the island of St. Croix, featuring Virgin 15 Islands history and culture and that of the people of Senegal, West Africa; 16 WHEREAS, on February 18, 1991, Mrs. Roker was appointed as Director of Tourism; 17 WHEREAS, on August 29, 1994, Mrs. Roker was promoted to Assistant Commissioner 18 of Tourism by the Farrelly-Hodge administration; 19 WHEREAS, from 1997 to 2005, Mrs. Roker was Office Manager for Virgin Islands 20 Delegate to Congress Donna Christian-Christensen; 21 4 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker served as Senator Ronald Russell’s Community Outreach 1 Coordinator from his first term in the 25th Legislature until he became President of the 29th 2 Legislature, at which time she became his Office Manager; 3 WHEREAS, in the 1970’s, Mrs. Roker developed an interest in the politics of the 4 territory; 5 WHEREAS, in 1974, Mrs. Roker volunteered as a campaign helper and manager for the 6 late Atty. Derek M. Hodge who successfully ran for St. Croix District Chairman of the 7 Democratic Party; 8 WHEREAS, in 1982, Mrs. Roker was a campaign volunteer with the Derek Hodge 9 campaign for Governor against Juan F. Luis. In 1984; she was a campaign volunteer for 10 Hodge’s campaign for the Legislature of the Virgin Islands; and in 1986, she was a campaign 11 volunteer for Alexander Farrelly and Derek Hodge’s campaign for Governor and Lt. Governor; 12 WHEREAS, in 2007, Mrs. Roker was elected as a delegate to the Virgin Islands 5th 13 Constitutional Convention; 14 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker has served as the Democratic Party Chair in the District of St. 15 Croix; 16 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker has dedicated over 60 years being engaged in the St. Croix 17 community, taking part in community events, and volunteering; 18 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker is recognized as the “Virgin Islands Queen Mother of 19 Pageants”; 20 WHEREAS, in 1972, Mrs. Roker’s first venture into the world of pageantry, where she 21 coordinated the Miss Black Teenage America-USVI; 22 5 WHEREAS, in 1972, she founded the Hal Jackson’s Virgin Islands Talented Teen 1 Scholarship Competition and directed the pageant for 40 years, encouraging hundreds of girls 2 and young women to showcase their talent on Virgin Islands stages and during international 3 competition, bringing home five international crowns; 4 WHEREAS, Virgin Islands contestants have won other competitions and gained 5 prominent positions in the public and private sectors all over the world; 6 WHEREAS, in 1999, Claire successfully brought the Hal Jackson’s Talented Teen 7 International Competition to the Reichhold Center for the Arts on St. Thomas, after having 8 brought the international pageant to St. Croix's Island Center in the late seventies. These 9 scholarship competitions and pageants brought contestants, coaches, families, entertainers and 10 production crews from the United States mainland, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean to the 11 Virgin Islands. Additionally, the local pageants became known for bringing well known 12 television and stage entertainers to St Croix, including El DeBarge, Johnny Gill, Ralph Carter, 13 Michelle Thomas, Sheryl Lee Ralph, New Edition, Patrice Rushen, and many others; 14 WHEREAS, from 1967-1971, 1973, 1975-1980, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, and 1995- 15 2005 Mrs. Roker served as Miss St. Croix Pageant Chairperson; 16 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker sent contestants and actively participated in the Smith Haynes 17 Talent Competition in St. Kitts for 27 years, bringing home seven regional crowns; local 18 contestants later went on to win or place in the top ten in competitions which included Miss 19 Virgin Islands, Ms. Earth US Virgin Islands, Miss US Paradise Supranational, among others; 20 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker was Executive Director and Coordinator of the Miss America 21 Virgin Islands Outstanding Teens competition for 11 years with contestant placements in the 22 top ten, and one America’s Choice Award Selection; 23 6 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker has been involved in a variety of other mentoring roles as 1 judges for various competitions over the years; her training and mentoring have helped many 2 contestants win in school competitions, local competitions, national, regional, and international 3 competitions, bringing global recognition to the United States Virgin Islands; 4 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker has either volunteered, been a part of, or held leadership roles 5 in organizations like Our Town Frederiksted, Rotary West of St. Croix, Midre A.Cummings 6 Park Rehabilitation Project, Relay for Life, Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, Frederiksted 7 Economic Development Association, St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts of 8 America, Virgin Islands Puerto Rican Friendship Committee, Virgin Islands Tourism Council 9 Advisory Committee, Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Board, and Ebony Fashion 10 Fair Show, just to name a few; 11 WHEREAS, Mrs. Roker has been honored or recognized by various organizations to 12 include the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority as an Honorary Member in 1982, the Danny Glover 13 Citizen Award, St. Croix Casper A. Holstein Lifetime Award, and Casper A. Holstein Service 14 Above Self Award from St. Croix Center Stage, the Mario DeChabert Above and Beyond 15 Award from the Frederiksted Economic Development Association, Haynes Smith, Ms. 16 Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant 30th Anniversary Award for loyalty and commitment as a 17 franchise holder, U.S. Virgin Islands Freshwater Association, Inc. Award for Community 18 Service, Miss St Croix Pageant Legacy Award, Paul Harris Fellow Award from Rotary of St. 19 Croix West, and the Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights Folklife Festival National Platform 20 Award 2023 (175th Virgin Islands Emancipation Commemoration); 21 WHEREAS, from 1973-74, Mrs. Roker was the social life columnist for the St. Croix 22 Herald Tribute for which Atty. Mario DeChabert was the owner and editor and one of the 23 7 originators and served as the coordinator for the Frederiksted Economic Development 1 Association’s Sunset Jazz series of outdoor concerts; and 2 WHEREAS, from her involvement in tourism, politics, and her venture into pageantry, 3 Mrs. Roker has always put her best foot forward in the interest of her community, her 4 colleagues, and contestants; Now, Therefore, 5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 6 SECTION 1. The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf of the people of the Virgin 7 Islands, honors and commends Claire Lorraine Brown Roker for her dedicated service to the 8 Virgin Islands community. 9 SECTION 2. The President of the Legislature or the President’s designee shall present 10 a perma plaque copy of this Act to Claire Lorraine Brown Roker at an appropriate ceremony. 11 SECTION 3. The visitors center at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility, St. Croix, 12 Virgin Islands, shall be named the “Claire L. Roker Visitors Center”. 13 SECTION 4. The sum of $10,000 is appropriated in the fiscal year ending September 14 30, 2024, from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands to 15 the Virgin Islands Port Authority to erect appropriate signage in a prominent place bearing the 16 inscription the “Claire L. Roker Visitors Center”. These funds remain available until expended. 17 BILL SUMMARY 18 An Act honoring and commending Mrs. Claire Lorraine Brown Roker for her dedicated 19 service to the Virgin Islands community and names the visitors center at the Ann E. Abramson 20 Marine Facility, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, the “Claire L. Roker Visitors Center”. 21 BR23-0707/February 21, 2024/ PFA 22