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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS | Perma Plaque Ceremony Legislature USVI July 10, 2024 · 2.6 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/pywT6N6KMIY Status This is a working transcript produced by machine from a recording of a public proceeding. It is a finding aid, not an official record of the Legislature. Transcribed by VI Update, using OpenAI Whisper large-v3-turbo, run locally. Not reviewed by a person. Reliability Automatic transcription, UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording before relying on it. Speech recognition splits spoken digits and wraps figures mid-number, so a dollar amount, a vote count or a bill number can be wrong in a way that reads as correct. Speakers are not identified: automatic speaker labelling was measured unusable and removed. 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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. the Virgin Islands legislature and I will serve as mistress of ceremonies for today's program 0:00:00 welcome to the special road naming ceremony to honor three individuals who have exemplified extraordinary dedication and commitment to our community. Before we begin I'm pleased to recognize the presence of Senate President Novell E. Francis Jr., Commissioner of Public Works Derrick Gabriel, Vice President of the Legislature Senator Marvin A. Blyden, Legislative Secretary Carla J. Joseph, Minority Leader, Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff, Senator Ray Fonseca, and Senator Alma Francis Heiliger. Today, although none of our honorees are here to receive their just due in person, their families are here, and I would like the families and supporters of each of our honorees to stand when their names are called. 0:53:18 First we have Savanero, military veteran, public servant, businessman, and politician, the former Senator Horace A. Colwood Senior. Family and supporters, please stand and be recognized. Next we have hero, beloved family member, and honorary Fire Chief, Mr. Ben Buren Benny Stevens. And radio host, historian, singer, and world traveler, Wayne 0:54:19 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 1 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony Faxman Adams. Thank you so much for being here with us. Now I kindly request that everyone rise, for the invocation led by our legislative chaplain Reverend Charles L Brown jr. and please remain standing until the conclusion of the national anthem and Virgin Islands March and we also recognize before the invocation the presence of senator Milton E Potter let every heart pray on this tenth day of July Lord we claim you as Alpha and Omega the one who was before all and the one who has the final say today we honor the legacies of Wayne Faxman Adams Ben Buren Benny Stevens and former Senator Horace Hallwood the gift of recounting history that Wayne Faxman Adams had reminds us of Deuteronomy 32 remember the days of old consider the generations long past ask your father and he will tell you your elders and they will explain to you we honor the courage of Ben Buren Benny Stevens displayed in putting himself in harm's way to save a family trapped in the fire and it reminds us of the Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 13 greater love hath no man than this that someone laid down his life for his friends and we honor the legacy of Senator Horace Callwood who often repeated the proclamation not how he lived not how he dies but how did he live. Not what did he gain, but what did he give. It reminds us of the gospel of Mark chapter 8 verse 36. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Our territory is better because these who we honor blessed us. Teach us how to cherish their legacies for many years to come in the name of the one who came not to be served but to serve in Jesus's name I pray amen Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 0:56:29 thank you much very much Reverend Brown for those words and that prayer over today thank you everyone for being seated it is now my honor to introduce the esteemed Senate President Novell E Francis jr. to the podium to provide welcome remarks thank you very much the mistress of ceremonies and a pleasant good morning to all a pleasant good morning to all all right thank you very much our colleagues of the 35th legislature of the Virgin Islands pleasant good morning as well as of course want to recognize our Commissioner of Public Works Department of Public Works Mr. Gabriel former Senator and State Chair the Democratic Party, Mr. Stedman Hodge. Family, friends, well-wishers, central staff. 1:00:34 I can't help but recognize some of my former colleagues of the Virgin House Police Department. I see Lieutenant Evans out there and certainly I also see Officer Samuel out there as well. Good morning and welcome to the Capitol building and today we're in the Earl B. Atlee legislative chambers. I want to say good morning and welcome to all to this perma plaque ceremony. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the families, friends and well-wishers on this auspicious occasion. I'm honored to bring greetings on the behalf of the members of the 35th legislature as we celebrate Virgin Islanders who have made outstanding and significant contributions to the betterment of our entire territory. My colleagues and I are proud to honor Wayne Faxman Adams in Act 8789, Ben Burin Benny Stevens in Act 8733, and former Senator Horace Calwood in Act 8706. And I also want to take this opportunity to commend and thank all of the bill's sponsors and these resolutions and offering these individuals as we continue to post-hormenously honor and commend them. I just want to talk a little bit about the resolution process and how resolutions are moved to the legislature. A lot of times yeah we get criticized for moving resolutions to the legislature but if we don't who else will? We take the time to make sure that individuals are honored and commended for their contribution to the Virgin Honest community. A resolution is offered and put together with wherefore or where to causes and submitted to legal counsel by a drafting document. Once is drafted by legal counsel it goes through the committee of jurisdiction which is the committee of government operations consumer protection and veterans 1:01:36 Affairs which is chaired by the Madam Secretary Carla J. Joseph and wants to leave that committee then it goes through of course we hear from family members and other individuals in regards to the vetting of that during the committee process then it goes through the Rules and Judiciary Committee chaired by Senator Dan Capehart and from there which is a clearinghouse of all bills and and then it goes to the legislative session and once it's voted upon in legislative session becomes officially a bill and sent forward to the governor for signature once it's approved by the honorable governor and is sent down and then here we are today where we are actually recognizing those individuals so it is a grueling process but one that certainly requires your diligence and it gives us an opportunity and not just once not just twice but sometimes three or four times to be able to at least recognize those individuals. So we welcome and appreciate that process. Today, we take another step forward in paying tribute to these outstanding trailblazers who are being recognized posthumously for their tremendous contributions to our community. 1:03:47 At an event like this, reminds us that those we are honoring have helped to weave the social fabric of our community and embodied the tradition of giving back. Mr. Adams will be long remembered for his intellect and for his articulation of historical events that have been significant to the people of the Virgin Islands. Mr. Stevens will be memorialized for his tremendous act of bravery and fearlessness in saving the lives of a mother and six children. Former two-term Senator Horace Callwood will be remembered as a true. humanitarian who gave of his time, his resources, and ingenuous ideas to our community. 1:05:02 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 2 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony These three powerful men have left a lasting legacy for each of us in the Virgin Islands to follow. It is always the right time to celebrate Virgin Islanders who have made their mark in our community. This honor today will stand as a testament to the exceptional record of history, education, bravery, public service, and leadership. We thank them for all that they have done in service to our community. I also want to thank Commissioner Derrick Callwood and his outstanding staff of the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for helping to make today possible. 1:05:47 Derrick Gabriel, what I said. Derrick Gabriel, sorry. Let me say that again. I also want to thank Commissioner Derrick Gabriel and the outstanding staff of the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for helping to make today possible. And the 35th Legislature Executive Director, Ms. Kurel Sheridan and Ms. Jervon Otley from the Executive Director's Office, the entire central staff of the Legislature, my personal senatorial staff, are organizing this wonderful celebration of these exceptional Virgin Islands. We anticipate a similar ceremony on St. Croix in the near future. Today's rule of engagement is that we'll have the ceremony here today, and that we'll be going out into the field where we're able to do the actual unveiling of the roads that will be certainly recognized in their honor today. So I want to say thank you all for being here today. 1:06:26 God bless each and every one of you. God bless and save this United States Virgin Islands. Look forward to a good day today. Thank you very much, mistress of ceremony. Thank you very much, Mr. President. And in that vein of collaboration, so that we can honor our commitments to honor, we do have, today is a joint ceremony, so we will have remarks also from the Commissioner of Public Works, Derek Gabriel. 1:07:22 Good morning, good morning, Honorable Senate President, Novell Francis, members of the 35th Legislature in attendance and those that may not be here with us. Of course, those representing our honorees, especially their families and friends. Good morning, Virgin Islanders, one and all. Good morning. Today we are really excited because we are here to celebrate three outstanding Virgin Islanders that have left a lasting legacy in our territory that will continue to be celebrated for years and decades to come. Mr. Wayne Faxman Adams, who I am truly happy that we are naming this bridge after him so it will no longer be the bridge to nowhere. it is finally the Wayne Faxman Adams bridge my goodness I'm so excited about that we are also here to honor of course mr. Ben Buren Benny Stevens who showed an act of true selflessness in in putting himself last to save others I really in learning of his story and in reading the legislation I really was truly inspired by his act and I think route 30 which is one of our main routes in st. Thomas will forever bear the name of mr. Ben Buren Stevens and of course mr. Harris Calwood who has left not just a lasting legacy but he has left his family here with us to continue pushing that forward in the name of public service mr. Calwood not only was a formidable member of our Democratic Party but he truly did all that he could to push our territory forward privately and as a public servant I do want to thank of course the families of these three gentlemen for making sure that they were they were there to push our virgin islands history and culture forward and of course i do want to thank the senate the legislature i want to thank you miss sheridan this is really um really a good start to a wonderful thing that we we want to see continue forward i of course want to thank my staff for all the hard work that you do i know i am not the easiest person to deal with with events like this but i thank you very much And of course, you know, the last thing I want to say is that it means something when we affix a name to a public transportation route. For me, especially as a Virgin Islander with young children, a lot of times when my children ask me who these people are, it gives us a chance to pause and celebrate their history and culture and teach them about it. So it's not just about a road naming. It's not just about recognition. it's about their history their culture and the person that they are continuing to pass on for generations to come so I want to thank you thank you again for your sacrifice thank you for allowing your family members to serve our community thank you to the members of those of the legislation of course thank you Senate president for putting this event forward thank you all 1:07:58 thank you Commissioner now we are going to take a little pause and we're going have a musical selection the musical selection will be performed by dr robert chowell jr he is a family member i'm not going to tell you which one he's a family member of one of the honorees but the virgin islands is full of talent and so we are going to welcome you dr chowell to grace us with this musical selection yes you can come right on up here good afternoon thank you very much for the opportunity to make a contribution that today i'm going to sing a song that's very familiar to everyone but it exemplifies all that each of the three honorees stood for, which is making sure that they help others along the journey. 1:10:44 If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody that they're traveling wrong, then my living shall not be in vain. 1:12:05 If I can tell somebody about the Lamb once slain If I can tell somebody that He rose again That he can cleanse the body, he can wash away each stain Then my living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain If I can help somebody as I pass along Then my living shall not be in vain If I can help somebody as I pass along If I can cheer somebody with a word or song If I can help somebody as I journey through this world Then my 1:12:50 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 3 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain Oh, then my living shall not be in vain If I can help somebody as I pass along Then my living shall not be in vain You know the words Then my living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain If I can help somebody as I pass along Then my living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain Then my living shall not be in vain Thank you, Dr. Chawla. That was awesome. That really blessed us this morning. And I know that Mr. Ben-Murin Benny Stevens would have been exceptionally proud, especially 1:15:02 proud of that musical performance thank you and we have another senator who has joined thank you so much Senate President we recognize the presence of Senator Angel Bochel jr our at-lunch senator all right so without further ado we are going to present the perma plaques the perma plaques will be what the family is able to walk away with and it has a fixed inside of it the actual text of the act and the signatures as well as the seals the office of the governor and the legislature so we will begin with the first act i will read the short title of each act and then i will welcome the bill sponsor the primary sponsor to provide remarks then we will have the representative provide remarks then we'll take pictures and we will then invite the family members and supporters to come up we have this big beautiful open space for you to take photos we made sure we moved everything out of the way today so that we have ample space for those photos so we are going to start with act number 8706 as we honor horace a colwood senior an act honoring and commending former senator horace a colwood senior posthumously for his dedicated service and commitment to the people of the virgin islands and naming the south north south street immediately east of the windward passage in his memory primary sponsor and vice president of the legislature marvel a blyton we invite you to the podium to provide remarks on your measure. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. Very well. 1:17:21 Before I begin, I just want to honestly give thanks to our God, and I want to thank my colleagues who supported this measure and signed on. in its most important piece of legislation we had Senator Angel Boquist jr. sign on Senator Carla Joseph Senator Donna Fred Gregory Senator Milton Potter Senator Alma Francis Heliger Senator Ray Fonseca and Senator Javon James Sr. so again I want to say good morning Mr. President and other members of the 35th legislature present we have the secretary Senator Joseph Senator It is a great honor to be part of this important moment and to speak about the importance of Virgin Islands heroes and a personal mentor of mine, the late former senator Harris A. Calwood Sr. In the history of the Virgin Islands legislature, there are many examples of persons who serve in a body for however many years and then quietly fade away from the Virgin Islands public life. Harris Calwood Sr. was not one of those people. As a young man in his early thirties, just 10 years after graduating from college, Senator Calwood served two terms in the Virgin Islands legislature from 1967 to 1971. The end of his legislative tenure, 1:19:23 however, will mark just the beginning of Horace Calwood's long and distinguished career of public service. Over the next 50 years, Harris Calwood will serve as one of the most important leaders of the Democratic Party, as a leading member of the business community, and as a giant of community service and involvement. Harris Calwood was instrumental in the empowerment of the black working class in the Virgin Islands, as part of a group of young political activists who organized and carried out the mass takeover of the previously elitist Democratic Party in the 1960s. Indeed, it is no understatement to say that the massive Victory 66, which Caldwell was part of, transformed the political landscape of these Virgin Islands. Harris Caldwell maintained this commitment to the working class up until the end of his life and his final position on any political question would be his judgment as to how the matter would impact the everyday working man who he always affectionately called and referred to as zeke how will zeke feel about this how will it affect zeke what is being proposed here this along with unifying and strengthening the Democratic Party to be more effective in representing the working class was always Harris' core concern. 1:21:18 In my opinion, this was one of the chief qualities that made Harris Caldwell a true Virgin Islands hero and an example to all who would engage in public life. He understood in a way that is all too rare today, that it was not about him, and it is not about us, but it is always, always about the people we serve. I cannot speak about Harris Calwood without speaking and giving thanks for the impact that he has had on my own life. 1:23:01 Harris Calwood was one of those elders who saw potential in me when I didn't even realize it in myself. He was a constant source of guidance and support. I cannot count the hours I spent in his office, in the school busing ink yard, and I can never repay the debt I owe him for the countless, countless gems of wisdom that he imparted on me. 1:23:40 As we all know, Harris-Carlwood presided over the Harris-Carlwood Democratic Breakfast Club, which met weekly at Wynwood Pathage for decades. Indeed, every recent successful Democratic candidate for governor, lieutenant governor, or senate in the St. Thomas and St. John district, Even St. Croix at times has met and made the pilgrimage to Wynwood Pathways to meet Mr. Calwood and other Democratic stalwarts, to submit their plans and platform for review, and to learn the rules of the road from the old masters. As such, it is only fitting that the street running along the east side of 1:24:08 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 4 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony Wynwood Pathways be named in its honor. On behalf of my family and my staff, I want to thank Harris Caldwell Sr. for the invaluable contributions he made to the political and economic development of the Virgin Islands. And I want to thank him personally for the guidance and support that he offered to me as a young Virgin Islander seeking to make my own contributions to our community. Again, on behalf of the president, my staff, and my colleagues, I say thank you, Senator Calwood, and may God bless you as you continue your journey, and may God continue to bless these beautiful Virgin Islands. Thank you so much. And we are blessed this morning. Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. We are blessed for the daughter, the daughter of Mr. Coward, to be here with us. Shaleel, we welcome you to the stage, and we hope that you were blessed to hear about how impactful your father was to a city senator. 1:25:21 Please take the podium. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Senators, especially Senator Blyden. Thank you for that wonderful and very moving speech and very true to life. On behalf of the Honorable former Senator Horace A. Colwood Sr., his family, his friends, members of the Democratic Party and of the Horace Calwood Democratic Breakfast Club and the East End, the official East End Democratic Breakfast Club and the community, I want to say thank you. 1:26:11 Thank you for this honor. Thank you for selecting that particular street. Those who know, know the significance of that street and how long those meetings went on. I remember going to that meeting when I was pregnant with my lovely daughter because I needed to give him some papers and I knew that I could find him there. I remember going to one of those meetings just before I moved to Texas where I sojourned for about 10 years. And it was one of the last meetings, a fond memory I had. And he said to me, you have a legacy here. And that always stuck in the back of my mind, because the way that he lived his life, the way he and his brothers cooperated in business and did things together is something that really stuck with me. He told me about times when they would have a property, one property in Savan. Who did it belong to, Daddy? Well, it belongs to all of us. And if Uncle Courtney needs bonding for a construction project, we sign it over to him. And if another uncle needs it for something else, we sign it over to him. And that kind of cooperation in order to get things done is something that is missing in our community right now. We have become a bit more selfish as a people. And I think that as we look at this particular group of honorees, that is what they have in common, to run into a burning building and save people life. The way Mr. Faxman Adams, when I was in business, he would come by before um before he produced a booklet he would go to business owners and he would tell you about the project he would ask you if you want to contribute and you would contribute and do you 1:26:52 know months later he showed up in your office with your booklets with tangible results of what you contributed to and this went on for I was in business for 17 years and it went on that entire time with my dad I wanted to share a few fond memories one of them was in the bus yard that was another place I knew I could always find him and I was so excited I had to show him my newborn daughter in a pretty dress, a particular dress, so I took her there because I couldn't, you know, I knew I could find him there, and we still treasure that picture. I remember as a child, we were, he was a busy man, but we would have these Sunday drives where we went to visit family members, godmothers, godfathers, and there was something about meeting with people in person that he believed in one time i was in business and he gave me a piece of advice i was going to drive through the bank he said but your business comes from going inside you may meet someone and they may remember oh i need some drawings or something you don't get business from driving through. He liked to talk to people and talk politics of course. And those of you who worked with him, whether it was for a summer or for a long time, he treasured the time that he spent because you didn't have to spend it with him. You didn't have to make that choice. 1:29:08 of you those were the flowers that you gave him those were the things that he remembered each one uh that seated here in a front row he had a special memory of you and that's why i called you told you to sit there uh he wants you to each continue his legacy dr carlwood he had told me to call you. Remember when I called you? He told me to do that. Uncle Angel, he called you many times, especially in the last days. Yes. Butch, he told you to keep the club alive. Mr. Baker, he told you to behave and keep up the fight for my beloved daughter he wanted you to stay beautiful stay true to yourself and follow your dreams and he told me to get out of the way because I have an overbearing way of me those who know me know that and uncle verne he told me that you should take care of uncle verne which you did admirably and he always admired that about you and steadman you have to continue you have to continue to fight for the people and that's all i could say about that you you know the best So I really want to extend a thank you to everybody. 1:31:02 This means a lot to our family, to our friends, to our community. And I would implore the senators to continue, as Senator Blyden said. Put the people first, because that's why you're here. That group that had the Victory 66, that meant a lot to him, because as I was going through the papers that he kept throughout his life, he still had his Poor People's Campaign. he still had papers from victory 66 and with i i came to realize he had a one-man affordable housing program going because up to the very end he was selling people pieces of land who the bank wouldn't sell it to them but he trusted 1:32:50 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 5 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony them and he said you know i know this person is going to pay and they may not pay every month but you'll be surprised they may skip four or five months and then just come in here and pay it off one time so i want to encourage you guys to remember the people is the reason that you're that you're here that victory 66 group of people put things in place to create a black middle class here but it's not going to it can't run forever based on what was done then, now is your time to do it. So thank you. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you very, very much, Ms. Collwood. And I'm going to invite you to stand again. i'm going to invite the prime sponsor and i'm going to invite all the senators to join the senate president and the prime sponsor with presenting the perma plaque in honor of horace callwood to his daughter and then after we will invite the family up to take photos Thank you. 1:34:39 All right, family, please join us. That's all right. Thank you. [3 such phrases repeated 8 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 1:35:46 All right. Alright, so as everybody makes their way back to their seats, I think we understand process for the remaining two families so make sure you know which side is your good side and you just come to that area okay all right so next we are going to be honoring mr ben buren benny stevens with bill number 35-0033 an act honoring and commending mr ben buren benny stevens posthumously for his heroism in saving the lives of a mother and her children and to rename the bovoni road route 30 specifically from the entrance of the saint thomas abattoir to the entrance of the birther c for shelter middle school the ben burin belly stevens drive we welcome the sponsor of this 1:39:26 measure the honorable senator ray fonseca to join me at the podium to speak to this measure a pleasant good morning to all the listening audience and all of the welcome guests here thank you madam executive director I'd like to recognize the president of the presence of Senate President, Novel Francis, and all of my esteemed colleagues. We give thanks and praises to the Most High Blessings. You know, I'm extremely humbled to be able to sit to stand before you and actually detail the reasons why we're here to honor Mr. Stevens. You know, I know the whole family growing up, you know, in Bovoni, Nada. 1:41:18 You know, he's a Savonero, and I claim him also as a Savonero and a family. You know, this Mr. Stevens, you know, he's a true son of the soil. He was born in the British Virgin Islands, but he made St. Thomas his home. Him and his wife, Valerie, they raised seven children, and he passed on July 30th of the year 2010. You know, Mr. Stevens was a young man in his 20s when he worked first at the West Indian boats then at the marine barracks and he was subsequently employed as a mason at the Department of Public Works you know the family originally resided in the Savan community you know his they have seven kids Bernard Ashley Lorraine myron caroline colleen and of course beverly you know um you know i'm going to tell you something right they um you know they say like um the daughter them to pick a husband like the father well sup oppa benny stevens was a sharp dresser right and he was a tall handsome hard-working guy, right? So his daughter Beverly picked the same type of man like the father. 1:42:34 Galvin right in the back. I'd like Galvin to stand. Please. Yes. You know, the thing about Galvin too, right, is all you need to do is smell the corner where he passed and you know he did. He got the best perfume. He always got the sweetest perfume in the cologne in the house. Beverly could tell you about that. You know, subsequently from living in Savan, they moved the family to Narder. The house still stands there today overlooking the Clinton E. Phipps race track. We used to call them the emergency home growing up. You know, they had demolished a few of them. His wife, Miss Valora Stevens, she just made 91 years of age. Congratulations to the wife. You know, they were married for 51 years. A loving man, like I say, a sharp dresser, but he used to be in the Bovoni Baptist Church all the time so he was a good christian you know also right um during all my campaign right um this was the first thing that i wanted to accomplish right to honor benborn stevens for the act of heroism and while no person's life should be reduced to one moment or one choice they made in life. I can tell you that the moment on December 15th, 1986, when Mr. Stevens decided that saving the lives of Janice Daniels and her young children was worth risking his own life, saving six lives with that one choice, that is the moment that distinguished Mr. Benny Benborn, Stevenson and made him a hero in my eyes. As a matter of fact, he even received a letter from the President of the United States at the time, Ronald Reagan, congratulating Mr. Stevens on his act of harem. Yes, there's a letter from the White House. You know, that moment, this example of 1:44:22 profound heroism and self-sacrifice is why my esteemed colleagues in the 35th legislature voted to approve this act unanimously bill number 35-0033 so this act now 8733 has officially renamed the main stretch of the route from the nada abattoir right after the wayne's faxman adams bridge all the way up to the border sebo shelter middle school the road is now named the mr ben burn benny stevens road you know i'd like to give praises and blessings to all of the family You know, some of you have moved away to the States, but some of you are back today. We're glad to see you. I haven't seen some of you guys in a long, long time. Welcome back to the VI. 1:46:49 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 6 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony You know, but I want to also talk real quickly about Mr. Harris Calwood. Because, you know, I used to work at the Housing Authority, and Mr. Conrad Franco was my boss. It was right after the hurricane Maryland occurred. and there was total destruction and i remember the governor at the time snyder directed francois that we're going to build a temporary emergency housing and we're going to build it and we're going to demolish it within two years right and i wasn't sure that it could happen but anyway um i was selected to do it and mr francois told me fonseca i want you to meet somebody this afternoon and when we finish this meeting i want you to join the democratic club so now you know um being that i was a federal employer the person you know with the hatch act i was surprised that that came out from france was mouth because you know he was um you know real stickler so anyway i met mr horace carlwood right and right away right i noticed the demeanor of my boss is like my boss always chaired every meeting he was the boss but at this particular meeting he took a back seat to this particular man Mr. Horace Calwood and I said wow this dude is real serious you know so I better listen up so during the construction progress I realized he was a very articulate man and you know he was he had so much information he came to me one day he He said, Fonseca, listen, this subcontractor you got that's fabricating those panels in Miami, they're not using the proper grade corrugated steel. And I said, wow, how do you know this? 1:47:49 He said, hey, and he pulled out some pictures of the factory, right? And I said, wow, this dude here got all the information. So, you know, that's how I got to learn Mr. Horace Calwood. And, of course, I joined the Young Democrats, me and Sean Malone and Lorna Thomas. so congrats to the whole family of Horace Caldwell also Wayne's Faxman Adam I want to talk briefly about him you know Wayne Faxman Adam is it was very respected in the community and you know he saw always come to me when I was started to run in politics he's a Fonseca I got a poll for you I say okay sure they said no you know a little something so I say well all right Papa and you know he was a brilliant guy he did everything he recorded he he wrote he you know he was a historian and everything so also congratulations to the family and friends of Wayne Fraxman Adams and colleagues and friends thank you for support on this bill number 35-0033 thank you and blessings to everyone enjoy the rest of the day thank you senator and now we welcome the daughter of the hero miss Beverly Saviol for remarks good morning everyone it is indeed an honor and a privilege to stand before you right now on behalf of my family the family of mr. Ben Buren Stevens I greet you on behalf of my mom, Valeria Stevens, who's watching us by television. And I greet you on behalf of my brothers, Ashley, Bernard, and Myron, and my sisters, Lorraine, Carolyn, and Colleen. I thank God for bringing us here this far. With him, all things are possible. So right now, I just want to thank Governor Albert Bryan for signing off on Act 8733. I would like to thank you, the 35th legislature, for signing off and saying yay to this measure. But I personally would like to thank Senator Ray Fonseca for being the first sponsor, Bill 35-0033, because that is how it all started. I would like to thank his staff, especially Mr. Duggins. 1:49:37 Thank you for all you have done for me and my family. And I would like to thank all my supporters as far as those who signed off on the signatures. I would like to thank the Bovoni residents because without their signatures, we wouldn't be here today. And I would like to thank the testifiers, Mr. Ariel Brathwaite, who's here today. He's a close friend of the family. And my nephew, Dr. Robert Charles Jr., who signed so wonderfully today. And I would like to thank my cousin, my friend, my co-worker, Moni Faisa Stout. 1:52:01 She's not here today, but I thank each and everyone who came and testified on that measure. And I would also like to thank my husband, Gervin Samuel. He came and he helped me. He hit the streets and he helped me get signatures. I would like to thank my daughter, Destiny, my son, Elijah, although he's so busy at the Department of Finance. he helped a little bit and I would like to thank my daughter Rachel who sent out prayers every each and every day she's away in the Air Force but you know what I want to go back to the residents of Nata and Bovoni without them I could not be here right now testifying on this measure and I would like to speak on their behalf because I live in the Bovoni area I grew up in another area and And when you look at the stretch of the road, right, one end is Bathsheba Shelter Middle School. That is where our children are educated. 1:52:38 When you look at the other end, yes, there's the abattoir, but you also have the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack. And you know what comes from that racetrack? Revenues. So, and in the middle, you have the Bovoni Landfill. That's where all our garbage is taken. So I'm saying all this to say, if you keep putting in garbage, you're going to get out garbage. But if you keep educating our students, you will get future leaders. And if you take some of that little bit of revenues and put it into our community, you have better schools, you have better basketball courts, you have better sewage line, you have more water lines, and you have a community that I am proud of. I am proud of Bovoni and, you know, Senator DeGraff and Senator Fonseca. They love to say it's seven arrows, but I love my Bovoni and I love my NADA. And, yes, Senator Carla Joseph, that's right. 1:53:38 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 7 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony So please, please, when you appropriate, I'm good, I know about appropriations. So when you appropriate money, please appropriate towards the Bovoni and NADA area. put some money into our community okay and i would like to say one more thing um the daniel family is a you know it's a sweet and and sour occasion right now because some of the individuals from the daniel families are no longer here but a couple of them are here so i'm happy to see that they're here and i would like to send one shout out to my thomas geldon south family we're celebrating 35 years of family togetherness it started on sunday and it ends this sunday so thank you thank you very much on behalf of my family i miss my dad and you know one thing that stood out at the last um last time i was here was something that senator carla joseph said to me and she thanked me for keeping the fire burning for my father and i will always remember that but thank you senator fonseca for having me here today thank you thank you everyone thank you very much miss samuel i think we need to watch out because miss samuel may be um trying to go to the carwood family get some tips and maybe want to come and sit here in these seats so before though we do the plaque presentation i definitely want to recognize another dignitary who is among us, we have here with us Judge Vern Hodge, former presiding judge. 1:54:39 Thank you very much for being here with us today. So now we'll go ahead and present the plaque. So we invite Senator Fonseca, Senate President, Novelli Francis-Jullier, Ms. Samuel, and all senators of the 35th legislature to join us in the middle of the well for the plaque presentation. I'm sorry. Thank you. Let's go. 1:56:16 All right, family, we invite you up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. 1:57:40 And now we take the time to honor Wayne Faxman Adams, Bill number 35-0014, an act posthumously honoring and commending Wayne Faxman Adams for articulating and bringing events of historic significance to the people of the Virgin Islands by naming the bridge at the Estate Lara intersection on the island of St. Thomas, the Wayne Faxman Adams Bridge. Prime Sponsor, the Honorable Alma Frances Heiliger. 2:00:40 Please join me at the podium to speak to this measure. Good morning, good morning, good morning. Listen, this is a long time coming. I have been in this institution headed to four years, and there's two pieces of legislation. I had to walk on, and this was one of them. We tried to bring this piece of legislation to honor Faxman from the 34th, and it got rolled over into the 35th. But first, I want to thank everyone for coming here, everyone that came to honor and recognize all the honorees. But as it relates to Faxman, And I want to thank my colleagues in this institution for really supporting this measure. And they had to go the extra mile when it came to this piece of legislation. 2:01:15 I want to thank Senator Marvin Blyden. When I said we had to work extra hard for this piece of legislation to support Faxman, when I initially submitted the bill, I got preempted. Not preempted to name something after Foxman. I got preempted for the location. Because while I submitted to name the bridge that is formerly Noe, Senator Blyden had submitted to name somebody else's name for that same bridge. 2:02:16 And when I tell you, we had some negotiations, because I wanted that bridge for Foxman. So we negotiated, and we came up with, and he relinquished, and Faxman getting he bridged today. So I have to give him that extra credit, because while people sometimes think we are always battling in here, sometimes we actually work together more than the public even realizes. 2:02:53 I want to thank all of my colleagues. when I say that is some of you might not be aware that when we passed this bill to honor Foxman in this institution it was unanimously done by every senator when it got to government house the governor vetoed it I'm not gonna lie to you if y'all see the movie Exorcist I am not gonna lie to nobody if my head did not spin around 100 times. I can't say it didn't. I did not understand. And I remember I called so many people to explain to me if I was processing what I read wrong. Because the reasons why the governor shared with us, why he did not feel Faxman was honorable enough is because he was not a senator, he wasn't an ambassador, and these are the types of roads and stuff that should be named after those types of people. I had a few choice words for him, but we did that in private. 2:03:23 it. But at the end of the day, I recognized I had to fight for us because Faxman was a Virgin Islander and he was us. He might not have been elected to anything, but he was the voice on the radio that shared our history. He expressed our culture in so many ways. He walked around this community selling his wares and educating us in ways some of us never even knew about he pushed for our culture and our history in schools he reminded us the icm party existed because the only locally formulated political party in the virgin islands and he was a proud icm-er he was an advocate for mental illness and mental wellness he shared with us his sufferings because he said look at me if i could live through this and i could get over this we could help others as well that was facts man so for me this is a great day and i'm very happy so many of you came out to support not only facts man but the two other honorees as well because it makes me understand that we are virgin islanders and we're proud of of the things that our people accomplish. 2:04:40 So that's why I had to stop and give special thanks to my colleagues, because unanimously, they overrode that veto. OK? And that is why we are here today. So thank all of you. I might fight with Aya a little bit, but trust me. If it's a good fight, 2:06:05 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 8 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony we OK. I want to close out by just saying thank you to those that assisted me in the process as well. I see Ferrari, Quabina, his brother, they came and they testified and shared about Faxman. I see Reginald here. For those of you, we wouldn't have heard a name Faxman if it wasn't for Rastridge. He named him. So we have to give credit for that too. So as we just went through a landmark case where the judge ordered for Caribbean history to be structured within our schools, this is an example of why it needs to be done. Because many times Faxman was a single torch expressing and sharing our history. But it was sad that we had to fight to make sure our children know theirs. so I thank you for giving me this opportunity to really speak to you guys recognize Foxman for all he did and when we head over to the bridge to know some way we will celebrate him once again thank you so much oh I when when I was up here I saw one of my days she spoke about our family reunion the Thomas skeleton stout and then he'll say oh this in a time plug in it and she's our family. I just want to say this we have a big family and we have a huge reunion coming up. All my colleagues are invited to come. Everybody come. So but you in the book too, you as a relative. Listen, the Tatola breed is a whole heap of people. 2:07:00 So thank you very much once again and y'all have a blessed day. Thank you very much Senator, now we invite the brother of Wayne Faxman Adams to the podium, Mr. Dale Adams. Good morning to the esteemed senators, to the honoree members and their family, to the guests, and to all other government officials. 2:08:17 When I got a call from my sister and told me that I was going to be the speaker, not volunteer or ask, she told me I'm going to be the speaker. The first thing that I asked her, how much time is allotted to each speaker? Because then I thought, am I going to stand before the audience and boredom in being long-winded, or am I going to be short and sweet? I decided on the latter, short and sweet. There's an African proverb that tells us it takes a village to raise a child. 2:09:09 I would like to modify that this morning and says it takes a community to raise a child. Once that child has the community support and backing, they can do great things, and great things can be accomplished. My brother, Wayne Faxman Adams, made it known publicly that he suffered with bipolarism. And in spite of that, he was able to accomplish great things. 2:09:51 behind him he had a community of individual who saw to it and supported him and that community consisted of many people who stood behind of him and let him know that in spite of himself in spite of his mental health challenges that he can accomplish great things one of those community member is Rass Reg. 2:10:27 Rass Reg, if you're here, would you just stand? Oh, Rass Reg was one of my brother villagers who gave him the name Faxman. If you hear Rass Reg tell the story that Faxman would call in incessantly and just give historical facts to the point that he felt that okay here he comes again so thank you another villager in my brother's community is mr. Joseph Pierre mr. Pierre if you would stand mr. Pierre is a gentleman who started all this he took it upon himself to erect that sign that said Wayne Faxman Adams Bridge so he's responsible for the unofficial official signage another of my brother village community is his cousin Darrell Edwards Darrell if you can stand if you know the story behind The relationship of Daryl and my brother, you would say, that was exceptional. My brother would call Daryl when he had a penchant for food, which was Kentucky Fry. 2:11:00 He would call Daryl, not my sister, call Daryl at any time of the night and ask him to go and get him some Kentucky Fry. And Daryl, without fail, would go to Kentucky Fry and get my brother, KFC. Thank you, Daryl. Another villager in my brother's community, Mr. Pawson. 2:12:37 Lionel, stand. Lionel was when my brother decided that he's going to run for senatorial seat many times over. Mr. Parson was not only his campaign manager, but he thought that Wayne, wherever he wanted to go or needed to go, he was there transporting him. 2:13:10 everyone knew my brother doesn't drive you would see him walk in so thank you mr. Parson another villager in my brother's community and I don't know if they are here all the ladies from the perfume shop on the waterfront Rue my brother I guess he walks so much when he needed to be refreshed he would stand stop into their place of employment and they would see to it that that he got his water and a resting place to rest his feet. So, thank you. Rhoda, thank you. 2:13:39 Last but not least, my sister and brother-in-law. If they were to stand. I have to take a moment to compose myself, because when I think of my brother, the challenges that he went through, it was not easy for family, but in spite of his challenges, there's one thing my parents stood behind of him never once were they embarrassed and never once was he rejected when my parents health started to diminish my sister stepped in and my brother-in-law and it was it had its challenges because I not residing here they had to step in so I thank them I thank you both there are times when i ask friends a question and that question that i ask sometimes they look at me like what is he doing where is he coming from with that question to the point some of them say god he's such an a-hole and that question that at times i ask them 2:14:32 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 9 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony what are you passionate about? Sometimes I get a blank stare. Sometimes they answer. Sometimes they ask, where are you going with that question? And I would say, what are you passionate about? And there are a lot of employers for prospective candidates ask their employee or prospective employee that question. And that question for a lot of prospective employees makes a difference as to whether they're going to be hired or not. Because what they wanted to determine is what do you bring to the table beside your qualification? 2:16:32 What are you passionate about? And I say that to say, with my brother, if you ask him that question, what are you passionate about, he can tell you right off the bat. He can ask, he said, I'm passionate about wanting to educate my community. I'm passionate about wanting to let them be aware and knowledgeable of the history of the islands, the history of the Caribbean. And that was something that he took upon himself to inform and educate. Now, there's always a segment of any community population who will not be on board with whatever someone is doing. And yes, he had his naysayers, but that did not stop him. 2:17:23 My brother was so passionate about not only history, but things that he did in life. i remember i would never forget this one year my brother decided or wanted said he's going to uh africa i believe it was tanzania but anyway it was january of the year that he was planning on going he called me up he said um and he would always when he called dale this is your brother Wayne and I missed that so we had a conversation he said um guess what I'm planning on going to Africa in April and I said oh really um how much is it going to cost he told me how much money do you have towards that zero zero and you're going to Africa in April he said yeah and I said to myself okay we'll see came March my brother called me and said guess what he said I've raised all the monies that I need to go to Africa and then some and monies came from his business that he did selling his cds selling his informative booklets and even his cds on some of his songs that he sang and that proved to me that my brother not only was he passionate about things that he did but he had a drive to accomplish things whatever he set his mind to he followed through, and he accomplished that. Another drive of his was seeing good done within his 2:18:13 community. I remember one time my brother called and said, Dale, I heard that there's a movement to move nuclear waste, thank you, through the Caribbean. And he said, you know what, i can't allow that to happen and he said i'm going to start a writing campaign i'm going to write to the president and i said you're going to write to the president how are you even going to get your letter there he said don't worry i'll i'll get through well whatever he did it was accomplished because that route that they were planning to have nuclear waste transported through the caribbean was nix so his passion his drive accomplished all that and he was always passionate and had a drive to accomplish whatever he set his mind off to do in closing i would like I'd like to thank Senator Heiliger. Thank you. 2:20:07 I knew it was not an easy task. I heard of all the challenges that you went through, but you prevailed. And I thank you for that. My family, my sister, thank you for that. Very appreciative. You were one of the biggest villager in his community. Thank you. And I'd like to say, because of my brother health challenges, anyone that you, whether it's a family member or is an acquaintance, always be theirs in support. Do not discount them, even their ability. That is secondary. As long as you support, rally, and let them know that they, too, can accomplish whatever they set their mind to do, that they can do that. 2:21:17 So I thank everyone. I thank everyone that was a villager in my brother's community that sought to him accomplishing the things that he did. My sister and myself, thank you. the only regret is that I wish my parents were here to see him receive this honor so thank you thank you so much Mr. Adams yes please don't sit we are going to have the time sponsor Senator Alva Francis Heiliger go ahead and present to you over here the perma plaque as well as the Senate president Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 2:22:17 yes yes unless everyone takes their seats let's give another round of applause to our three remarkable honorees we are going to be concluding this portion of the perma plaque ceremony and we're going to invite senator Francis to give some closing remarks to this section but we will be asking everyone to join us on the road to see the actual signs erected and to take some photos President Frielsis. 2:26:28 Madam Secretary, would you do the honors of closing us out? Thank you kindly Mr. President for this opportunity. We want to extend hearty congratulations to all of the honorees today who have been honored posthumously and we give God the thanks. Because of their work they have done over generations. We as Virgin Islanders can stand tall and stand proud with a renewed hope and pride. And so we want to definitely thank the families of the Honorable Horace A. Calwood Sr. I called them the Don, and also Mr. Benny Stevens, Ben Buren, Benny Stevens, and last but not least, that great man, Faxman Adams, Wayne Faxman Adams, because he outlined a level of history in the Virgin Islands we have never seen before, somebody who actually took at inventory of all of our people remember who we are descendants of of our people so that we who are standing here and even seated here can remember the great works you know God said we are known by our works and we should always work as if we are working for the Lord and I'm going to tell you, each one 2:27:29 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 10 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony of these gentlemen did that by work and what they demonstrated. So we want to thank all of you for joining us here, for taking the time to be here with us, and we want to also celebrate and congratulate all of the descendants of all the honorees, and we thank you so kindly for being here with us. Thank you so much. okay before the chaplain comes with the Bennett with the benediction I just want to share with you all the route so stop one is going to be Tavor Gara which will now be known as the Horace Callwood Drive and Public Works will be meeting us at the road nearest to the Windward Passage stop number two will be the Bovody Road route number 30 specifically at the entrance of the St. Thomas abattoir in the entrance of the BCB middle school and Public Works will be meeting us at the BCB school entrance and stop number three will be formally the bridge to nowhere no directions lead it which will now have been known as the whale faxman Adams bridge and I'll bring you chaplain to close us out let us all stand. May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, be gracious to you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance before you and give you peace. God bless the food that we will receive and the fellowship in which we will partake, that we may forever remember that all good things come from you. Amen. 2:29:57 Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. 2:31:47 People named in this transcript SUSPECTED, and a finding aid only. Names were matched by machine against the spellings used across all 426 of our transcripts, and the title is the one used in the room. Being named here is NOT evidence that a person attended or spoke · only that the name was said. Speech recognition mishears names, so a spelling may be wrong even where no alternative is offered. 8x Senator Horace Callwood heard in this transcript as: Calwood, Horace A. Callwood Sr., Horace Calwood, Horace Hallwood 6x Senator Marvin Blyden heard in this transcript as: Blyden, Marvin A. Blyden 6x Senator Ray Fonseca heard in this transcript as: Fonseca 5x Senator Alma Francis-Heyliger the surname alone also matches: Alma Francis Heiliger heard in this transcript as: Alma Francis Heiliger, Alma Francis Heliger, Alva Francis Heiliger, Heiliger 4x Senator Carla Joseph the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph heard in this transcript as: Joseph 3x Senator Dwayne DeGraff heard in this transcript as: DeGraff, Dwayne M. DeGraff 2x Governor Albert Bryan Jr heard in this transcript as: Albert Bryan 2x Commissioner Derrick Gabriel 2x Senator Diane T. Capeheart heard in this transcript as: Dan Capehart 2x Senator Javan James heard in this transcript as: Javon James Sr 2x Senator Milton E. Potter heard in this transcript as: Milton Potter 2x Judge Vern Hodge 1x Senator Angel Boquist 1x Senator Donna A. Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna Fred Gregory 1x Senator Donna Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna A. Frett-Gregory Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 11 of 12 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque Ceremony Bills and acts referred to Matched by number against our own acts corpus. The number is what the recognition heard, so it may be wrong; where it resolved, the title is the one the Legislature gave the act. Bill 35-0033 Act 8733 · An Act honoring and commending Mr. Benburin ·Benny· Stephens posthumously for his heroism in saving the lives of a mother and her children and to rename the Bovoni Road (Route No. 30), specifically from the entrance of the St. Thomas Abattoir to the entrance of the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, ·The Benburin ·Benny· Stephens Drive· ---0 Act 8789 Act 8789 · November 14, 2023 · An Act posthumously honoring and commending Wayne ·Facts Man· Adams for articulating and bringing events of historic significance to the people of the Virgin Islands, by naming the bridge at the Estate Nadir intersection on the island of St. Thomas ·The Wayne ·Facts Man· Adams Bridge· -§ Act 8733 Act 8733 · An Act honoring and commending Mr. Benburin ·Benny· Stephens posthumously for his heroism in saving the lives of a mother and her children and to rename the Bovoni Road (Route No. 30), specifically from the entrance of the St. Thomas Abattoir to the entrance of the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, ·The Benburin ·Benny· Stephens Drive· ---0 Act 8706 Act 8706 · An Act honoring and commending former Senator Horace A. Callwood, Sr. posthumously for his dedication, service, and commitment to the people of the Virgin Islands and naming the north-south street immediately east of Windward Passage in his memory ---0 Referred to but not found in our acts corpus: Bill 35-0014 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 12 of 12