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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL NO. 36-0009 Thirty-Sixth Legislature of the Virgin Islands February 27, 2025 A Resolution honoring and commending Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt for his years of dedicated service and numerous contributions to the people of the Virgin Islands PROPOSED BY: Senator Milton E. Potter WHEREAS, Steven van Beverhoudt was born to Arnold and Herminia van Beverhoudt 1 on the island of St. Thomas and raised in the neighborhoods of Petit House (Denmark Hill) and 2 Forde House (Bred Gade) and grew up surrounded by siblings, including Arnold, Marion, Joan, 3 and Jacqueline; 4 WHEREAS, as a youngster, Steven van Beverhoudt attended elementary and middle 5 school at Sts. Peter and Paul School and his high school years were spent at All Saints Cathedral 6 School; 7 WHEREAS, Steven van Beverhoudt attended the College of the Virgin Islands, where 8 he was a member of the President’s Club and cited in “Who’s Who Among Students in 9 American Universities and Colleges and in 1979, graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s 10 Degree in Accounting; 11 WHEREAS, in 1979, Steven van Beverhoudt received the Wall Street Journal Award in 12 recognition of outstanding academic achievement; 13 2 WHEREAS, in 1982, the Virgin Islands Bureau of Audit and Control was formed and 1 in 1984, Van Beverhoudt began his work with the Bureau starting as a supervisory auditor and 2 working his way up to audit manager; 3 WHEREAS, on January 27, 1989, then-Governor Alexander A. Farrelly nominated Mr. 4 Steven van Beverhoudt to be Inspector General and his nomination was approved by the 5 Legislature of the Virgin Islands and thus he began his first six-year term; 6 WHEREAS, subsequent Governors continued to show confidence in Mr. Steven van 7 Beverhoudt’s ability to lead the territorial agency investigating fraud, waste, and abuse and, in 8 March 1995, he was nominated for a second term by then-Governor Roy L. Lester Schneider; 9 WHEREAS, in February 2002, then Governor Charles W. Turnbull nominated Mr. 10 Steven van Beverhoudt for a third term as Inspector General, with the Legislature approving 11 his nomination on June 22, 2002; 12 WHEREAS, Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt was nominated again for the position of 13 Inspector General by Governors John P. de Jongh, Jr., and Governor Albert Bryan, Jr; and the 14 Legislative body sitting during those terms confirmed his nomination; 15 WHEREAS, in1999, Act No. 6333 was proposed to create an independent Office of the 16 Virgin Islands Inspector General and Governor Charles W. Turnbull vetoed the legislation, but 17 senators Violet Anne Golden and Gregory Bennerson helped to override the veto, a two-thirds 18 vote was obtained by the Legislature, and the act was passed and became law; 19 WHEREAS, Steven van Beverhoudt served his agency with great leadership, putting an 20 emphasis on training his auditing staff through conferences and trainings in the Virgin Islands 21 and abroad, which allowed the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General to maintained 22 steady membership in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners; 23 WHEREAS, under his tutelage, staff earned certificates in Fraud Examinations, Ethics, 24 Audit Reporting and Contract Procurement Fraud; 25 3 WHEREAS, Steven van Beverhoudt has earned the respect and confidence of many 1 Virgin Islands Governors and the Legislature of the Virgin Islands; 2 WHEREAS, reflecting on his career, Steven van Beverhoudt takes pride in the good 3 reputation he built for the Office of Inspector General; 4 WHEREAS, his long tenure has been marked by excellence, with a team that has worked 5 alongside each other in anomalous loyalty, and they have prevented major audits from leaking 6 before they were completed; 7 WHEREAS, from the Government Employees Retirement System to the executive 8 branch of Government, and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority among a long list 9 of probes, Mr. Beverhoudt's work has sometimes shaken the Territory as was the case with the 10 audit performed of the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital and Medical Center; 11 WHEREAS, among the most prominent audits, was the audit conducted of the Virgin 12 Islands Casino Control Commission, which led to federal indictments and the conviction of at 13 least two former employees; 14 WHEREAS, Steven van Beverhoudt led the Office of the Inspector General with great 15 distinction and many of the staff members, still at the office, were hired by Mr. Van 16 Beverhoudt; 17 WHEREAS, the Office of the Inspector General remains a separate, independent agency 18 of the Government of the Virgin Islands, and functions as the auditing division of the 19 Government; 20 WHEREAS, in 1980, Steven van Beverhoudt married Myrna Velazques Soto of 21 Frederiksted, St. Croix; together they had two children, Steven, Jr, and Mark (deceased) and 22 they currently share a loving home with three grandchildren; and 23 WHEREAS, on November 30, 2021, Mr. Van Beverhoudt retired as the Virgin Islands 24 Inspector General, after 32 years of service; Now, Therefore, 25 4 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 1 SECTION 1. The Legislature of the Virgin Islands, on behalf of the people of the Virgin 2 Islands, honors and commends Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt for his lifetime of service, 3 contributions, and dedication to the people of the Virgin Islands. 4 SECTION 2. In recognition and appreciation of Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt’s 5 contributions to the people of the Virgin Islands, the President of the Legislature, or the 6 President’s designee, shall have a perma plaque copy of the Resolution prepared and presented 7 to Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt at an appropriate ceremony. 8 BILL SUMMARY 9 This bill honors and commends Mr. Steven van Beverhoudt for his years of dedicated 10 service and numerous contributions to the people of the Virgin Islands. 11 BR25-0090/February 6, 2025/AA 12