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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony Legislature USVI November 21, 2024 · 3.5 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/qnL7A1enNyg 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. Public record The underlying proceeding is a public record of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 3 V.I.C. § 881(a) defines public records to include all records and documents of or belonging to this Territory or any branch of government, or any "department, board, council or committee of any branch of government" · which names legislative committees by category. § 881(b) gives every citizen the right to examine and copy such records, and the news media the right to publish them. (The open-meetings chapter, 1 V.I.C. § 254, does NOT reach the Legislature: § 253(b) expressly excludes it and its Standing and Special Committees. § 881 does, and it is § 881 that confers the right to copy and publish.) The Legislature broadcast this proceeding publicly itself. The source recording is not ours, is not hosted here, and remains with its publisher at the link above. Rights To what we added · the transcription, its arrangement and its description · we assert nothing. A verbatim transcript is mechanical rather than authored, so there is likely nothing in it to own; to the extent any copyright is nonetheless found to subsist, it is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Please copy it, quote it, index it, train on it, republish it, mirror it, sell it. Redistribution is the point: a public record with one copy is one fire from gone. No permission is needed, and none is ours to grant or withhold. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Let's get started. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. This is your 0:00:00 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. I'll see you next time. 0:18:00 We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Let's go. Let's go. Thank you. ¶¶ Lil-la-la-le-lo-le-lo-la Lil-la-la-la-la-le-lo-la 0:21:30 Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ Thank you. 0:25:59 ¶¶ Oh, yeah, man. Thank you. Thank you. so Oh, my God. 0:27:59 so Thank you. Thank you. so I love you. 0:30:58 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you. ladies and gentlemen esteemed guests and beloved members of our community good 0:33:28 morning and welcome to the special perma plaque ceremony today in honor of eight individuals who have exemplified extraordinary dedication and commitment to our community I am Carell Sheridan executive director of the legislature of the Virgin Islands and your mistress of ceremonies for today's program before we begin I kindly request everyone to rise for the invocation led by Reverend Andrew George of pastor of Trinity Baptist Church Thank you. Let's pray. 0:36:42 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony Father, we are so grateful to be here, Lord, to be part of such an experience, oh God. Thank you for the legislature. Thank you for the president and the VP, oh God. Thank you for the wisdom that you have given them and the other senators also. as they work together, Lord, for the benefit of your people and for your glory. Thank you for each honoree, my God. I pray, God, that you will continue to bless them and their families. I pray for the people at large, Father, that we will take a page from their legacy, O God, and sacrificially serve each other. I pray, God, that you will give direction to this. 0:37:24 What a blessing it is, Lord, when leaders would recognize the sacrificial service of the people. So I pray, God, that you continue to bless in a very, very special way. Thank you for being part of this, O God. I pray for our young people, Lord, that they will again take a good view of what's happening, O God, and dedicate themselves to you first and to the people of the Virgin Islands. So have your way now. In Christ's name I pray, with thanksgiving. Amen. 0:38:14 Thank you, Reverend George. Please remain standing as we welcome the University of the Virgin Islands Music Program to perform our national anthem and the Virgin Islands March. Thank you. 0:38:46 May can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight Oh, the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming And the rocket's red glare The bombs bursting in air Gave proof to the night That our flag was still there Oh, say does that star-spangled Bender yet wave Oh, the land of the free and the home of the brave. 0:39:44 All hail the Virgin Islands, emerald of the sea, Where beaches bright with coral sand And trade winds bless our native land All hail the Virgin Islands Faith in waters blue We give our loyalty Full to thee and pledge allegiance forever true God bless our Virgin Islands Humbly now we pray, where all mankind can join today, in friendly warmth of work and play. 0:41:35 God bless our virgin islands, beautiful and tall, beneath the sunny sky, hilltop high, hold out a well known for one and all. Thank you, UVI before you go if you can just place your names on the record in the microphone and introduce yourselves as well as some renditions of both our national anthem and the V.I. March. Yes, thank you so much. My name is Rizwick Felix, Jr. Hello, good morning. 0:42:43 My name is Micah McKenz. Good morning, my name is Jayden Gumbs. Thank you very much, you may take your seats. Now it is my honor to introduce our esteemed Senate President, Senate President of the 35th Legislature, Novell E. Francis Jr., who will share welcome remarks. Thank you very much, mistress of ceremony, a pleasant good morning to all. 0:43:21 Good morning. Wow. Good morning. Let's try this again. Let's try this again. A pleasant good morning to all. Good morning. Well, what a beautiful day in the Virgin Islands. Thank you for being here. Vice President Marvin Blyton, Madam Secretary Carla Joseph, Senator Donna Frank Gregory, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Dwayne DeGraff, Senator Anghel Balquez, former Senate President Rocky Lightbird, Commissioner Derrick Gabriel, family, friends, well-wishers, we see former Senator Steadman Hajj making his way in as well. Honorees, I'm honored to bring greetings the behalf of the members of the 35th legislature on the occasion of honoring Virgin Islanders who have made outstanding and significant contributions to the betterment of not just St. Thomas and St. John but our entire territory. Please join me in a round of applause for our honorees. 0:44:09 On Friday, November the 8th, 2024, we were privileged to host a prima plaque ceremony for St. Croix residents who were honored for their contribution to our community. The 35th legislature has been working diligently to bring our backlogs of resolutions current, some as far back as the 30th legislature. 0:45:17 we take another step forward with eight much-deserving recipients of this prestigious award. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the honorees, their families, and well-wishers to the legislature on this very auspicious occasion. Over the course of my career I have been fortunate to personally know and have met many of these honorees and I can attest to their amazing fortitude, strength of character and integrity. In our small territory, even if our residents have not met these honoraries personally, certainly they have had the opportunity, tremendous contributions and good work to have met these individuals throughout the community. Spiritual leadership, community service, creativity, and commitment have defined these award recipients. Time and time again, these honorees have displayed the discipline and the drive to excel. In other words, these individuals have not just talked the talk, but they have walked the walk. These honorees have exemplified how one dreams can be accomplished through hard work, dignity, discretion, honesty and fairness. I deeply admire and respect them all. I'm honored to congratulate honorees dedicated to youth advocate Boyd Boise Tadman, former senate president and political analyst Armando Rocky Libard, you don't always get it right, but he endeavour to. spiritual stalwart Bishop dr. William a industrious and one of our best and one of our best to ever be called the Commission of Finance the Honorable 0:45:45 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony Bernice Albert Turner Turner Turner finally we pay homage posthumously for the tremendous life and life lifelong contributions to Rudolph Pimpy Thomas Junior, Corporal Kendall Emanuel George, Viggo E. Sua, and Dr. Fernella Cooper, whose good work and service will distinguish them in the annals of the Virgin Islands history. This honor today will stand as a testament to your exceptional record of stellar youth advocacy, amazing spiritual mentor and guide, public service and leadership. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in service to this community. I also want to thank today's Mistress of Ceremony, Ms. Carell A. Sheridan, the Office of the Executive Director, the entire central staff of the legislature, and my personal senatorial staff for organizing this wonderful celebration for these exceptional Virgin Islanders. God bless each and every one of you. God bless the Virgin Islands. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for that welcome Mr. President. Now we are going to move forward with the presentation of plaques to our honorees. I will first read the short title of the act and invite the honoree to stand then I will invite the primary sponsor to the podium to make remarks on the measure the presentation will be in the middle of the well then the honoree or the honorees representative will be able to take the podium with acceptance remarks so without Without further ado, we first honor Mr. Boyd Boise Orlanzo Todman. Please stand. 0:47:41 Can you recognize? With Act number 8703, Bill number 35-0007. Senator Dwayne M.D. Graff, Minority Leader, we welcome you at the podium to make remarks on your measure. Good morning. Thank you, Mitch. It's a ceremony. 0:49:44 Mr. President, colleagues, commissioner, guests, all the Savaneros in the house, Savan section one, two, three, four. Yes. Well, wish us staff. You know, Boise, as I know him, I didn't even know the name of Boyd, but Boise, Todman has an impact and has had an impact on young men and women in our community for decades. unassuming gentlemen go about his business, don't talk much, fearsome on a basketball court, fearsome in his leadership of the youth of our territory is what drew me to, hey, this is somebody we have to recognize. Because I realize the most important commodity in our U.S. beautiful Virgin Islands are look next to you, look who's sitting around in you, us, our people, number one. And that's why this body here takes the time out to recognize, honor, name things after our people. And I'd like to thank President Nobel Francis Jr. for keeping this tradition going with his Prima plaque performances, Prima plaque occasions, and I call it those things because looking up here and seeing the pride and joy beaming from the relatives and friends and family and to see our honorees and those who aren't here with us and the representation, it gives me a warm feeling. 0:50:13 The feeling that I had growing up in Savan where the community look out for you and the community know your worth and value. That's what Mr. Boyd Todman, I'll make you an honoree Savanero, But Mr. Boyd Tadman brought that out in the children. And my initial endeavor was to honor him for the great things that he is doing and have done. And the great Senator Donna Fred Gregory, she came to me and she said, let's go big. 0:51:56 I think that was the term. Let's go big. So we decided to name the basketball court in Ozo Harris Court after this young man. And we walk in and get to sign it. Thank you, thank you, Senator Fred Gregory, because, again, when we see our own, we tend to talk about everybody else, not me, Virgin Islands Force. So Boise, you could come forward, because you don't say much, but I just wanted to lay the premises for the people to understand that, you know, bring that first coach out and let people know congratulations good morning to all congratulations to all the honorees and as senator dc i don't talk much so this won't be much i want to thank my family everyone that's here today and who've been behind me from time i started this with senator petros in 1994 this is something i love to do center could tell i tell him before this ain't my thing i didn't want this i accept it i appreciate it but what i do for these youths here i do from my heart simple so again thanks i can continue d all the stumbling blocks you know we've been going through but i'm continue pushing Again, thanks for being here. 0:52:27 Thank you. Don't sit, don't sit. We're going to present you with the plaque. All senators present, please join us in the middle of the well for the plaque presentation. And the short title reads, right in front, and turn right around to the photographer. And as we're making preparations, if the family, friends, and supporters of Mr. Tanman, if they could please stand and be recognized. 0:54:06 All right, and the short title reads, All right, and the short title reads, an Act Honoring and Commending Mr. Boyd Boise or Lanzo Todman for his many contributions to the people and the youth of the Virgin Islands and to name the basketball court at the Oswald Harris Court the Boyd Boise or Lanzo Todman Basketball Court. 0:55:00 Family, friends, and supporters, we ask you to also come into the well at this time to take a photo with the honoree. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. 0:55:54 Thank you. Thank you. Next, we honor another stalwart in the community. 0:56:54 We honor Mrs. Bernice Alma-Turnbull. Please stand. With Act Number 8823, Bill Number 35-0208, and we also recognize the presence of Senator Milton Potter, who is the primary sponsor for the act, honoring and commending Ms. Bernice Alma-Turnbull. So, Senator Potter, we welcome you to the podium to make remarks on your measure. 0:57:59 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony Good morning, everyone. colleagues, friends, supporters, special good morning to the lady of the hour, Mrs. Bernice Alma Van Der Poel Thornball, to make sure I noted Savanero Mr. Mayor. It has really been my steadfast belief that progressive communities honor and commend their own for achieving excellence in their chosen field and for making contributions to their community. Today we pay tribute to one such individual, an extraordinary Virgin Islander whose lifetime of service has left an indelible mark on these islands. This is Bernice Thornbow. As a noted commissioner of the Department of Finance and Director of Treasury, Mrs. Turnbull demonstrated unwavering dedication and leadership, guiding the government of the Virgin Islands through some very turbulent fiscal times, leading us towards a period of financial stability and growth. Her sage advice to political leaders, her Her commitment to small businesses as an owner herself showcases her belief in the potential of our local economy and the importance of supporting one another. Beyond her professional achievements, Mrs. Stormble has been a pillar of her church community, the Christchurch Methodist. Wesley. Wesley. 0:58:51 I can say the Methodist community. I'm just testing y'all to see if y'all were. Embodying the values of compassion and generosity. Her often behind-the-scenes philanthropic efforts have uplifted countless lives, reflecting her deep commitment to the well-being of others. Bernie Stoneball is not just a remarkable leader. 1:00:40 She is an exceptional human being, whose spirit and kindness have inspired us all. We honor her contributions, her passion for service, and her role as a guiding light in our community. Thank you, Sister Bernice, for your unwavering commitment and for being a shining example of what it means to serve with heart and purpose. Your legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Virgin Islanders. And oh yes, she's the best tart maker in the Virgin Islands, bar none. That ain't even controversial to say, OK? 1:01:29 We love, we appreciate you. Well deserved, Anna. good morning I didn't know that I had to speak but I will try and be as brief as possible because some of you always tell me I talk too long good morning again first of all I wish to thank God for this honor because without God I am nothing and I recognized that a long time ago I am grateful today, going right back to the 28th legislature, who confirmed me at that time in 1999 to become the Commissioner of Finance. All 15 of them had a confidence in me. I thank Governor Turnbull for sending my name down, and I believe I did him proud before he died. 1:02:16 and God bless him, may his soul rest in peace. I thank my family, my husband, my two children, and all the other persons in the family, for without them, I don't think I would have made it. I'm grateful also for where I came from in Savan because Savan was an area, we were, people who lived in Savan, we were poor people but we were people of value and people who taught each other how to love and respect one another and what to do to make it in life. We learned the values, we learned that it wasn't having a silver spoon in your mouth born with a silver spoon that would have kept you going but you had to have values and you had to know that hard work does not kill anybody because our parents thought of that from young even when we had to sweep the yard when we had to wash the dishes where we had to put the clothes on the line hard work does not kill anyone and so we were persistent i thank god today also for my church family for without god I am nothing and the church family that I've had I've met many good ministers along the way who taught me to believe in myself when I couldn't when I thought I couldn't even do it and I'm grateful for them today I have sister Bonnie Reverend Bonnie Byron who is a minister with whom I worked for many years she's now relocated i have reverend dr oral thomas who we worked with over 30 years ago and god has sent him back again to walk among us and many other ministers i am grateful for the persons with whom i walked because you're only as good as those people with whom you are working they can either make you or break you and I am grateful for each and every one of them all the persons at Department of Finance as Senator Potter said it was a turbulent 1:03:22 time so I must say thank you today to the persons from our Finance Committee the persons with whom we met every week to look at this government and where the government was going and shared ideas so when we get down to this institution the legislature we came as one I'm thankful for the senators senator Rocky Lybot was there and these senators we work together we did not have an adversarial relationship we work with the senators the senators knew what the executive was and branch was doing and so when we came it made life easier for us to get things done because we learn a long time ago walking together works and we realized that we were not an island and we had to work together to get the government of the Virgin Islands out of the morass that it was in and I would like to say thank you for those senators at that time i saw for eight years and i give god thanks for each and every one of them for we walk together ideas were different but we came together for the best with the best idea for the people of the virgin islands i am grateful today my husband is dead but i will not sit down unless i thank him because when i became commissioner of finance when i joined finance in 1964 i had six credits in accounting i became at that time a clock i took a test at personnel and i was an account clock con clock tree and i went to department of finance and I walked, we walked in the reconcilment section. In 1971, when Mrs. Anna K. Watson was retiring from government, she recommended me to be the supervisor of that section. 1:05:48 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony And from being a supervisor of that section, I just grew, became assistant director treasury division and further but the key here I had six credits when I started the government of the Virgin Islands 1964 I married my husband in 1966 so you know I was just a clerk but because of his support I was able to get my associate degree my bachelor's degree and my master's degree if I didn't have him at my side that wasn't all. I was very active in my church because I did not, because I worked for the government, took a risk from the church. I was very active in my church. I held very key positions. I went to other Caribbean islands and everything and all the time I had to depend on him to be father and mother and to do what had to be done. So I'm grateful because had it not been for him, I wouldn't make it. I want to thank today Senator Potter for sponsoring this bill. Senator Potter and I go back, and not because he was a Savanero, Senator DeGraff, why he did that. Senator Potter and I go way back. Senator Potter and his family moved into Savannah, and I remember when they moved in, I knew his parents. And Senator Potter, I became here, and I became very good friends. Let me tell you something. 2012, I'm going to sit down now. In 2012, I was recommended to become a board member for the St. Thomas St. John Federal Credit Union, and it was an election. I know that I didn't even think I would win. I know people were running. 1:08:47 Senator Potter was one of the aspirants. And next thing I know, and the votes were counted, he and I got the same amount of votes, 2012. Then we ran again. When our thumb was up, same amount of votes. And the next time we ran, he got more than me. And you know what I tell me? Go home. Anyway, I'm going to sit down. No, but I didn't. I stayed until 2023, from 2012 to 2023. And I said, give some other young people an opportunity to learn to serve and to learn to help. And so, you know, I stepped down. But I thank God. 1:10:03 I thank God for the great people in my life. I see attorney Bozuto there. That was my commissioner. And we really got along well. I learned a whole lot from her. and the key to young people you can always learn something from somebody with you and I was so grateful and you know I saw well our financial team I see mrs. Malloy is there I see part of the cabinet or cabinet members sister Sydney how about is there I also see mr. fret William fret not a sabonero see attorney belfern and i see many others here and i really thank them because if i were to write a book everyone who came here to represent today i'll have a chapter because of the relationship things i've learned from them and i want young people keep your eyes and ears open because you can learn something from everybody to help you to be what you are so i thank you you, and all honorees, God bless you all, thank you for your contributions, and thanks to all of you who have come here today, our senators, God bless you all, and are shutting up now. And as everyone gets in position, if the family, friends and supporters of Mrs. Bernice Alma-Turnbull could please stand and be recognized. 1:10:47 And the resolution reads, a resolution honoring and commending Mrs. Bernice Alma-Turnbull for her lifetime of service and dedication to the people of the Virgin Islands. Family, I don't know if family, friends, and supporters can fit in this photo, but I guess we're going to try today. Everyone who would like to be in the photo, please come up, join us in the well. Thank you. Thank you. 1:12:57 Thank you. Oh, that's it, that's it, that's it, use the bullshit. Yeah, use the bullshit. 1:14:27 Thank you. Thank you. 1:15:27 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we honor Dr. Fenella Cooper. Dr. Cooper is here represented by her husband, Dr. Vincent Cooper. Please stand. Thank you. 1:16:27 act number 8816 bill number 35-0107 this measure was sponsored primarily by senator marvin blyton and so senator blyton we invite you to the podium to make remarks on your measure thank you good morning good morning everyone it is it is a pleasure to see all the beautiful people in here today i want to first start by saying congratulations to all the honorees and also i must say that today is a beautiful day in the virgin arms because as my colleague said if we we do not honor our own who will. And many times we get slack for that, but we do not apologize for that. It's the right thing to do on behalf of our people. Act number 8816, which was formerly bill number 350107, an act posthumously honoring and commending Ms. Fenella Cooper for her contributions to the field of education, sports, and culture, and naming a UBI tennis court in her honor. 1:17:57 I also want to thank my colleagues, those who signed on in sponsoring this legislation. She was born and reigned from the island of St. Kitts. Of course, she's married to Dr. Vincent Cooper, and the union produced two daughters and eight grandchildren. Can her children and grandchildren please stand and be recognized at this time. Thank you. I made a reigning St. Thomas Carnival Queen, please stay standing. So if I can recognize you. Thank you so much. She attended of course the former CVI, the College of the Virgin Islands and attained her bachelor's and master's degree in accounting. She's a lifelong learner and she also attained her PhD in business administration. As we all know, she was a great tennis player, a lifelong tennis player as a matter of fact, and she was a member of the US Tennis Association and competed on regional and national levels and she also won several awards um at that level she was the first the first coach at the 1:19:16 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony university of virgin islands for one the woman's tennis team and i must say she is a trailblazer and have left a legacy for many other not only virgin islanders to follow but young ladies to follow. I must say that she has also won regional and national achievements and contributions to include the African-American Ethics Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and for her dedication, leadership and commitment to the athletic program at the University of the Virgin Islands. She also was entered into the Buccaneers Hall of Fame, so I must say that she has done a lot. I know last night they had a celebration at the tennis court down by Sub-Base and many of her friends and family were there and it was a beautiful thing to see. And we know tennis is not as popular as football, basketball, baseball, but it's a very good sport and we have very good players in the territory and they continue to carry on our legacy and I want to say again congratulations and thank you so much for the time. Thank you. 1:21:13 Dr. Cooper would you like to come and say it for your words? Most of my professional life, good morning everybody, and I'm happy to be here among you to participate in this experience which deals with celebration of a human being born Not in Savan, but what so many people called, or used to call up until now, the back of the land in Senkitsch. My late spouse was born close to the mountain, okay? 1:22:01 Poor family. And I'm not going to speak as much as some of the future speakers, but I want to do something slightly different to give you a solid insight to the kind of woman that we are talking about here. 1:23:00 Because I was fortunate to have known her since she was a high school student, an elementary school student in St. Kitts. She used to be in the church business, and her whole family used to attend our Sunday school. We would leave from Bastyr, Pilgrim Holiness Church, which in St. Thomas is now the Wesleyan Holiness Church, and we would go to the country. Fenella came from a large family. 1:23:35 Fenella was a child who had always had to struggle because she was never anyone's favorite and I'm saying just to point out the quality of character and disposition that Fenella had she had always was She was always persistent in being successful in whatever she did. 1:24:16 She was never the family's favorite child, and I'm being diplomatic here, and you can and read the extensions to what I'm saying. Soft-spoken, multi-talented. Fenella was born for greatness, and she has used her life to achieve as much as she could. But I'm telling you there was more that she could have achieved if given the opportunity. Fenella was a talented cricketer at a time when women were not permitted to play cricket. Fenella would practice on the school grounds as a young woman, 12, 14 years old, and she She would outscore many of the top men cricketers whenever they were playing an unofficial match. A woman was never permitted to play any official cricket matches in Senkitz up until a few decades ago. So she always had that ability to excel in sports period. 1:25:01 So what I'm saying here is that even though Fenella never claimed or announced herself as being a woman's rights promoter or feminist, Fenella exhibited all of the qualities that outstanding women leaders exhibited. She was fortunate to meet with celebrities, and she was fortunate to be listed as a legend in the ATA. Now, some of you might not understand what the ATA means. We put it on her bio and so on. 1:26:32 Tennis stalwarts like Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, and a lot of these other tennis stars and legends passed through the ATA because that was the national association that allowed black people to play tennis. From the ATA as late as 1970, 75, if my memory serves me correct, the top, the winners of the junior category, men and women, were allowed to play the Forest Hills, what later became US Open. The juniors champion. Fenella was never a junior because she never had the opportunity. After playing only one year of tennis, after taking phys ed, tennis as a phys ed class in the mid 70s at Bronx Community College in New York. She came to St. Thomas, never played a tournament there. She was just taking lessons for phys ed. Came to St. Thomas, fall of 1977, I came the semester before, took a while to get organized to move down, and she came down and started practicing at the CVA tennis courts. 1:27:20 After playing only two or three tournaments, as a beginner, still a beginner, Fenella started to compete successfully and move through the levels of the women's C to the Women's A, an open tournament within two years. It takes years to learn the game of tennis. Fenella began to defeat some of the top women tennis players in the Virgin Islands after only two years of playing. 1:29:07 And Vic Eberson and Evan Phillips praised her. even while she was an intermediate player and they gave her distinct honor of having the best concentration while playing the game of tennis of anybody in the virgin islands including the pros and all the others that's the kind of concentration she had not a lot of physical finesse and flash But she got the job done. She was a very, very skillful thinker and very creative. So just wanted to give you an idea of the kind of person Fenella was. I thought that she could have accomplished much more. She was a shy person, and I can say, because I know her. 1:29:52 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony She never believed when I met her that she would get a PhD in anything. So matter of fact, she used to complain to her friends that I am harassing her and telling her that she go get all these high degrees. She wanted to be a forensic scientist, and this work, that's what she wanted to be. But anyway, we are thankful to God for her and for her contribution to the youngsters of the Virgin Islands, and we definitely will try to make her record available to all of the young athletes who are interested in representing not only St. Thomas, but the U.S. Virgin Islands. she's listed nationally if you're going into it and put you know tennis legends ATF and Ella Cooper is one they named a thumbs up nationally that is no mean accomplishment so we're really dealing with somebody whose example needs to be made available to all our children in the schools who are interested in sports I'm I'm gonna stop here because I think I'm getting quite close to those who are gonna be the lengthy speakers of the future, and I thank you all for coming. I thank the people who voted, the legislatures, 1:30:59 the senators who voted unanimously. in support of Fenella Cooper's being honored. Today is a very good day for the Virgin Islands in sports, and I would like to see her influence impacted on other young people in tennis and other sports. I thank you all, thank all of the organizers. and I also would like to honor the other honorees all senators will join in the the middle of the well for the plaque presentation. 1:32:55 Thank you. Family and friends, please join us. 1:34:15 Act number 8816, an act posthumously honoring and commending Miss Fenella Cooper for her contributions to the fields of education, sports, and culture, and naming the University of the Virgin Islands tennis courts in her honor. Thank you. Thank you. The next five honorees also have a tie with the Department of Public Works because there will be streets and roads named in their honor. So before we begin the next five presentations, I invite the Honorable Derek Gabriel, Commissioner of Public Works to the podium to make remarks on the road naming honorees. 1:34:57 Good morning. Good morning, Senate President Novell Francis. Good morning, all Senators in attendance. Good morning, Virgin Islanders. Good morning, honorees. Good morning. So before I make remarks on the honorees that will have roads named after them, I do want to note, Ms. Turnbull, you are truly one of my inspirations for taking this job in public service. I will tell you, of course, you know you had a relationship with our family, my mother. I always thought you ran the Department of Finance, even before you were commissioner. So when you were named commissioner, I was like, well, I thought she'd always run it. But clearly, you took the mantle and you did a yeoman's job in tough times. Um, Senator Liburd, I think, um, not only do I want to thank you for your, your years of service, but again, you've fostered many generations of Virgin Islanders wanting to follow in your footsteps as well. All right. Um, but just because we know, and I speak about these Virgin Islanders doesn't mean every single one of these honorees doesn't deserve a place in Virgin Island's history. Bishop Industrious, as a Savanero, I have known your church all my life. 1:36:54 So again, the impact that we have while we go about our daily lives, we don't know who we're inspiring to become future leaders. So for our team of St. Jonians, for Mr. Rudolph Thomas, Senator Armando Rocky-Lyburn, posthumously Corporal Kendall, Emmanuel George, and Mr. Viggo Sewer, posthumously, we thank you. St. John really exemplifies the resilience of the Virgin Islands. I think, you know, just the naming of these roads after you show the impact you've had. And I really hope that today, this honorarium has a special place not only for you but for your family and for future virgin elders to come so I thank you at the appropriate time we do have on some keepsake signs to present to each of our honorees that will have roads named after them and I before I leave I want to thank the Senate president and your staff this has really been good I am I really enjoy being able to partner with this branch of government for these presentations and I do also want to acknowledge and thank my staff for your hard work that you do to make this happen thank you and we look forward to doing this again thank you very much thank you Commissioner the next honoree is Rudolph a pimpy Thomas jr. represented by his daughter Brenda Thomas Olak. Please give her a round of applause. 1:38:14 The primary sponsor is the Honorable Senator Stedman Hodge Jr. So we invite him to the podium. Thank you so much for joining us today and giving these remarks even though you're no longer a member of the buddy but always in the heart, right? Hi good morning everyone. Yes of course I want to thank the Senators recognize and thank the Senate President, all the Senators that are headed in the 35th Legislature, many of who I actually serve with, central staff for the Legislature as well, the honorees and many that I know, Boise Todman, if you know that, he coached Black Magic, so Black Magic was the best, had the best talent locally, so, yeah, man, yeah, no, no, no, no, because I played with Black Magic, okay, so there we go, you know, Yeah, I'm a fellow and former ICM-er here, Mr. Lybaud, you know, it's great. I was a former ICM, if you don't know. But more importantly, I really have to thank my staff. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. 1:39:56 But more importantly, I need to thank my staff, who work closely with Brenda and her family, to make this possible. My chief of staff, Rick Clark, and of course, attorney Nandi Siku, who was also under contract in my office, and they did their due diligence. But when we look and we hear about the contributions that many Virgin Islanders actually make, there are many that actually go unrecognized in the territory as well. Even though we had a centennial, like a hundred 1:41:03 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony year, the hundredth centennial, we still had folks who weren't recognized. But Rudolph Pimpi-Thomas did his due diligence, he took care of his community. If you ever read the resolution, not just what he did socially, playing in a musical band, playing softball in the local leagues, what he did building his business and then making sure that his family members learned and understood the business. So that's how we create pretty much generational wealth, okay? we create success and successful individuals within our community and these are some of the things that are truly missing today and it's evident but I'm not gonna keep it simple KISS but it was an honor to draft Act 8406 on behalf of Rudolph A. Pimpi Thomas Jr. thank you good morning my name is Brenda Thomas Olagi and I am the third daughter fourth child for PMP so this is a tremendous honor for me today to stand before you and honor my father excuse me my father and i were very close so he'd call me every sunday morning and we'd talk and if he missed a phone call i'd call him back i'm like hey you're trying to get grown on me you didn't call me so we had a very close relationship so So thank you, Senator President. Thank you all senators for having me here today to speak before you, and thank you all the honorees. And just wanna give a shout out to all my St. John Love City people in the house. So thank you all for being here. And I greatly accept this honor of receiving this plaque for my father and on behalf of my family, my mom, former commissioner Joan Thomas, sitting in the back. My sister, Beverly Hendrix-Adams, my other sister, Laverne, my brother, Byron, and my brother, Lee, as well as his grandchildren. We have one of his grandsons back in the back, my nephew, Kaleem, who carried on the business after my dad passed away by delivering water himself as well. So, thank you, Ghalim. So, today is just tremendous for me because there's a lot of people that did not know my father's full name. And so everybody knew Pimpy, Pimpy, Pimpy. But now everybody will know his whole, full, complete name because there it is, so. And now they won't have to ask questions, oh, what was his real name again? So, okay, so there'll be good to go. So, Senator Hodge mentioned that my dad played softball. He also played softball in the military as well. So, and because he had joined the military, I followed behind his footsteps and joined the military. So I did 22 years in the army. 1:43:12 And so he was my inspiration to be in the military. So, thank you, thank you. I'm just a little overwhelmed but I thought I was I was talking to myself earlier and I said okay I'm not gonna get so excited and get emotional I just take a deep breath but again I am truly honored to be here so thank you very much and again so my dad he was a very very funny man and so So for those of you who spent a lot of time with him, he'd always crack jokes and tell me serious jokes and so. He also loved music. So when he sang What the Jaila Sounds, he was, I remember as a little girl watching him sing and listening to the band and they'd play at Fish Fries and stuff down Pondmouth. And so he was, I was gonna say he was my guy. And so I know he meant a lot to a lot of people. 1:45:04 So, thank you all for loving and caring about my father. Thank you. Ms. Olagi and all senators present, please join us in the middle of the well for the plaque presentation. Thank you. . 1:46:10 Family, friends, and supporters, please join us. Act number 8406. and act renaming the South Side Road on St. John, the Rudolph A. Pimpy Thomas Jr. Road. 1:47:17 Thank you. . . before we move to the next honoree just want to recognize the presence of Senator Javon E. James it's been here for a while and we also have some former senators in the audience we 1:48:40 We have former Senator Ali Allison Petras here with us. And former Senator Neville James. Thank you very much. Are you analyzing this? Are you analyzing this? So now, we are honoring this body's own, Senator Armando Rocky-Liber. Senator, please stand. with act number 8783, formerly bill number 0074, primarily sponsored by Senator Angel L. Bulquez, Jr., and primary sponsor is making his way to the podium to provide remarks on this measure. 1:50:32 Senator Bulquez. Thank you, Executive Director, Karel Sheridan. And good morning to the Reverend Andrew George and the singers of the University of the Virgin Islands Music Program, and I must say, Mr. Felix, a former student of mine, when I taught at Givetail School, good to see him doing positive things. Good. Thank you. All of the senators, of course, and of course, our honorees. I want to say a special good morning. 1:51:24 I still think it is, to each and every one of you. And I want to say Uncle Pimpi. Is what everybody call him as St. John. And he has picked me up many a times walking home, going to deliver water. So I used to definitely get those rides and be up high and was so excited about that. And of course, I have my great uncle, Henry Powell here, who is here on behalf of Vigo Suwa. It's a good morning to you, uncle. And of course, the man of the minute, the man of the hour. Ah, the man of the second, however you want to put it, the Honorable Almando Rocky Lybert. Please give him a round of applause. You know, today we're going to honor a remarkable individual who has been a dedicated educator, a leader, and a servant of the Virgin Islands. Born and raised in St. John, not many can say that because we don't have many individuals being born in St. John, but you're looking at one of them right now. Senator Lybot's life has been a testament to hard work and perseverance and the love for his community. And as an educator, he spent 17 years shaping young minds. And as a senator, he served 16 years, achieving historic milestones, including being the first at-large senator to serve as senate 1:51:58 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony president, twice. I'd like to say he liked to be in thing. His legislative accomplishment speaks volumes. He secured funding for a doc, also to repair schools, established scholarships for valedictorians and salutatorians. He also recognized 1733, the St. John's Slave Revolt with Freedom Fighters Day. He even brought the Vitran transportation bus services to St. John for the very first time. Commissioner Gabriel. 1:53:30 Senator Libor also championed many pieces of legislation to include the Virgin Islands Sex Offender Registry. registry. He also championed healthcare improvements, school resources, public safety initiatives, just to list a few. And renaming this road in honour of Armando Rocky-Leibod is a fitting tribute to a man who has connected our territory and worked tirelessly to improve it. His legacy will inspire future generations to dream big and work hard and serve others selflessly. 1:54:04 And before I wrap up, I have a letter from my great aunt, Farmer Senator Cleone Creaky. And if I don't read it, I'm going to be in trouble, everybody, so all right. And the letter from Farmer Senator Cleone Creaky is as follows. Good morning, everyone. I want to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Act 8783. It is an honor to address this August body, especially as we acknowledge the remarkable work being done for our community. First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your return to the Senate. As a freshman senator, you have already demonstrated a keen understanding of the needs of the people and your commitment to recognizing these services today is truly commendable. 1:54:40 recognition of the contributions of former-at-large President-Senator Armando Rocky Leibard, whom I have known throughout his life, is a testament to your dedication to honoring those who have made a lasting impact on our community. St. Jonians take great pride in having one of their own, a son of the soil, rise to such distinction. It is important to acknowledge the sacrifices is made by our at-large representatives whose roles are often underappreciated many are aware that the unique challenges many are unaware of the unique challenges that they face unlike the governor of the virgin islands or the delegate to congress who have no residency requirements the lot at large representative is required by law to reside on saint john this requirement adds an extra layer of responsibility and complexity to their role, as they serve the entire territory while remaining deeply rooted in their home district. These senators often spend countless hours away from their children, their personal lives, whom many do not see. 1:55:33 Senator Armando Rocky Liburd has served as Senate President twice during his eight-term tenure and his leadership was instrumental in advancing the needs of our people among the many duties of the senate president he was tasked with representing the body at public events both on and off island and traveling to congress to fulfill responsibilities similar to those of the governor and the delegate despite a much lower salary during his time in office Senator Liburd remained unwavering in his commitment to the people's business. 1:56:47 His focus was always on the well-being of the people of St. John and the Virgin Islands as a whole. From the people of St. John, who cannot always voice their appreciation, I extend my heartfelt thanks to you, Senator Bulkes, for recognizing the work of those like Senator Lyburn. Before I conclude, I would be remiss if I didn't mention a recent development that has caused concern among the community. Starting January 1st, 2025, St. Johnian taxi drivers will be required to pay a $350 fee for a permit to drop off and pick up passengers at beaches in addition to a 3% fee in their earnings from their trips. This is an ironic and unfortunate situation as these drivers will be using the same road we are naming today in honor of Armando Rocky Leibard. The timing of this issue and the honor we bestow upon Senator Leibard is unfortunate. Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks once again for providing me the opportunity to deliver these remarks on Act 87-83. I truly appreciate your dedication to our community, and all honour to Senator Armando Rocky Liburd, well-deserved with deep appreciation, Cleone Cricky, former senator at large. 1:57:25 I believe there may be one more statement before we let uh senator farmer senator neville james one farmer senator neville james also farmer president wanted to make a remark before we let senator almando rocky library speak wow good morning everyone rocky i know your foot hurting okay i started off a long time there but um let me do the right thing here first of all recognize the current members of the 35th Legislature, Senator DeGraff, good to see you. 1:59:00 Senator James, good to see you. Mr. President, looking dapper as ever. Senator Blayden, Mr. Vice President, Madam Secretary, good to see you. I'm called out ally individually and I want to know that. Rocky, you create this, I gotta take advantage of it. Senator Gittins, good to see you. Mr. Lord Senator, half crucial, can't run from that. Senator Potter, good to see you as well. Who else? I want to make sure. No, no, I'm going to get to Ali. I'm going to get to Ali. Senator Petras, former Senator, good to see you, the majority leader at one point, right? I was speaking about Senator Petras real quickly this week. He used to take advantage of people cheering on the basketball court here on St. Thomas. But, you know, the legislature is really a great institution. And today, who else we got? I don't want to miss nobody. Mr. Senator, what's going on, man? You hiding from me, Senator? Senator Stelman-Hodge, good to see you. Mr. Commissioner, good to see 2:00:03 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony you as well. I don't want to miss somebody before I get into my little quick thing, all right? The legislature is a great institution. Don't ever let anybody tell you to the contrary. And today, we are recognizing a great Virgin Islander. I mean, in every sense of the word, because Rocky had to get votes on every island as a large senator. And Senator Lybot, eight times a senator. Seven consecutive, beginning in 1990 through 2002. And, yeah, yeah, yeah, a round of applause. But it was something that he did in 1989 that I think all you need to know about. We on St. Croix on September 17th of that year, Hugo, uninvited, came and devastated our island. We had missed all the hurricane then before. I think the year before, Hurricane Gilbert had went south of us and touched up Jamaica. Ten years before that, Hurricane Frederick and David bring rain. So we were just missing hurricane and then Hugo said, I am going to miss this one. 2:01:25 And you know, we didn't know how we were going to make it. Honestly, we were in bad shape. Until about five, six days later, WSTA, I was driving, I can remember this vividly, and Rocky Lybot came on to the radio, and he had sought office in 88, and Babokana had to let you know, not yet. But he learned his lesson well, and Rocky, apparently they had set up a group of St. Tomians and St. Johnians to come over to look out for us. 2:02:38 Rocky came back to St. Thomas, I was listening to him on the radio, and Rocky let it be known, well, you know, we got some rain and wind in St. Thomas and St. John, but St. Croix in bad shape my boy and you know that you know that he you know he you could have feel his pain his suffering for us on on st croix and i said wow that man really really articulated i didn't know him at that point you know how we were dealing with the devastation and uh as you know in 1990 uh he sought office again and he won um babokana got his lesson back from from rocky labeled and rocky was so good that he got re-elected six more times in a row after that and the record speaks for itself i do want to say this though i was doing the numbers and i Now, you know I like to count, right? 2:03:22 Rocky Lybord easily has received over 100,000 votes in his political career because he has sought a territorial office on at least nine or ten occasions. That to me is a remarkable accomplishment on behalf of Rocky Lybord. And I've been fortunate that when I was taught my lesson in 2012, and they brought me back in 2014, and I was a Senate President, and I came in with freshman senators, Blayden and Francis, VLA, Harrigan, Ford, Rocky Lywood felt sorry for us. 2:04:24 And Rocky said, I got to run again because somebody got to teach them the ropes. And Rocky came back in here, so sitting right over here, and he provided guidance for all of us, in particular me, because as Senator Volquez mentioned, he's two-time president. We weren't on the same side of the aisle, but we had a great relationship, and the rest is history. I want personally to thank Rocky for that guidance, and I definitely want to thank him because you know right now I run him in my mouth every morning on a radio station, and Rocky joins us every monday whenever he can to be a part of the table talk and one thing where rocky rocky could run him out on the radio right but he has this way about him he is non-confrontational and i think that is an attribute that we need nowadays right so rocky congratulations on his honor um senator bolquez congratulations on moving bill number 350074 which is now act 8783 to all All the members of the 35th legislature, thank you very much for supporting this great St. Jonian, Coral Bay, St. Thomas, St. John, the Virgin Islands, Almondo, Rocky Laibaud. And I want to thank the legislature for giving me this opportunity to speak here this morning. Rocky, thanks for inviting me. As soon as the show's done, I had to catch a plane to be here for Rocky, you know what I'm saying? That's how I appreciate him. So thanks a lot. 2:05:09 And Rocky, you deserve it. Oh, by the way, Bounty Stumble, if it's one woman that Rocky Freed is Bounty Stumble. Senator, you can step on over, make acceptance remarks. Good morning. Wow. I have so many people to thank. I have a long script written in because it's been a long journey. But I want to thank God because without him, nothing is possible. 2:06:36 I there's a lot of people in my life that along the way you know made it possible let me thank the president of legislature members of the 35th legislature of Virgin Islands let me thank all of the people of the Virgin Islands because I know I had a bad day in the Senate to be honest with you some Some of my own people make it bad for me, but I never take it on because my mission was to make a difference. It was never about money. 2:07:36 It was never about fame. It's about trying to do something to help people along the way, and in many instances it worked. got the office it was never part of my dna i never planned to be a senator a matter of fact if you know me in school i never said much i was a kind of shy guy really yeah so it was when i started teaching i gotta begin by thanking my former teacher alroy sprawl he's the one who encouraged me to go to school because I graduated and I never I never wrote to any college and he came to call Bay here and his brother and he said to me Armando that's what used to call me Armando he says um what are you gonna do well I can get a job finally girl I gonna be good you know yeah and he said no you you need to go away to school and come back and take my job I say well I I didn't write to no college. He said, don't worry. So he wrote to many colleges, but we accepted back in August. I had no money. My parents didn't have no money. 2:08:17 But he got some scholarships from the community, and he paid my way at least for one semester. And then my father, my father was an ambulance driver at the time. My mom was a cook. And they rustled up a little bit of dollars and was able 2:09:40 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony to manage it till the next semester. And I went to college, came back. I taught at Julius Frouw School, and he became the principal. I subsequently went to work with my good friend, Dr. Gabriel Frouw, who was the senator at the time. And after that, I came to Eudora Kent High School. And at Eudora Kent High School, I had a lot of good students, very good students. I agree. Well, a whole bunch of them, and by the way, I'm talking about student, one of my students right here, P.P.'s daughter, right? So, at the school, we had some issues with Eudora Kent, you know, we had to fight because the big school, shot of Mali versus kin so we were feeling that man you're not treating us good so the student decided to take a little walk to this building to talk about about conditions of kin and many of my class were here and when i went back three students said to me I said, you know, you need to go do the job, you know. I said, nah, and he said, yeah, you need to do the job. I said, nah. A student by the name of Anita Malone, she's not here now. Another student by the name of Nidia Lettsum. Today we know her as Nidia Lewis. She married a guy named Tasha. And then the other student was Anissia Lettsum. We know today as Anissia Soar, the wife of Lusso for the barge company, Love City Barge. And those students said to me, you need to do it. 2:11:21 This was in 88, and I was in the race after that. And the rest is history. So those students encouraged me to do this. And then I came here in this body. I had a lot of help. I was baptized by real fire hair. We hit the fire because folks, the person that saw it with me, they ain't no play play. Those people weren't easy. So Ali Precious know that. Ali Precious was one of them in this building with me. He used to be my secretary until one day I put him in the chair and one of them guys said, look, the next time you don't call me up, you're going to get one of these glass. Do you remember Ali? So, I came to this body and I want to thank the members of the 21st and the 24th legislation for making me the president. Not an easy task, but they all trusted me. 2:11:57 They feel I'm going to be fair to them, which I was. And it didn't matter what party I was or not, they accepted me as such. But I told them that, not because you make me president and we do everything you say, because the President Hubbard didn't mind his own too. So it all went along until one day, this is what you see here today, bypan, we called it then, now you call it legit. And I was looking at TV and I said to Rudy, Rudy was my researcher. He said, Rudy, how come these people have C-span out over and we can't have them in the Virgin Islands? And I said, I said, find out what's happening there. So he came back and he said to me, look, the Telecommunication Act allows to make sure that communities are served in a way that they provide information to the community and so yeah well we're gonna do that here so I brought it to my group now remember now I'm not like mr. president here who have about ten people I had eight and if you say something wrong they ain't don't agree you're gone next you're in big trouble but fortunate for me I had a man and they called the Equalizer. His name was Celestino White Sr. Celestino White was a guy that, regardless of what I was doing, he wasn't my majority leader. And every time we have session, we would meet. And I would say, look, we have a controversial issue coming up today. 2:13:02 So you need to governize these guys to make sure we get the pass. Yeah, and Celestino was that guy. Celestino was a guy that, he was my number one ally. Number one ally. And whatever we needed to do, he would do it. He said, Mr. President, if that's what you want, that's what gonna happen. And we've been pretty good at it. So I wanna thank him for his support, because he really was good to me in all respect. And then along the way, I wanna start my staff. 2:14:51 I had a young lady by the name of Rochelle Connero. She was my chief of staff at a young age. She was about 21 or so. And I told her that I need my office to be functioning. Be polite, kind to people, respond when people call, and answer concerns, and she did an excellent job. Rudy Krieger, Jr., I think he's one of the best researchers this body I've ever seen. And he has been the person that I was challenged. 2:15:25 We had a lot of tough times in the 21st because Mr. President and good friend would challenge us. They would challenge us and we had to find an answer. you know every day we have to find an answer otherwise you wouldn't hear the rest of it you know and we had it on both sides and rudy was a guy that did all of that and then i had two other persons mr austin and mida in st john he passed away you know now but he was a guy that that kind of kept the island, the information, just the news about what we were doing in the community. And in St. Croix, a woman by the name was Sonia Kelly Williams. She was the person who did that and did an excellent job. So these people were my backbone that made it possible. So yeah, I had a whole lot of legislation, and all of that, you know, but there are a couple of things I want to say before I close. 2:16:04 That this party, when I came in, nobody wanted to do business with us. We never paid. We were bad pay. And so, I created Impress Fund in the business office so that we pay all all our bills. The only bill we never paid was the payroll. But everything that we had in legislature, we paid it. We made sure people got paid and after that, everybody started dealing with us. The other thing was, I had a guy on staff that made a replica of this building. We have one in St. John, one in St. Croix. When I was there, I used to go to St. Croix and you gotta be pulling a chair on the side and somebody had to pass a mic. I said no, no, no, no. No, no, no, that can't work. So I believe that each of the islands have a unique 2:17:15 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony purpose and a unique need. And so I wanted them to experience what we experienced in this building. And so when we have issues that affects each island, they are able to go there and voice their opinion and sometimes they don't have to travel all over the place. So that's what it was for. And you know I did it with the help of in-staff work. I want to tell you about a guy right here who is an in-staff guy that was there. A young man out there in the audience now named Cassie. Everybody named Cassie has Cosmos kids. They're number one cenographer in the territory. No, definitely. I'm gonna tell you a story about him and Amos Cardi. I sent them to Philadelphia because we needed to upgrade our archive system and we needed to upgrade our stenographer system because we couldn't get all the transcript in time. It took too long. So they went to do it and the company called me and, so I sent them away. But the same day they're supposed to show up, the company called me and said, well, wait a minute. You told me some guy's supposed to be here, but they're not here. I said, what? So I called up, I called up Kazi and Amos. I said, look, man, where are you guys? They're expecting for you in the lobby. They said, we've been here. We've been here for the longest while. So the lady said, they're right there. So she went back and said, oh, I see some young boys. I haven't seen nobody there. So they were thinking that they were gonna find somebody look like me with gray hair. But these were the young guys, they went there at a very young, young age. But I believe in giving young people a shot because somebody gave me a shot. And I believe that if we could help someone along the way, that's the way it should be, you know. And that's how it was. So lastly, lastly I want to say, I want this honouring to go out in the minds of Virgin Islanders, that I was a guy, didn't have nothing. 2:19:26 I came from Coral Bay, I went to school at Charlemagne High School with no money in my pocket. Every day I would go to school, not even a dollar, because my parents didn't have no money. And so, if I didn't eat school food, I would die. I would starve. So the only one people complain about school food, not me. I had to eat it, I had no choice. But it just shows you that it doesn't matter where you come from, it doesn't matter what place or how much money you got, but it matters a commitment and a love for people. And that's what I have. My parents, two different people. My mother lost her parents early, and my father, he never know them. He don't remember who his father and mother was. So you can imagine what kind of operation that was. You know, but my parents showed a special kind of love. And that's what I believe took me along the way with the good Lord. Because every time there was an obstacle in my way, the Lord would clear the path, you know. And that works for everybody. So all of you out there, you can go out there and you can do the same, just like anybody else. I just want to acknowledge my sister in the audience, my aunt who's always been there, my aunt Gloria, my aunt Marva, cousin Yvonne, and my sister, Ruth, and I want to say there's a lady there I wanted to stand up, Janette, Miss Janette Brosnan. 2:20:35 Just stand for a minute, okay. So you can see who she is, all right. Okay, you can sit down, you can sit down. And the reason why I want her to stand up is because she exemplifies what I wanted to do in life in this job is that she said one day I never noticed that she had a rezoning I did one for her and the governor had vetoed it and I said don't worry I'm gonna get it all right we did it but that's not an issue there is that she said to me that you know with that override I was able to give my son a piece of property I was able to sell a piece so that my children can go to school and so they all have a great degree today and so it is those kind of things that I believe that we all should do helps folks along the way so on that note folks thank you so much Mr. Volkes to all of you members who supported me and Mr. President you know what it is to be a two-time president so So, you know he's a two-time president too, right? But it's been a remarkable opportunity. People have treated me good. 2:22:21 There are haters out there now, don't get me wrong. There are a whole bunch of them, even because I'm getting an honor, they don't like me sometimes. But hey, tough luck. The president wants to tell me about when he was my boss. I was a police auxiliary and he used to come in the ranks, you know, but anyway folks, thank you all for coming to my friends, I see Dusty Baker and Frankie Oreb and of course my beautiful wife, I forget to announce that, I forget to announce my beautiful wife. 2:23:45 Thank you all. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Oh, God. Yeah, I know. You're right for cheer. Yeah, big trouble. Thank you, Senator. We're going to present you with your very long plaque. So I encourage everybody to take a look at this because this is one of the longest that we do. Several pages long at resolution. And while we're doing that, I want to recognize the presence of Majority Leader Senator Kenneth Gittins, who has joined us. Act number 8783, an act honoring and commending former Senator Almondo Rocky-Libard for his lifetime of service to the people of the Virgin Islands, especially St. John, and renaming the North Shore Road on St. John, the Almondo Rocky-Libard Drive. Friends, family, and supporters, if you can also join us in the well for a photo. 2:24:27 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 2:25:54 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 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony And before we move to the next honoree, Senator Milton Potter has a point of information for us. So we can take that. Point of information. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the bill was amended by our illustrious senator from Frederick Stead, the Majority Leader, Sir Kenneth Gittins, honoring Bernie Stornbull. The Virgin Islands Department of Finance, Finance's current building, located at number 2314 from Princes Garda, Charlotte Amalia, St. Thomas Virgin Islands must, must be named the Bernice Alma Turnbull Finance Administrative Building. If the Department of Finance is relocated, the successor building and any other successor buildings must be named the the Borne's Alma-Thomble Finance Administrative Building. 2:28:54 Thank you, Senator. That was very important information that we ensure that we mention that amendment. Next, we are going to be honoring Corporal Kendall Emanuel George, and we invite his representative, his brother, Mr. Powell, Franklin Powell. thank you to stand and be recognized and our minority leader is also the primary sponsor of this measure so he will be speaking on behalf of this bill thank you good afternoon everyone once again we will get to a couple of veterans from military veterans from st. John and to all veterans around the world and present. I'd like to read something that I really like and enjoy that the Director of Veterans Affairs, Director Farrell, had this as a part of a booklet a couple years ago and I took this out and I framed it, I keep it in my office as a fellow veteran and a combat veteran myself. It states, Veterans Day. It is a veteran not the preacher who has given us freedom of religion. It is a veteran not a reporter who has given us freedom of the press. It is a veteran not the poet who has given us freedom of speech. It is a veteran not the campus organizer who has given us freedom to assemble. It is a veteran not the lawyer who has given us the right to fair trial. It is a veteran not the politician who has given us the right to vote and and I open up with that because Mr. Kendall George left America's paradise to represent the Virgin 2:30:20 Islands and the United States of America and defend all these freedoms and rights that are just listed that we have and never returned home he gave the ultimate sacrifice is no way to put that in words other than to say he did it willingly you know and he went in a time where he did what he felt was right and he left the beautiful paradise virgin islands went to serve for us and give up the freedom of his own life. The family came to me in regards to this, naming a road, and for me when it comes to naming anything in a Virgin Islander after any Virgin Islander, I get a vote. I vote first, yes. And incidentally when Bishop Industrials comes up, Gamble Garda in Savan is connected to General Garda, which I changed to now General Garda is named Irving Brungy Brung Street. So I gonna name everything after Virgin Islander. So incidentally, that's what I'm happy to hear. So I went to St. John, went down in Coral Bay so we could look at where this road sign would be, and the family, also a veteran, his brother, Mr. Paul, thank you for your service, is just to show sacrifices that people have given for us. These little dots on the map, you look at a map, a lot of people have it hard finding where the Virgin Islands are. Ain't anybody in here who can't find the Virgin Islands on the map. But you 2:32:18 people in this world don't know the Virgin Islands exist and per capita we have given more in our service to the United States of America Armed Forces and people who have given their lives per capita the Virgin Islands has been among the top if not the top so the honor is gratefully mine to be a part of the family asking me to get this done and Mr. President when he come back up he normally gives a rendition of what it takes to get a bill through so he'll do that part but none of these bills that I've sponsored as a primary sponsor I could have done by myself my colleagues is what made all these bills happen so again thank you to my colleagues thank you to like like when I heard former Senate President James speak, when I came in we were opposite sides of the aisle but he's always giving me good advice and I always thank you for that, much appreciated. So again without any further ado Mr. Paul I'd like you to come and represent your family you know and it's one thing to read on a piece of paper what people have done, but there's no way you could identify and explain that willingness to fight for something and give up the ultimate sacrifice your life. Mr. Powell. 2:34:07 good morning to everyone I'm I'm not a I'm not a great speaker here but I'll make it quick was again good morning to everyone first of all I'd like to give thanks to God for blessing us with the breath of life to see this particular day. Secondly, I'd like to thank the president and all the honorable members of the 35th legislature who played a vital role in making in honoring my brother in remembrance of honoring my brother's memory for naming the road in St. John, the Kendall E. George Drive. My sister couldn't be here today because she had had a medical, you know, a medical situation. She's in the States recovering but she sends her thanks and gratitude as we are humbled by this honor and thirdly I'd like to give a special thank you to those I felt went the extra mile in helping to make this possible and they are my American Legion commander Harry Daniel of the Vegas or post 131 st. John the post of 2:35:43 131 St. John and the Honorable Senator Dwayne DeGraff and his staff for being instrumental in pushing this through and also I'd like to give a special thank you to Senator Carla Joseph and her committee on the government operations Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection and finally the Director of Veterans Affairs Patrick Farrell for his part that he played in that as well and also I'd like to thank the Public Works Department for the job that I know they'll do in you know making fixing that up and maintaining it actually so I like to give them a great thank you for that as well. Now I'd 2:38:08 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) 13 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony like to say a few words about my brother. My brother was a very well-loved young man in growing up in St. John. One of the things I recall is, Well, my mom had a store in St. John, a shop and a store, where we sold, you know, we sold food, we sold clothing and all that stuff. And every weekend, not every, you know, every weekend we have, the place would be crowded with people, you know, because everybody come by to buy stuff and so on, and when these folks come by, sometimes there were, you know, there was the ones that always came because my brother was a big, how should I say, he loved cooking and stuff like that, right? And he would always prepare something for those people that came every weekend, okay? 2:39:15 And you know, that was like, how should I say, well, they looked forward to it because he was very good at baking, he was very good at just cooking in general. They would always come by, you know, they'll bike stuff, but also they come by so they can eat. So it was one of those things that we did. From there, though, he went to school in St. John at a Guy Benjamin school, and then from there, he went to Charlotte Amalia for maybe, was it, two years, and then the final two years, he went to New York and ended up graduating from the Manhattan Vocational Technical School in the area of machine technology. From there he decided he would like to go into Marines because he's always had his thing about serving and so he joined up in 1963 and went in and served and just prior to him getting ready to return he had about six months or so left he it happened he finally yet well he got killed and that was pretty shocking to up to us because we were hoping to see him come home because he was intending to get married as soon as he got back. He made an ultimate sacrifice. And I feel this honor of naming this place after him is a great honor. And I really and truly appreciate everyone that was involved in making this possible. 2:40:29 So all I can say is thanks a million to everyone for this honor. That's all I have to say. . 2:42:37 Act number 8811, an act honoring and commending the late Corporal Kendall Emanuel George posthumously for his service as a corporal in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War and for making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve democracy and keep America and his Virgin Islands homeland safe. Naming Route 107 from Coral Bay to Lamasher Bay, St. John, Kendall Emanuel George Drive South and appropriating $10,000 to the Department of Public Works for signage at the Kendall Emanuel George Drive and for other related purposes. 2:43:34 Family, friends, and supporters, please join us in the well for a photo. Thank you. Thank you. 2:44:14 . Our next honoree is William A. Industrious. So, Industrious, please stand. Are you able to stand? Thank you. All right, act number 8828, which is primarily sponsored by the Senate Secretary, Senator Carla Joseph. You're recognized to provide remarks. This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. 2:45:33 I want to first, of course, recognize my fellow senators who are here this morning, our esteemed president, the Honorable Novell E. Francis Jr., our vice president, the Honorable Marvin Blyden, my other colleagues seated here, the Honorable Angel Bocas, Minority Leader, the Honorable Duane M. DeGraff, and also my good colleague from Eudora Kent High School, the Honorable Milton E. Potter, and as well as my good sister, the Honorable Donna Fred Gregory. indeed I am very thankful to be here among you to bring a few remarks in recognizing this gentleman this giant of a man who stood tall spreading the Word of God here in the US Virgin Islands family and friends and supporters of of William A. Industrious, congratulations. Today is a great day as we recognize a devoted role model in our community. Bishop Industrious' life story is a testament to a life lived unselfishly as he has given his name given his name and time and resources to the Christian Unity Church and the surrounding community in Savanne and beyond where the church serves and I would like you to know that I had to get permission from Senator Duane DeGraff, our minority leader, as part of naming this street because he's a Savanero. 2:46:36 his selfishness has left an indelible mark on our community his selflessness has selflessness I have to stress that word because many of us are we we are demonstrating a level of selfishness but this gentleman is selfless where he puts God first community members have lauded Bishop industrious for his kind heart and position and refusing a salary for his ministry in preaching and teaching about one essential thing salvation I am honored to have recognized Bishop industrious by naming the William a industrious street in his honor this street now bearing his name stands as a proud symbol of his legacy a a constant reminder of the positive impact he has made in our community and others because he had a lot of young people including some of my classmates who impact he impacted positively and their legacy and that's why i stand here as well bishop industrious has done good works through his life and as the scripture statutes in hebrew chapter 13 verse 16 reads do not neglect to do good work and share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to god our dear people Bishop industrious we know that God is well pleased and may you continue to be strengthened in all that you do Bishop industrious is at that wonderful twilight age of 95 standing strong amen and we were to honor bishop industrious earlier in the year but he had a little accident and his body you know as you age it took a really impact but I tell you he's a man of God and God protects his own and he covers them and so we are very grateful and thankful to God 2:48:44 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) 14 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony that he is here with us today standing strong on his own not even having a cane but to the miracle of the Almighty and so I really want to also thank my colleagues who signed on on this piece of legislation and I'm going to say who they are senators Ray Fonseca, Senator Donna Fred Gregory, as well as Senator Duane M. DeGraff. I told you I had to get his permission, right? And so he signed on. And so we are very grateful for all that you have done unselflessly for our people in spreading the word of God. Thank you so kindly and we really congratulate you Bishop thank you in just rest the microphone is yours Good morning everybody, this is a wonderful day that the Lord has made. 2:52:02 I want to congratulate all senators who take the time out, who was watching me when I did not know, to bring this day that I can stand here as a witness for Jesus. I'm so grateful today for this privilege. 2:53:08 I want you to know, first of all, that you're looking at a miracle, standing here. 2001, I had open heart surgery. The doctor put in four bypass in my heart. and two of the dive bypass did not work they had to go back in my heart twice and my heart stopped twice i got witness this happening by among in puerto rico when i came home the last time that shocked me so hard that the whole of my stomach was rough to bring me back to life and since that time there was three times since that time the doctor was in my heart three times which which went to six times a doctor was in my heart, keeping me alive. 2:53:43 And sometimes I ask myself the question, God, why am I still alive? If I live to see the next three months, I'll be 96 years. And God still got me here with one desire, to reach somebody and tell them Jesus loved them. Amen. That's my mission today. I'm proud because when I look back at my life, I have the fruit of my life in labor and in the gospel. I want you to know, Pastor Wallen, would you stand please? this young lady we put up our beautiful church in sabon she is the pastor right now over 34 years this young lady being traveling with me on the christian path and as you heard we are not in the gospel for money that's not what the gospel is about the gospel is about winning a soul for christ and our team is looking for the young people because they are the future of tomorrow and we want young people to get in the ministry we want young people to get in the government we want you young people to take the lead in many aspects in this community i can tell you the only swear they can do it and do it effectively they must know a little 2:55:05 a little bit of the word of God. Yes, yes. We teach Sunday school. We have a class for everyone. We buy books, spend money every quarter for new books. Bring the lesson in to help them to study God's word. Because we're living in a time, if you don't know God's word, you're gonna be sweep off your feet with what going on. The devil is out there and he's like a roaring lion to destroy our young people and destroy this community. 2:57:27 I don't know if you got your eyes open, but our young people, young ladies going out and selling themself young man stringing out on drugs, all the way the only answer is jesus he is the answer i don't care how much money the government spend i don't care what they do as long as they don't come to jesus it's going to be a change in their life so we our team is to reach them right now we have a dry world for young people we don't care how they come to the church you come you come you're gonna find a place with love you're gonna find a place with long suffering come in anyhow god isn't looking at the clothes you got he's looking at your heart so we don't mind how they come so long they come to the house of god We want them to come. Praise the name of the Lord. And that's my desire, to see young people come to know Jesus. 2:58:10 I want you to know in 1958, I was living right there where the federal building is. Lockhart had some apartment there, the lumberyard. lacot lumberyard was there i get a call and that call was from jesus and jesus called me and i answered the call and when i give him my life i tell him lord i will do my best for you and that's what i meant i go anywhere i can reach a child you got a child one of them could or go to Sunday school or go to church. 2:59:28 You just take up the phone number and call Christian Unity. We go and get that child, take them to service, take them back home. If they didn't have breakfast, we make sure they have something to put in their little stomach. Our theme is to win the loss for Christ. And that's the theme of Christian Unity. And I'm so glad that I have a pastor. As you hear Sister Joseph say a while ago, I don't collect a salary. My pastor don't collect a salary. 3:00:12 The secretary don't collect a salary. The young people, leaders don't collect a salary. Nobody collect a salary in Christian unity. I want you to know God supplies every need. Amen. You pass Sabah and you will see a building there. That building, we don't sell, we don't beg. We put up that building and today don't owe the government, I don't owe a bank a dime. 3:00:50 It's for the people of Christian unity, And it will stand out there in Saban when I'm gone. The street that the laymen in Dostoeus, this today, the church is on that street, same street, Christian unity. And that's what I'd like to say today. 3:01:29 I'm so glad, I'm so glad to be here today. I understand this young lady was one that worked very hard to bring this physician to me today, that I can name the street in me. When I'm gone, Senator Joseph and all the senators that work 3:02:01 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) 15 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony with you, I'm so blessed that you all think about me to name a street in my name. God bless you. Thank you. Act number 8828, an act renaming a portion of Gamlegarra, the William A. Industrious Street. Friends, family, supporters, if you can join us in the well for a photo. Thank you. Thank you. 3:03:25 Thank you. And our final honoree today is Mr. Viggo A. Sewer, act number 8821. He's represented today by his sister, Maria Letts, round of applause. 3:04:55 And minority leader is also the primary sponsor of this measure, so we invite Senator Duane Andy Graf to the podium one final time for today's ceremony thank you good afternoon again you know this is the last but not the least person and the picture of your brother isn't a great one so we like to request to get better picture but again as a veteran you know I had an opportunity to get selected to go go to to war with the military and i i always put it in context of imagine waking up the morning you get dressed you get ready in in mr seward's case and mr george case you have to get on a boat to leave saint john you get on a boat you come over to St. Thomas, you head down to the airport and you fly out of here. I remember flying out of here on my way to Iraq. It's a cold flight. It's a fearful flight because again you don't know your outcome but again you believe in in God and you say hey it's in God's hands. Mr. Sewer went to Korea in 1951 and 1953 he you know he gave the ultimate sacrifice and I said it like that not to cause any bitterness or any cause any issue but for people again to try understand what a veteran does and the sacrifices that he make and again coming from St. John St. John is never be forgotten you know we will forget it St. John are part of us, so I just wanted to make sure to put on the record our support. 3:05:45 And incidentally, Mr. Sewer, when you get all the way down to Corral Bay, there comes a divide where you take a right and you keep going straight. Lamishaw Straight would be named after Mr. George. You take the right to go East End would be named after Mr. Viggo Sewer. Okay, so again, ownership of our people, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix. So thank you very much, you could come forward and speak on behalf of your great brother. Thank you. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Unfortunately, you won't be getting a speech from me today, but I would like to say thank you on behalf of my brother, Viggo Esau, to Senate President, Nobel Francis, and the 35th Legislature, to Commissioner of Public Works, Derek Gabriel, special thanks to Senator DeGraff and Senator Carla Joseph, thanks to Commander Harry Daniel, commander of the Viggo Esau, American Legion Post on St. John. And thank you to Patrick Farrell from the Veterans Administration Office. Thanks to all of you who have made this possible today. Thanks to the other honorees. Thank you all, and may God bless you. 3:07:42 Thank you. Act number 88 to 21, an act to honor and commend Viggo E. Sewer posthumously for his ultimate contribution to the Virgin Islands and naming East End Road on Route 10 on the island of St. John in his honor. 3:09:27 Family, friends, and supporters, you can begin to make your way to the well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 3:10:18 Thank you. And in honor of our honorees, we're going to have a musical selection by the University of the Virgin Islands Music Program students. Out of the ruins and the rubble Out of the smoke Out of our night of struggle Can we see a ray of hope Health and rain Reaching for the day We can build a beautiful city Yes we can, yes we can We can build a beautiful city 3:11:57 Not a city of angels But we can build a city of men We may not reach the ending But we can start Slowly but truly mending Brick by brick Heart by heart No Maybe now We start learning How We can build A beautiful city Yes, we can Yes, we can We can build A beautiful city Not a city of angels We can build a city of man When your trust is all but shattered When your faith is all but killed We can give up bitter and battered Or you can slowly start to build A beautiful city, yes we can 3:14:08 Yes we can, we can build A beautiful city, not a city of angels Finally, a city of man The city of man. Thank you, thank you very much again. 3:16:12 That was Micah McCance on the cello, Jaden Gumbs on keyboard, and Mr. RJ Felix on vocals, and led by Instructor Holmes, who is in the back, but he is here from the University of the Virgin Islands. Thank you so much. Beautiful renditions, and that was an awesome, awesome song, because we can build beautiful cities, and we have done so as demonstrated here by our honorees. And Reverend George said in the beginning, he said, take a page out of their book. So I just want to recap, just do a little recap. So, Mr. Todman, we are going to be fearless and we are going to have zero tolerance for anything but greatness, right, audience? Yes. We are going to, let's see if you could guess this one, ensure that our actions, even in tough times, can allow us to pass an audit. Who's that? I think we know who that is. 3:17:05 Right, senators, we're gonna work. If anything happens, we're gonna pass, right? Be persistent and continue to go after the ball with everything that you have, like the late Dr. Cooper. Bring your family up with you and create that family legacy. As we see here in the audience, the business is still alive. Win consecutively, leave a mark, and make history for 3:18:05 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) 16 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony 16 plus years, like the Honorable Senator Liber two-time Senate President. And like Bishop Industrious, make a commitment and follow it through for 96 years. We can do it, we can do it. And finally, we want to recognize Corporal George and Mr. Viggo Suhr for protecting and serving and leaving that legacy of Virgin Islanders who have served our nation. make sure that we always remember theirs and others ultimate sacrifice. And I must say something about this audience because this is a big audience this is a great audience and lots of influential lots of important people in this audience so know that these eight up here have had an impact on their families they've had an impact in their families by sharing and passing down some important characteristics characteristics of winners characteristics of leaders characteristics of persons that are also going to have an indelible mark on the virgin islands or who already had an indelible mark on the virgin island so give yourselves a round of applause audience thank you thank you for being here with us today i'd like to also give one final round of applause for our honorees and their representatives and as we close this is the final perma plaque ceremony for 2024 as the senate president mentioned we hadn't the other ceremony in st croix already so i would like to thank the office of the senate president and the senate president has been awesome getting these ceremonies together sometimes difficult um because there's so much legislation happening in these chambers to get dates to have these events and so it's very very critical that you have a good relationship with the office of the senate president to be able to get these things on the calendar and so I thank you so much senate president for all that you have done for to make sure that we've had these ceremonies and they take place and that we've been able to partner with the department of public works in a way that the legislature really has never before and that is allowing us to stay current with these honors and give more honors to people while they are still alive and able to take the podium and to receive so thank you very much finally I have to thank myself thank you to protocol officer miss Jovan Atlee who put on this ceremony thank you so much thank you to facilities team who was here till late in the evening you had a 3:18:53 session yesterday and we have a meeting tomorrow so as soon as we leave they're going to be back in here getting things ready thank you to the Public Affairs Division designed the booklet who put on our graphics and who have made sure that our live stream went flawlessly today thank you and thank you to the senators present your calendars are certainly very very busy and I'm so grateful to see I love it when we have so many senators here the process is long as the president will talk about and so thank you very much for following it through and being here. So without further ado, to give closing remarks, we will welcome our Senate President to the podium. He will be immediately followed by Reverend Andrew George. And at that time, we will be dismissed to have some light refreshments downstairs. 3:21:27 Senate President. A round of applause for Executive Director, Kurel Sheridan, Esquire. I know that I'll kind of be brief with this closing because some of you have been sitting from nine o'clock this morning. I saw you got here early, so I'll be brief. But I really just want to again say thank you to all of our honorees. Thank you for your contributions to the Virgin Islands community. We truly appreciate the work that you have put forward. So a round of applause for our honorees once again I also want to thank the family because public service is one that there is personal sacrifice that's made but our families also endures and clock hours even up with the public servants we miss a lot of birthdays and holidays and family time you know so again I want to come in and thank the family members who too have made some sacrifices along this journey so thank you family members a round of applause for our family just real quickly i'd like to talk a little bit about the um the resolution process because i think it's important that um we understand what goes into developing these permaplock and the resolution um that starts the process um first of all of course before i say that we just signed some bills just yesterday uh we just passed some bills yesterday I'll be saying um later on this week I'll be going up to the governor where again we have some additional individuals that will be recognized so um early next year we will also I'm sure that we'll have some additional individuals to recognize but in terms of the resolution of course uh there's an idea that may be developed into a resolution based on individuals may have because of their contribution that idea is then presented in a bill draft to one of my colleagues oi and you know we put in a bill draft for that idea again to be able to recognize the individual's contribution once the bill draft goes in then of course there's a way for clause that develops that resolution getting with the family members and getting all of the information you know to put into that resolution and then the resolution of course is performed and sent to the center president's office is performed and assigned to a committee of jurisdiction and usually the committee of jurisdiction is government operations and distances for the last two years under senator college j joseph and um the matter is heard and of course um you know there are testimonies and individuals that provide testimonial about the you know the individual that's being honored from there that resolution or bill then goes to the Rules and Judiciary Committee which is a clearinghouse for that measure and then is sent on to session and from session is voted upon by all of all of my colleagues and usually I'll tell you 3:22:12 that not 9.9 times out of 10 is a unanimous decision and all of these resolution just about every single of us sign on on these because we understand the importance of these measures by the time you get to that level to session we know that we have heard about it several times and we're satisfied to move that over it goes up to the governor once it's passed from 3:25:19 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) 17 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony session it goes up to the governor again where the governor acknowledged the resolution that have been formed by the legislature and then it's set back down with his approval and then of course then a schedule for this perma plaque sermon so it is our task and putting these resolutions together and a lot of times believe it or not the Senate get accused of moving too many resolutions forward honoring and commending the work that have been done by our community members if we don't do it who will all of the contributions have been made here will go for nothing because we don't live forever and then Rocky who in a couple of years you know Commissioner who you know I think that we lose sight of what happened there so you know certainly we want to put those resolution forth and continue on our community and we have also been contemplating the development of a resolution book booklet where a lot of these archive information then will be generated into a booklet and be available so that there'll be a library available here as well as the you know that they'll also be on our website where we could always be able to see all of these resolutions that have been passed over the years. So that's something that we're working fiercely and making happen, and we hope to have that in short order. But today has been a great day. I want to thank the University of the Virgin Islands, again, for your contribution. Our young people continue to do great things, and they're destined for greater things, and we want to thank them. We appreciate you. Again, I want to thank my colleagues for the hard work that they have put forth, in again moving these resolutions forward and really to thank the central staff who the ED have indicated. We just had session last night and they had to get this place all ready for today and the work continues. So I wanna take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. And I'm sure that we'll be having, I'm sure the ED will announce it but I think that we'll have a little refreshment at the end of this. God bless each and every one of you. 3:27:13 Thank you for today. If everyone can please stand for the benediction by Reverend Andrew George. Let's pray. Lord, it has been a good day. This is a day that you've made. So Lord, as we rejoice and be glad in it I pray Lord this is not going to be the end of it but it's going to continue for years to come honoring folks who have again sacrificed and make a mark on these islands and Lord helping our young people to go forward thank you for all the senators thank you for the staff thank you for everyone who had anything to do with today may your blessings continue to flow upon us as we do our different duties. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. 3:27:46 Transcription by CastingWords Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. 3:29:20 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. 12x Senator Milton E. Potter heard in this transcript as: Milton Potter, Potter 9x Senator Dwayne DeGraff heard in this transcript as: DeGraff, Duane Andy Graf, Duane DeGraff, Duane M. DeGraff 5x Senator Angel L. Bolques, Jr. heard in this transcript as: Angel L. Bolques Jr., Angel L. Bulquez Jr., Anghel Balquez, Bulquez, Volquez 5x Senator Carla Joseph the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph heard in this transcript as: Joseph 3x Commissioner Derrick Gabriel heard in this transcript as: Gabriel 3x Senator Donna A. Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna Frank Gregory, Donna Fred Gregory 3x Senator Kenneth L. Gittens heard in this transcript as: Gittins, Kenneth Gittins 2x Senator Angel L. Bulkes Jr heard in this transcript as: Bulkes 2x Senator Dwayne M. 2x Senator Fred 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) 18 of 19 Legislature USVI · | Perma Plaque/Road Naming Ceremony the surname alone also matches: Donna A. Frett-Gregory; Donna Frett-Gregory 2x Senator Javan James heard in this transcript as: Javon E. James 2x Senator Marise C. James the surname alone also matches: Javan James; Giovanni James Sr heard in this transcript as: James 2x Senator Marvin Blyden heard in this transcript as: Blayden 2x Senator Neville James 2x Director Patrick Farrell heard in this transcript as: Farrell 1x Senator Donna Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna A. Frett-Gregory 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 35-0007 Act 8703 · An Act honoring and commending Mr. Boyd ·Boyzie· Orlanzo Todman for his many contributions to the people and the youth of the Virgin Islands and to name the basketball court at the Oswald Harris Court ·The Boyd ·Boyzie· Orlanzo Todman Basketball Court· Act 8703 Act 8703 · An Act honoring and commending Mr. Boyd ·Boyzie· Orlanzo Todman for his many contributions to the people and the youth of the Virgin Islands and to name the basketball court at the Oswald Harris Court ·The Boyd ·Boyzie· Orlanzo Todman Basketball Court· Act 8823 Act 8823 · An Act honoring and commending Mrs. Bernice Alma Tumbull for her lifetime of service and dedication to the people of the Virgin Islands ---0 Act 8816 Act 8816 · An Act posthumously honoring and commending Dr. Fenella Cooper for her contributions to the fields of education, sports and culture, and naming the University of the Virgin Islands tennis courts in her honor ---0 Act 8406 Act 8406 · An Act renaming the South Side Road on St. John ·The Rudolph A. ·Pimpy· Thomas, Jr. Road· ---0 Act 8783 Act 8783 · November 2023 · An Act honoring and commending former Senator Almando ·Rocky· Liburd for his lifetime of service to the people of the Virgin Islands especially St. John, and renaming the North Shore Road on St. John ·Almando ·Rocky· Liburd Drive· ---0 Act 8811 Act 8811 · An Act honoring and commending the late Corporal Kendall Emanuel George posthumously for his service as a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War and for making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve democracy and to keep America and his Virgin Islands homeland safe; naming Route 107 from Coral Bay to Lameshur Bay, St. John ·Kendall Emanuel George Drive· South and appropriating $10,000 to the Department of Public Works for signage at Kendall Emanuel George Drive; and for other related purposes Act 8828 Act 8828 · An Act renaming Gamle Gade the ·William A. Industrious Street· ---0 Act 8821 Act 8821 · An Act honoring and commending Viggo E. Sewer posthumously for his ultimate contribution to the Virgin Islands and renaming East End Road, on Route 10, on the island of St. John, in his honor ---0 Referred to but not found in our acts corpus: Bill 35-0208, Bill 35-0107, Bill 35-0074 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) 19 of 19