Island Snapshots – August 2017
- DIAMOND SPONSOR HAGATNA, Guam—Bank of Guam has donated $15,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation as a diamond sponsor of the 2017 Make-A-Wish Gala on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Tumon. This year’s gala co-chairs are Make-A-Wish Foundation board members Joaquin P.L.G Cook from Bank of Guam; Jesika Taitano from First Hawaiian Bank; and James Santos from DFS/T Galleria. From left, Joaquin P.L.G. Cook, Bank of Guam executive vice president/chief sales and service officer and Make-A-Wish Foundation board member; Eric Tydingco, Make-A-Wish Foundation president and chief executive officer for Guam and the CNMI; and Jackie A. Marati, Bank of Guam senior vice president/chief communications officer and former Make-A-Wish Foundation board member. (Contributed Photo)
- COMING TOGETHER Imperial Pacific International, Ltd. executives and officials led by its chairman, Mark Brown, fourth from right at the back, help Gov. Ralph DLG Torres celebrate his 38th birthday at a special dinner hosted by friends and supporters Friday evening at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan. (Contributed Photo)
- DONATION TO TMS Joeten Motors Corp. general manager Matt Deets, third from left, is joined by other Joeten Motors employees in presenting a $2,000 donation to Tanapag Middle School. (Contributed Photo)
- COURTESY CALL Students from South Korea call on Gov. Ralph DLG Torres yesterday morning as part of an English language program. The students noted the tropical climate and the array of birds and plant life on the island. They gained insight into the CNMI’s history and its native species. (Contributed Photo)
- FOODIE EXPERT The man behind the Noodle Bar offering at Sichuan Restaurant is executive chef Chen Hai Song, seen here with Lucy Guo. The Sichuan Restaurant’s Noodle Bar is offering a 10-percent local discount. It is located across the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan in downtown Garapan. (Contributed Photo)
- WALKATHON PARTNERS HONORED: The American Red Cross-NMI Chapter honored two of its partners yesterday—the Public School System and Education Commissioner Cynthia Deleon Guerrero—for their contributions toward the successful staging of its annual walkathon. ARC-NMI Chapter officials, led by executive director John Hirsh, walkathon co-chair Teyna Belyeu-Camacho, and J.D. Tenorio, presented two plaques of appreciation to the school district and Deleon Guerrero on Capital Hill. (PSS)
- COURTESY CALL: The Saipan Awaodori Team pays a courtesy call on Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Christopher A. Concepcion, center back row, at the MVA office on Aug. 10, 2017. On Aug. 25-27, 2017, the team will participate in the Koenji Awaodori Festival, one of the largest annual Awaodori festivals in Japan. (Contributed Photo)
- FARMERS’ WEEK: Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signs a proclamation on Monday designating Aug. 14 to 19 as Farmers and Ranchers Week, ending the week with an Agricultural Fair on Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Garapan Fishing Base. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
- BOE MEETING ON TINIAN The CNMI Board of Education, the policymaking body of the Public School System, held its meeting on Tinian yesterday. In this photo, the president of Tinian Advisory Council, Arley Long, foreground standing, addresses the BOE and PSS management. Board chair Maria Lourdes S. Ada presided over the meeting that was also attended by board vice chair Janice Marie Ada Tenorio, secretary/treasurer Herman Atalig, and board members Florine Hofschneider and Herman T. Guerrero, teacher representative Paul Miura, student representative Mariah Manuel Cruz, and Education Commissioner Cynthia Deleon Guerrero. (PSS)
- NEW ARFF FIRE CHIEF: From left, Commonwealth Ports Authority comptroller Skye Aldan, the new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting chief Frederick Pangelinan, and CPA executive director Christopher Tenorio. Pangelinan became the new ARFF fire chief effective Aug. 14, 2017. Pangelinan started his career at the ARFF in 1996, working his way up. “My vision is to move the ARFF forward with all the programs that the Federal Aviation Administration would like us to incorporate into the training programs, aside from just firefighting training,” he said. (Bea Cabrera)
- SIGNING UP: Personnel at the registration table help individuals who wanted to avail of medical mission services yesterday at the Garapan basketball court. The Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) conducted its annual medical mission to celebrate its 15th year of offering free services. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
- GOVERNOR’S TOURISM CUP SPONSORS Natashia Tomokane, IT&E marketing, presents a $1,500 check to Marianas Tourism Education Council chair Vicky Benavente, as a sponsor of the 2nd Annual Governor’s Tourism Cup scheduled for Sept. 2, 2017. From left, Ray Villagomez (MVA), Tomokane, Benavente, Martin Duenas (MVA), Demi Pagarao (MVA), and IT&E staff. (Contributed Photo)
- GOVERNOR’S TOURISM CUP SPONSORS Geralyn C. Delacruz, director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Best Sunshine, presents a $2,000 check to GTC tournament director James Nelson, as a sponsor of the Governor’s Tourism Cup on Sept. 2, 2017. From left, Alex Palacios (Best Sunshine), Wendi Herring (MTEC board/GM Fiesta Resort & Spa), Vicky Benavente (Office of the Governor/chair, MTEC), Larry Lee (MTEC board), Delacruz, Nelson, Demi Pagarao (MVA), Naomi Nishimura (PSS/MTEC Board), and Glenn Policare (Operations manager Kanoa Resort/MTEC board). (Contributed Photo)
- GOVERNOR’S TOURISM CUP SPONSORS Glen Perez (third from right) , sales manager Atkins Kroll Saipan, presents a 2017 T-Max to the MVA/MTEC as sponsors of a hole-in-one prize for the 2nd Annual Governor’s Tourism Cup, scheduled for Sept. 2, 2017. (Contributed Photo)
- INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Northern Marianas College Rota Center staff members recently hosted a presentation led by representatives from Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan and Kanoa Resort, who spoke with 17 high school seniors regarding internship opportunities on Saipan. Fiesta Resort senior human resource manager Pina Deleon Guerrero (standing first from right), stressed the importance of reaching out to the students so that they are aware of their options after graduation. (NMC)
- E-NAP UPDATES Two months into the new Enhanced Nutrition Assistance Program (E-NAP) that increases benefits and makes people with higher income levels eligible for food stamps, Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Ind-MP) was briefed on Tuesday by visiting officials from the Department of Agriculture in San Francisco. Not everyone who is now eligible for the increased assistance has applied, Food and Nutrition Services Administrator Jesus Mendoza (far right) told the congressman. Sablan included $33.5 million in the 2014 Agricultural Act, so more people in the Marianas could get help feeding their families and so that benefits could be raised closer to the level on Guam. The money became available on July 1. Mendoza and Sablan agreed that more needs to be done to let the public know that this new assistance is available at the CNMI NAP offices. (Contributed Photo)
- SHORT CHAT: From left, Rep. Joseph “Lee Pan” Guerrero (R-Saipan), Lt. Gov. Victor B. Hocog, and Rep. Jose Itibus (R-Saipan) share a quick talk during last Monday’s Koblerville basketball court ribbon cutting. (Erwin Encinares)