Jones declines NMC BOR nomination

Local businessman Jay Jones has declined Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s nomination to the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents.

Fitial announced Jones’ decision to the media during his weekly news briefing on Capitol Hill yesterday.

He said the Triple J Motors general manager met with him earlier this week and regretfully told him that he is currently busy managing his businesses and cannot serve the BOR wholeheartedly.

The governor said that, much as he regretted the decision of Jones, he would still want a businessman to fill the vacated post.

He said he believes it would be ideal to have someone who has solid business acumen running the community college.

In lieu of Jones, Fitial has nominated current Saipan Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Trading Co. president Charles Cepeda to the seat.

Cepeda, who was present during the meeting yesterday, said he is humbled by the nomination but told the governor that he could not immediately make a decision on the appointment.

Although he wants to focus more on the Chamber, Cepeda said he is not entirely closing the doors to accepting the nomination. “I will have to think matters carefully,” he said, adding that he would make his decision by Monday.

NMC president Tony V. Deleon Guerrero recently welcomed the new members of the BOR, which had its first meeting yesterday afternoon.

Along with Jones, other new BOR members are Agnes McPhetres, former Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos, and Linsa F. Lizama.

Deleon Guerrero said that the NMC community is grateful and appreciative to the Fitial administration’s prompt action to fill the vacant slots at the NMC BOR. He said he is looking forward to working “collaboratively with them [new regents], along with our three ongoing regents.”

The NMC president expressed that he would like to cultivate a cooperative working relationship with its BOR members, NMC Foundation, and the internal NMC stakeholders.

“We enjoin the new BOR members in developing a shared vision of excellence, expanding and increasing our institutional resources, and building college-wide commitment and engagement in meeting WASC accreditation standards,” he said.

With the new team members onboard, Deleon Guerrero is hoping to explore new ideas and strategies in enhancing NMC, especially its role as a community resource center for the Commonwealth, and improve its overall institutional effectiveness. (Marconi Calindas)