MVP winners share prizes worth $40K-plus

The Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers handed out more than $40,000 in prizes to the winners of the different contest categories in the 2021 Marianas Village Pride campaign during the announcement of winners yesterday afternoon at the Sugar King Park amphitheater in Garapan.

Representatives of the GCEA, which organized the campaign, named the MVP winners in the categories of MVP Christmas Decorating Contest, MVP Village Flag Art Contest, and MVP Bus Stop Beautification Contest, and recognized the participants of the Adopt-A-Median Program. The occasion was attended by public school representatives, students, parents, elected officials, government and non-government agencies.

MVP was launched in October last year as a means to “inspire students and residents to show pride in where they live by taking part in fun beautification activities.”

A total of 24 participating groups were recognized for the Adopt-a-Median project, which had schools, residents, organizations, and businesses helping make streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks in their villages safer for pedestrians and motorists by painting them for better visibility.

There were four winners in the Christmas Decorating Contest, which invited the community to make the Marianas festive and beautiful last holiday season by cleaning, beautifying, and decorating their homes, schools, community centers or basketball courts, village entrances, and businesses.

The “Most Festive School” was won by Kagman Elementary School, which received sports equipment valued at $1,000 from All-Star Sporting Goods.

The category for “Most Festive Home” was won by Laila Macaranas from Tinian who received ACE Hardware store credit valued at $1,000.

The category for “Most Festive Business” was won by Savory Bistro Café, which received Pacific Rainbow store credit valued at $1,000.

The “Most Festive Village” was won by the Tinian Mayor’s Office, which will receive village basketball court improvements valued at $1,000.

There were two category of winners for the “Bus Stop Beautification Contest.” The “Top School” was won by Marianas High School, which received $1,000 worth of sports equipment from All-Star Sporting Goods. The “Top Business” was won by Bistro Boyz, Tyler’s Gelatte Stone, and Smoked Out, which each won ACE Hardware store credit valued at $1,000.

This contest invited all groups, organizations, and businesses to adopt a bus stop in their villages. The campaign aimed to beautify more than 20 bus stops on Saipan, four on Rota, and two to three on Tinian.

There were 29 winners for the “Village Flag Art Contest.” Twenty-three winners were students from Marianas High School and six winners were students from Tanapag Middle School. Middle and high school students throughout the Marianas were invited to use their artistic talents to inspire the design of their villages’ flags. This contest asked students to illustrate what makes their villages special, unique, and wonderful places to live.

Tinian had three winners from Tinian Jr. Sr. High School for three of their villages of Carolina Heights, Marpo Valley, and San Jose.

Rota had three winners from Sinapalo Elementary School for three of their villages as well. These students designed flags for the villages of I Chenchon, Sinapalo, and Songsong.

Four elementary schools won cash prizes that were donated by companies and organizations based on a point system.

First place of $5,000 from the E-Land Group was won by Sinapalo Elementary School with 380 points.

Second place was won by Tinian Elementary School with 105 points and won $2,500 from E-Land Group.

Third place was won by Oleai Elementary School with 70 points and took home $1,500 from Century Insurance Co.

Fourth place was Kagman Elementary School with 50 points and won $1,000 from Century Insurance Co.

Six middle schools and high schools won cash prizes that were also donated by companies and organizations based on a point system.

First place of $15,000 from D&Q International Distributors, POI Aviation, and Crowne Plaza went to Marianas High School, which amassed 22,205 points. MHS principal Jonathan Aguon said he is “very proud of my dolphins at MHS for participating in the wonderful opportunities that’s provided by the Governor’s Economic Council. I really think that it’s important for our youth to take pride in their village, but also to show their pride in the Marianas. …Having these beautification contests, it’s not anything new. But it’s great to see this renewed effort and energy and taking pride in being good stewards of their village.”

With the $15,000 prize, Aguon said MHS will look into “how we can invest in our students, like looking at what we can provide in terms of incentives possibly for the students. …This is a lot of money, but definitely we’re working with my team to see where we can invest it.”

Tanapag Middle School had 2,960 points and won the second-place prize of $7,000 from Saipan Marine Corp.

Francisco M. Sablan Middle School won $5,000 from Gemkell Corp. and third place with 350 points.

Tinian Jr. Sr. High School won $1,000 from Saipan Marine Corp. and fourth place with 180 points.

Hopwood Middle School won fifth place with 49 points and received $1,000 from Saipan Marine Corp.

Sixth place went to Kagman High School with 35 points; it received $1,000 from Hao’s Air Conditioning and CMI.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres congratulated all the winners “for making our villages a better place for all of us. I hope that we continue to take pride in all of our villages and help one another, to make the CNMI a better place. And the contestants, thank you. …I want to say thank you again and congratulations.”