NMTech donates $25K, ‘latte stone’ cauldron to Mini Games

Mini Games Organizing Committee chair Marco Peter holds the ceremonial check with MGOC CEO Vicente “Ben” Babauta and Northern Marianas Technical Institute CEO Jodina Attao during the unveiling of the latte stone-shaped cauldron and donation of $25,000 to the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 at the Oleai Track and Field. (JIN KIM ABOGADO)

Northern Marianas Technical Institute unveiled a 15-foot latte stone structure it’s been building at the Oleai Track and Field Wednesday that will serve as the cauldron for the flame that will be lit during the opening ceremony of the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 on June 17.

Aside from the latte stone-shaped cauldron at the Oleai Sports Complex, NMTech also turned over a $25,000 check to the Mini Games Organizing Committee. The technical school said it’s also turning over nine award podium sets, five 5-foot high tennis umpire chairs, and one 16-foot register counter for the athletes as part of its in-kind donation to the Mini Games.

NMTech Marketing and Outreach coordinator Benjamin Babauta is in charge of coordinating the project and said students of the technical school are expected to put the finishing touches on the latte stone-shaped cauldron a week before the start of the Mini Games.

“I just want to say thank you to our team and NMTech students for putting this together in such a short time. This is just a small sample of what we can do and what we want to do in the future,” he said.

MGOC chair Marco Peter thanked NMTech and noted that with the unveiling of the latte stone-shaped cauldron NMTech has certainly placed its stamp on the Mini Games with the structure right smack on the athletics field and venue for the June 17 opening ceremony for the 11th staging of the quadrennial event.

The CNMI will host the Mini Games for the first time ever from June 16 to 25 this year. Aside from athletics, the other sports in the events calendar are badminton, baseball, beach volleyball, golf, tennis, triathlon, va’a, and weightlifting.

In all, 1,034 athletes from 20 countries will compete in the Mini Games. The 20 nations that will take part include host CNMI, Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Palau, Wallis & Futuna, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Australia, Tuvalu, Tonga, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, and Norfolk Island.

Founded by the late businessman Anthony Pellegrino, NMTech is a postsecondary educational institute that is responsible for providing advanced career, vocational, technical and trades programs that lead to endorsed certifications in the fields of Automotive Technology, Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism; and nationally recognized certifications from the National Center for Construction Education and Research for construction-specific programs. (Chrystal Marino, Jin Kim Abogado, Angel Li)