Third in a series
How does a new millennium tourist plan a trip? Research indicates that today's travelers looking for places to visit base their destination decisions on promotions they have seen, personal experience, word of mouth from friends and associates and/or special package deals available at the time they wish to go.
According to the latest reports in trade magazines – and from travel agents – many travelers nowadays use the Internet for their initial exploration of areas that interest them. Then they telephone toll-free 800 numbers and/or use e-mail to make specific queries and book travel and accommodation reservations directly for themselves.
A decreasing number of tourists – largely those who want extra services or are not web savvy – still turn to travel agents for help in making their plans. They rely on the professionals to tell them about the best package deals combining airfares and hotel accommodations and sometimes land- or water-based activities. Agents keep up with what's new through information provided by wholesale tour operators and representatives of specific destinations at trade shows and other marketing outreach events and via print, audio-visual and – increasingly – Internet communication.
Falling through cyber space
How well is the U.S. Virgin Islands prepared to attract these new millennium tourists? Set up a search for information about the U.S. Virgin Islands online, and you will find quite an array of sites available. Unfortunately, many are not maintained, are woefully out of date and are primitive in design and limited in content.
The official government site, www.usvi.org, includes the governor's last State of the Territory address, the proposed Water and Power Authority sale agreement, the Five-Year Economic Recovery Strategy plan, information about an eclectic collection of hotels and villas, and several pages that have not been updated since 1998.
The University of the Virgin Islands has a very well-designed and extensive web site, www.uvi.edu, but it is not meant for tourists.
At www.usvi.net is the site established by COBEX early on in the development of Internet tourism promotion. This site is attractive and more complete but relies on advertising, and partner Dottie Sparks admits that COBEX "cannot afford to respond" to all the queries it generates, so its effectiveness is limited – and probably frustrating to the potential tourist.
There are real estate sites and retiree-oriented sites (in some cases one and the same) and sites put up by the publishers of slick local visitor guides, national travel-oriented magazines and thick Caribbean travel books in which the territory gets a chapter or two. A half-dozen more sites have outlines for potential content that apparently await paid advertising.
All of the local tourism-related advertisers on the Source newspapers link readers to their own web sites. For those using search engines, there are scores of V.I. hotel and business sites ranging from resorts, bed-and-breakfasts and private villas to restaurants, ferry schedules, tour packages, nature maps, marine and dive operations and visitor attractions, along with an empty St. John photo album.
Then there are pages of news and information from the National Weather Service, the National Park Service and the Office of Insular Affairs. And this is just the start. The more time you've got to search, the more you'll find – and the pickings get more extensive by the week.
The long and short of it: The potential V.I. visitor will find everything up there except a thorough and up-to-date tourism web site that links this fragmented, often incomplete conglomeration of private-sector and government sources together under an organized and easily accessed umbrella.
In this important way, the U.S. Virgin Islands tourism promotion has a major gap – the empty space through which would-be travelers to the Caribbean fall to other island destinations.
They've got our number – and use it
A big plus for attracting overnight visitors to the territory is the Tourism Department's toll-free telephone number, 800-372-8784 (372-USVI), which is cited in Tourism advertising and listed in the 800 directories. Operators in the Tourism offices on St. Thomas answer the number during the day. Several persons placing calls to the number for this series agreed that those answering the telephone do a knowledgeable, polite, charming and effective job of representing the territory.
From 5 to 9 p.m., Virgin Islands time, the incoming 800 calls are transferred to the Los Angeles Tourism office, where it is three or four hours earlier, depending on the time of year. Later at night and on weekends, the calls are switched to voice mail where callers can leave a message.
Ludwig Harrigan, the veteran manager of the Los Angeles office, says he has received more than 3,000 calls since the territory launched its first advertising campaign of 2000, a mainly television and radio outreach that began in late February and finished at the end of May. (A new campaign just started last week.) That would be an average of about 40 calls per business day.
Most hotels and many shops, charter companies and other tourist-related businesses in the Virgin Islands have 800 numbers that they advertise in travel materials and on the Internet. Local hospitality industry businesses report that more and more reservations and accommodations are being finalized either with 800 calls or via e-mail from individual travelers.
Getting the word out of the offices
The Tourism mainland offices represent the territory at local and regional travel trade shows, service the occasional walk-in customer, answer the telephone, and send materials to individuals and travel agents who call in requests. Those offices that have adequate staff are able to make calls on travel agents. Los Angeles, notably, takes considerable initiative in setting up trade show exhibits and networking with businesses about making commercials and movies and holding conferences and group meetings in the Virgin Islands, according to Harrigan.
Others of the six mainland offices do little of this type of outreach, either because they are understaffed or because the personnel on board are not trained.
On the "Leona" talk show Thursday on WVWI/Radio One, show host – and former longtime Tourism director – Leona Bryant stated, after an on-air conversation with Harrigan about this series of articles, "There has been a complete turnover of personnel in some offices recently. All the persons who had experience were removed, and with totally new employees there is nobody to teach the ropes."
While individual travel agents making requests will be sent promotional materials from the mainland offices, larger travel corporations get theirs by contacting the Tourism Department, which then has the materials dispatched from a warehouse in Miami, according to the Caribbean marketing staff at Liberty Travel in New York City. Rita Jones at Voyager Media, which publishes annual editions of the visitor guidebook "What to Do: St. Thomas and St. John," said that "brochures and booklets produced by private promoters, like the U.S.V.I. Travel Planner and V.I. Playground, are shipped directly to the travel agents and also to the offshore offices."
The missing link is money
Tourism Commissioner-designate Rafael Jackson told a Senate committee last month that he hoped to have the Tourism website online by October, but no contract had been let for the work. A request for proposals to design, put up and maintain the site was put out in the spring of 1999 when Clement "Cain" Magras was the acting Tourism commissioner, according to Dottie Sparks at COBEX.
Jackson told the lawmakers on May 22 that it'
;s his intention to get up a web site "that will put us ahead of the others." He has placed the cost of doing so at $1.5 million and has acknowledged that there is a problem in coming up with the money. At the same Senate committee hearing, Richard Doumeng, St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association president, expressed the view that sooner, even if lesser, would be better in terms of keeping up with other destinations, which are there competing for visitor dollars, pesos, pounds and krona.
Sparks, whose firm has submitted a bid to set up the site, confirms the $1.5 million cost. She said, "It takes a lot of money to get the content together, have that complex a web site designed, do the graphics, make the links, and then monitor it closely, answering all the responses and keeping it up to date."
Local web site designer Don Chandler disagrees. He said, "You could make a really complex website with multiple pages, links, graphics, replies and credit card use for about $50,000." But, he added, "This does not include gathering the content, most of which is readily available here on island. Then you would need to have the personnel to maintain it and reply to the responses."
The way to go to get them to come
There is little disagreement within the travel trade today that a well-designed and – equally important! – well-maintained Internet presence, an 800 number, carefully targeted advertising, and outreach by trained marketing experts add up to the way to get maximum positive impact for the money in the new millennium.
All of this could be accomplished – on a global level – without leasing office space in six mainland cities. As Doumeng stated at the May 22 Senate hearing, sales and marketing representatives for Tourism, like those in other fields, can work effectively out of their homes or their cars. Their "showroom" is of the virtual variety – or will be, when the department gets its official web site up and running.
The government now expends nearly $275,000 a year for mainland office rent in prime downtown business locations, plus the costs of maintenance and utilities. Storage facilities for printed matter and other materials could be leased in much lower rent areas. The balance could be used for more advertising – or go toward setting up the web site.
This does not necessarily mean putting government employees out of work, again as Doumeng noted. It would be advantageous to have the 800 number staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by knowledgeable, trained personnel.
It is critical that the Tourism web site, once up, have continual servicing and updating. These are jobs for local residents – persons who pay local taxes and know which side of the road Virgin Islanders drive on.
Next: Tourism and hospitality industry authorities respond
WITHOUT A WEB SITE TOURISM IS LOSING CUSTOMERS
Third in a series
How does a new millennium tourist plan a trip? Research indicates that today's travelers looking for places to visit base their destination decisions on promotions they have seen, personal experience, word of mouth from friends and associates and/or special package deals available at the time they wish to go.
According to the latest reports in trade magazines – and from travel agents – many travelers nowadays use the Internet for their initial exploration of areas that interest them. Then they telephone toll-free 800 numbers and/or use e-mail to make specific queries and book travel and accommodation reservations directly for themselves.
A decreasing number of tourists – largely those who want extra services or are not web savvy – still turn to travel agents for help in making their plans. They rely on the professionals to tell them about the best package deals combining airfares and hotel accommodations and sometimes land- or water-based activities. Agents keep up with what's new through information provided by wholesale tour operators and representatives of specific destinations at trade shows and other marketing outreach events and via print, audio-visual and – increasingly – Internet communication.
Falling through cyber space
How well is the U.S. Virgin Islands prepared to attract these new millennium tourists? Set up a search for information about the U.S. Virgin Islands online, and you will find quite an array of sites available. Unfortunately, many are not maintained, are woefully out of date and are primitive in design and limited in content.
The official government site, www.usvi.org, includes the governor's last State of the Territory address, the proposed Water and Power Authority sale agreement, the Five-Year Economic Recovery Strategy plan, information about an eclectic collection of hotels and villas, and several pages that have not been updated since 1998.
The University of the Virgin Islands has a very well-designed and extensive web site, www.uvi.edu, but it is not meant for tourists.
At www.usvi.net is the site established by COBEX early on in the development of Internet tourism promotion. This site is attractive and more complete but relies on advertising, and partner Dottie Sparks admits that COBEX "cannot afford to respond" to all the queries it generates, so its effectiveness is limited – and probably frustrating to the potential tourist.
There are real estate sites and retiree-oriented sites (in some cases one and the same) and sites put up by the publishers of slick local visitor guides, national travel-oriented magazines and thick Caribbean travel books in which the territory gets a chapter or two. A half-dozen more sites have outlines for potential content that apparently await paid advertising.
All of the local tourism-related advertisers on the Source newspapers link readers to their own web sites. For those using search engines, there are scores of V.I. hotel and business sites ranging from resorts, bed-and-breakfasts and private villas to restaurants, ferry schedules, tour packages, nature maps, marine and dive operations and visitor attractions, along with an empty St. John photo album.
Then there are pages of news and information from the National Weather Service, the National Park Service and the Office of Insular Affairs. And this is just the start. The more time you've got to search, the more you'll find – and the pickings get more extensive by the week.
The long and short of it: The potential V.I. visitor will find everything up there except a thorough and up-to-date tourism web site that links this fragmented, often incomplete conglomeration of private-sector and government sources together under an organized and easily accessed umbrella.
In this important way, the U.S. Virgin Islands tourism promotion has a major gap – the empty space through which would-be travelers to the Caribbean fall to other island destinations.
They've got our number – and use it
A big plus for attracting overnight visitors to the territory is the Tourism Department's toll-free telephone number, 800-372-8784 (372-USVI), which is cited in Tourism advertising and listed in the 800 directories. Operators in the Tourism offices on St. Thomas answer the number during the day. Several persons placing calls to the number for this series agreed that those answering the telephone do a knowledgeable, polite, charming and effective job of representing the territory.
From 5 to 9 p.m., Virgin Islands time, the incoming 800 calls are transferred to the Los Angeles Tourism office, where it is three or four hours earlier, depending on the time of year. Later at night and on weekends, the calls are switched to voice mail where callers can leave a message.
Ludwig Harrigan, the veteran manager of the Los Angeles office, says he has received more than 3,000 calls since the territory launched its first advertising campaign of 2000, a mainly television and radio outreach that began in late February and finished at the end of May. (A new campaign just started last week.) That would be an average of about 40 calls per business day.
Most hotels and many shops, charter companies and other tourist-related businesses in the Virgin Islands have 800 numbers that they advertise in travel materials and on the Internet. Local hospitality industry businesses report that more and more reservations and accommodations are being finalized either with 800 calls or via e-mail from individual travelers.
Getting the word out of the offices
The Tourism mainland offices represent the territory at local and regional travel trade shows, service the occasional walk-in customer, answer the telephone, and send materials to individuals and travel agents who call in requests. Those offices that have adequate staff are able to make calls on travel agents. Los Angeles, notably, takes considerable initiative in setting up trade show exhibits and networking with businesses about making commercials and movies and holding conferences and group meetings in the Virgin Islands, according to Harrigan.
Others of the six mainland offices do little of this type of outreach, either because they are understaffed or because the personnel on board are not trained.
On the "Leona" talk show Thursday on WVWI/Radio One, show host – and former longtime Tourism director – Leona Bryant stated, after an on-air conversation with Harrigan about this series of articles, "There has been a complete turnover of personnel in some offices recently. All the persons who had experience were removed, and with totally new employees there is nobody to teach the ropes."
While individual travel agents making requests will be sent promotional materials from the mainland offices, larger travel corporations get theirs by contacting the Tourism Department, which then has the materials dispatched from a warehouse in Miami, according to the Caribbean marketing staff at Liberty Travel in New York City. Rita Jones at Voyager Media, which publishes annual editions of the visitor guidebook "What to Do: St. Thomas and St. John," said that "brochures and booklets produced by private promoters, like the U.S.V.I. Travel Planner and V.I. Playground, are shipped directly to the travel agents and also to the offshore offices."
The missing link is money
Tourism Commissioner-designate Rafael Jackson told a Senate committee last month that he hoped to have the Tourism website online by October, but no contract had been let for the work. A request for proposals to design, put up and maintain the site was put out in the spring of 1999 when Clement "Cain" Magras was the acting Tourism commissioner, according to Dottie Sparks at COBEX.
Jackson told the lawmakers on May 22 that it' ;s his intention to get up a web site "that will put us ahead of the others." He has placed the cost of doing so at $1.5 million and has acknowledged that there is a problem in coming up with the money. At the same Senate committee hearing, Richard Doumeng, St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association president, expressed the view that sooner, even if lesser, would be better in terms of keeping up with other destinations, which are there competing for visitor dollars, pesos, pounds and krona.
Sparks, whose firm has submitted a bid to set up the site, confirms the $1.5 million cost. She said, "It takes a lot of money to get the content together, have that complex a web site designed, do the graphics, make the links, and then monitor it closely, answering all the responses and keeping it up to date."
Local web site designer Don Chandler disagrees. He said, "You could make a really complex website with multiple pages, links, graphics, replies and credit card use for about $50,000." But, he added, "This does not include gathering the content, most of which is readily available here on island. Then you would need to have the personnel to maintain it and reply to the responses."
The way to go to get them to come
There is little disagreement within the travel trade today that a well-designed and – equally important! – well-maintained Internet presence, an 800 number, carefully targeted advertising, and outreach by trained marketing experts add up to the way to get maximum positive impact for the money in the new millennium.
All of this could be accomplished – on a global level – without leasing office space in six mainland cities. As Doumeng stated at the May 22 Senate hearing, sales and marketing representatives for Tourism, like those in other fields, can work effectively out of their homes or their cars. Their "showroom" is of the virtual variety – or will be, when the department gets its official web site up and running.
The government now expends nearly $275,000 a year for mainland office rent in prime downtown business locations, plus the costs of maintenance and utilities. Storage facilities for printed matter and other materials could be leased in much lower rent areas. The balance could be used for more advertising – or go toward setting up the web site.
This does not necessarily mean putting government employees out of work, again as Doumeng noted. It would be advantageous to have the 800 number staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by knowledgeable, trained personnel.
It is critical that the Tourism web site, once up, have continual servicing and updating. These are jobs for local residents – persons who pay local taxes and know which side of the road Virgin Islanders drive on.
Next: Tourism and hospitality industry authorities respond
How does a new millennium tourist plan a trip? Research indicates that today's travelers looking for places to visit base their destination decisions on promotions they have seen, personal experience, word of mouth from friends and associates and/or special package deals available at the time they wish to go.
According to the latest reports in trade magazines – and from travel agents – many travelers nowadays use the Internet for their initial exploration of areas that interest them. Then they telephone toll-free 800 numbers and/or use e-mail to make specific queries and book travel and accommodation reservations directly for themselves.
A decreasing number of tourists – largely those who want extra services or are not web savvy – still turn to travel agents for help in making their plans. They rely on the professionals to tell them about the best package deals combining airfares and hotel accommodations and sometimes land- or water-based activities. Agents keep up with what's new through information provided by wholesale tour operators and representatives of specific destinations at trade shows and other marketing outreach events and via print, audio-visual and – increasingly – Internet communication.
Falling through cyber space
How well is the U.S. Virgin Islands prepared to attract these new millennium tourists? Set up a search for information about the U.S. Virgin Islands online, and you will find quite an array of sites available. Unfortunately, many are not maintained, are woefully out of date and are primitive in design and limited in content.
The official government site, www.usvi.org, includes the governor's last State of the Territory address, the proposed Water and Power Authority sale agreement, the Five-Year Economic Recovery Strategy plan, information about an eclectic collection of hotels and villas, and several pages that have not been updated since 1998.
The University of the Virgin Islands has a very well-designed and extensive web site, www.uvi.edu, but it is not meant for tourists.
At www.usvi.net is the site established by COBEX early on in the development of Internet tourism promotion. This site is attractive and more complete but relies on advertising, and partner Dottie Sparks admits that COBEX "cannot afford to respond" to all the queries it generates, so its effectiveness is limited – and probably frustrating to the potential tourist.
There are real estate sites and retiree-oriented sites (in some cases one and the same) and sites put up by the publishers of slick local visitor guides, national travel-oriented magazines and thick Caribbean travel books in which the territory gets a chapter or two. A half-dozen more sites have outlines for potential content that apparently await paid advertising.
All of the local tourism-related advertisers on the Source newspapers link readers to their own web sites. For those using search engines, there are scores of V.I. hotel and business sites ranging from resorts, bed-and-breakfasts and private villas to restaurants, ferry schedules, tour packages, nature maps, marine and dive operations and visitor attractions, along with an empty St. John photo album.
Then there are pages of news and information from the National Weather Service, the National Park Service and the Office of Insular Affairs. And this is just the start. The more time you've got to search, the more you'll find – and the pickings get more extensive by the week.
The long and short of it: The potential V.I. visitor will find everything up there except a thorough and up-to-date tourism web site that links this fragmented, often incomplete conglomeration of private-sector and government sources together under an organized and easily accessed umbrella.
In this important way, the U.S. Virgin Islands tourism promotion has a major gap – the empty space through which would-be travelers to the Caribbean fall to other island destinations.
They've got our number – and use it
A big plus for attracting overnight visitors to the territory is the Tourism Department's toll-free telephone number, 800-372-8784 (372-USVI), which is cited in Tourism advertising and listed in the 800 directories. Operators in the Tourism offices on St. Thomas answer the number during the day. Several persons placing calls to the number for this series agreed that those answering the telephone do a knowledgeable, polite, charming and effective job of representing the territory.
From 5 to 9 p.m., Virgin Islands time, the incoming 800 calls are transferred to the Los Angeles Tourism office, where it is three or four hours earlier, depending on the time of year. Later at night and on weekends, the calls are switched to voice mail where callers can leave a message.
Ludwig Harrigan, the veteran manager of the Los Angeles office, says he has received more than 3,000 calls since the territory launched its first advertising campaign of 2000, a mainly television and radio outreach that began in late February and finished at the end of May. (A new campaign just started last week.) That would be an average of about 40 calls per business day.
Most hotels and many shops, charter companies and other tourist-related businesses in the Virgin Islands have 800 numbers that they advertise in travel materials and on the Internet. Local hospitality industry businesses report that more and more reservations and accommodations are being finalized either with 800 calls or via e-mail from individual travelers.
Getting the word out of the offices
The Tourism mainland offices represent the territory at local and regional travel trade shows, service the occasional walk-in customer, answer the telephone, and send materials to individuals and travel agents who call in requests. Those offices that have adequate staff are able to make calls on travel agents. Los Angeles, notably, takes considerable initiative in setting up trade show exhibits and networking with businesses about making commercials and movies and holding conferences and group meetings in the Virgin Islands, according to Harrigan.
Others of the six mainland offices do little of this type of outreach, either because they are understaffed or because the personnel on board are not trained.
On the "Leona" talk show Thursday on WVWI/Radio One, show host – and former longtime Tourism director – Leona Bryant stated, after an on-air conversation with Harrigan about this series of articles, "There has been a complete turnover of personnel in some offices recently. All the persons who had experience were removed, and with totally new employees there is nobody to teach the ropes."
While individual travel agents making requests will be sent promotional materials from the mainland offices, larger travel corporations get theirs by contacting the Tourism Department, which then has the materials dispatched from a warehouse in Miami, according to the Caribbean marketing staff at Liberty Travel in New York City. Rita Jones at Voyager Media, which publishes annual editions of the visitor guidebook "What to Do: St. Thomas and St. John," said that "brochures and booklets produced by private promoters, like the U.S.V.I. Travel Planner and V.I. Playground, are shipped directly to the travel agents and also to the offshore offices."
The missing link is money
Tourism Commissioner-designate Rafael Jackson told a Senate committee last month that he hoped to have the Tourism website online by October, but no contract had been let for the work. A request for proposals to design, put up and maintain the site was put out in the spring of 1999 when Clement "Cain" Magras was the acting Tourism commissioner, according to Dottie Sparks at COBEX.
Jackson told the lawmakers on May 22 that it' ;s his intention to get up a web site "that will put us ahead of the others." He has placed the cost of doing so at $1.5 million and has acknowledged that there is a problem in coming up with the money. At the same Senate committee hearing, Richard Doumeng, St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association president, expressed the view that sooner, even if lesser, would be better in terms of keeping up with other destinations, which are there competing for visitor dollars, pesos, pounds and krona.
Sparks, whose firm has submitted a bid to set up the site, confirms the $1.5 million cost. She said, "It takes a lot of money to get the content together, have that complex a web site designed, do the graphics, make the links, and then monitor it closely, answering all the responses and keeping it up to date."
Local web site designer Don Chandler disagrees. He said, "You could make a really complex website with multiple pages, links, graphics, replies and credit card use for about $50,000." But, he added, "This does not include gathering the content, most of which is readily available here on island. Then you would need to have the personnel to maintain it and reply to the responses."
The way to go to get them to come
There is little disagreement within the travel trade today that a well-designed and – equally important! – well-maintained Internet presence, an 800 number, carefully targeted advertising, and outreach by trained marketing experts add up to the way to get maximum positive impact for the money in the new millennium.
All of this could be accomplished – on a global level – without leasing office space in six mainland cities. As Doumeng stated at the May 22 Senate hearing, sales and marketing representatives for Tourism, like those in other fields, can work effectively out of their homes or their cars. Their "showroom" is of the virtual variety – or will be, when the department gets its official web site up and running.
The government now expends nearly $275,000 a year for mainland office rent in prime downtown business locations, plus the costs of maintenance and utilities. Storage facilities for printed matter and other materials could be leased in much lower rent areas. The balance could be used for more advertising – or go toward setting up the web site.
This does not necessarily mean putting government employees out of work, again as Doumeng noted. It would be advantageous to have the 800 number staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by knowledgeable, trained personnel.
It is critical that the Tourism web site, once up, have continual servicing and updating. These are jobs for local residents – persons who pay local taxes and know which side of the road Virgin Islanders drive on.
Next: Tourism and hospitality industry authorities respond
TRINIDADIAN FIRM OWNS LION'S SHARE OF V.I. RUM
Angostura Ltd., a Trinidad and Tobago company, has obtained controlling interest in Virgin Islands Rum Industries Ltd., causing concern over the future of V.I. bonds backed by territory rum revenues.
Amadeo I.D. Francis, director of finance and administration for the V.I. government, was unaware of the development until asked for comment Thursday. Last summer, when Angostura bought a lesser amount of V.I. Rum's parent company, Todhunter International Inc., Francis said the government received assurances that the business would not shift away from St. Croix.
The local rum industry pumped $51.1 million into the treasury last year in the form of a generous share of the excise taxes that the federal government collects on rum shipped to the mainland. The U.S. now collects $13.50 per gallon and rebates $13.25 to the Virgin Islands. The annual contribution varies, depending on how much rum is shipped, but it hasn't dropped below $28 million in the last decade.
Continuing a longstanding practice, in 1998 the V.I. government floated a $541.8 million bond issue – primarily to fund capital projects – and guaranteed payback to investors by pledging the rum excise tax revenues.
Francis said he will need to advise bondholders of the change in ownership once he has assessed the situation.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Angostura acquired 50.6 percent of Todhunter International Inc. on April 19. Apparently neither company made an announcement.
A. Kenneth Pincourt Jr., founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Todhunter International, was unavailable for comment Thursday.
However, Gary Nelthropp, V.I. Rum senior vice president for production and sales, returned a phone call made to the St. Croix office.
"The change doesn't really affect the management of any of the companies" owned by Todhunter, he said. Personnel from V.I. Rum have traveled to Trinidad to observe Angostura's operations there, and top officials from Angostura are expected to visit St. Croix, he said, but there is no plan to combine the operations. "We're running our facility, and they're running theirs," Nelthropp said.
Nelthropp's family has run the St. Croix distillery for generations. Their name brand product is Cruzan Rum, but they do a high volume of bulk rum business.
"As far as we know, for the future there's no change" planned, Nelthropp said. He did add the caveat, "but you don't know in corporate America."
Todhunter International has owned V.I. Rum Industries Ltd. since 1994. A Delaware-based company, it was founded in 1970 and has several production facilities in the United States.
Angostura made its first purchase of Todhunter stock last July, then increased its holdings in August. Its latest purchase in April of 490,000 shares was for $4,655,000, according to its SEC filing.
The Trindiad-based company was started in the 1800s and made its reputation with aromatic bitters.
Amadeo I.D. Francis, director of finance and administration for the V.I. government, was unaware of the development until asked for comment Thursday. Last summer, when Angostura bought a lesser amount of V.I. Rum's parent company, Todhunter International Inc., Francis said the government received assurances that the business would not shift away from St. Croix.
The local rum industry pumped $51.1 million into the treasury last year in the form of a generous share of the excise taxes that the federal government collects on rum shipped to the mainland. The U.S. now collects $13.50 per gallon and rebates $13.25 to the Virgin Islands. The annual contribution varies, depending on how much rum is shipped, but it hasn't dropped below $28 million in the last decade.
Continuing a longstanding practice, in 1998 the V.I. government floated a $541.8 million bond issue – primarily to fund capital projects – and guaranteed payback to investors by pledging the rum excise tax revenues.
Francis said he will need to advise bondholders of the change in ownership once he has assessed the situation.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Angostura acquired 50.6 percent of Todhunter International Inc. on April 19. Apparently neither company made an announcement.
A. Kenneth Pincourt Jr., founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Todhunter International, was unavailable for comment Thursday.
However, Gary Nelthropp, V.I. Rum senior vice president for production and sales, returned a phone call made to the St. Croix office.
"The change doesn't really affect the management of any of the companies" owned by Todhunter, he said. Personnel from V.I. Rum have traveled to Trinidad to observe Angostura's operations there, and top officials from Angostura are expected to visit St. Croix, he said, but there is no plan to combine the operations. "We're running our facility, and they're running theirs," Nelthropp said.
Nelthropp's family has run the St. Croix distillery for generations. Their name brand product is Cruzan Rum, but they do a high volume of bulk rum business.
"As far as we know, for the future there's no change" planned, Nelthropp said. He did add the caveat, "but you don't know in corporate America."
Todhunter International has owned V.I. Rum Industries Ltd. since 1994. A Delaware-based company, it was founded in 1970 and has several production facilities in the United States.
Angostura made its first purchase of Todhunter stock last July, then increased its holdings in August. Its latest purchase in April of 490,000 shares was for $4,655,000, according to its SEC filing.
The Trindiad-based company was started in the 1800s and made its reputation with aromatic bitters.
ST. JOHN CELEBRATION BIKE RACE IS SATURDAY
Pedal pushers will go for their moments of glory Saturday morning in St. John's annual Fourth of July Celebration Bike Race.
Hard-charging athletes from as far away as the British Virgins will take off from the starting line at 8 a.m., according to Yulandra Richards, a weekend warrior on the Coral Bay volleyball scene who has been coordinating the bicycling event for the last three years.
Richards will oversee sign-ups from 7:30 a.m. by the National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay, then check out the action along the race course, and finally collect the competitors' times at the finish line near the Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center. "It's something I can do, and have a lot of fun" she said.
About 25 racers have been making the St. John bike race over the years, Richards said, and this year the event had attracted the attention of Tortola cyclists who have a racing season of their own. On the hilly British Virgin island, she said, the bikers compete both in road races like that of the St. John festival event and in more rugged off-road races. Some of them are expected to alight on St. John with high-tech, ultra-light bikes, Richards said, and their participation is sure to raise the competitive stakes.
Anyone age 18 and over is welcome to ride the course from the National Park Service center up the North Shore Road to little Maho Bay, uphill to the Colombo Yogurt stand at Kings Hill, downhill to Emmaus Moravian Church in Coral Bay, then around the turn and back up Centerline Road to the Keating Clinic at Susannaberg. Registration is $5.
According to Richards, the faster cyclists complete the course in a little less than an hour, and most others can make their way to the finish line in an hour and a half.
Prizes are given in the male and female divisions. Last year's winners, Jude Woodcock and John Miller, are expected to defend their titles Saturday morning.
Hard-charging athletes from as far away as the British Virgins will take off from the starting line at 8 a.m., according to Yulandra Richards, a weekend warrior on the Coral Bay volleyball scene who has been coordinating the bicycling event for the last three years.
Richards will oversee sign-ups from 7:30 a.m. by the National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay, then check out the action along the race course, and finally collect the competitors' times at the finish line near the Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center. "It's something I can do, and have a lot of fun" she said.
About 25 racers have been making the St. John bike race over the years, Richards said, and this year the event had attracted the attention of Tortola cyclists who have a racing season of their own. On the hilly British Virgin island, she said, the bikers compete both in road races like that of the St. John festival event and in more rugged off-road races. Some of them are expected to alight on St. John with high-tech, ultra-light bikes, Richards said, and their participation is sure to raise the competitive stakes.
Anyone age 18 and over is welcome to ride the course from the National Park Service center up the North Shore Road to little Maho Bay, uphill to the Colombo Yogurt stand at Kings Hill, downhill to Emmaus Moravian Church in Coral Bay, then around the turn and back up Centerline Road to the Keating Clinic at Susannaberg. Registration is $5.
According to Richards, the faster cyclists complete the course in a little less than an hour, and most others can make their way to the finish line in an hour and a half.
Prizes are given in the male and female divisions. Last year's winners, Jude Woodcock and John Miller, are expected to defend their titles Saturday morning.
TEMPORARY REPAIRS TO CAPTAIN VIC COMPLETED
The damaged Captain Vic barge was expected to go to sea Friday or Saturday for the first time since it struck a coral reef nearly two weeks ago.
And a Coast Guard official said drug testing of the pilot of the vessel conducted as part of its investigation of the accident came back negative.
Capt. Tilbert Lettsome was in the wheelhouse of the Captain Vic when it struck a coral reef near Stevens Cay in the early morning of June 5. The barge was taken to the Frenchman's Cay Shipyard in Tortola for temporary repairs. A clerk at the shipyard said Thursday that the vessel would probably set out Friday or Saturday for Martinique, where it is to undergo permanent repair.
Lt. Kevin Smith of Coast Guard station St. Thomas said investigators are still collecting evidence linked to the barge accident and officials are also awaiting a damage estimate for repair of a 12-foot gash in the vessel's hull.
And a Coast Guard official said drug testing of the pilot of the vessel conducted as part of its investigation of the accident came back negative.
Capt. Tilbert Lettsome was in the wheelhouse of the Captain Vic when it struck a coral reef near Stevens Cay in the early morning of June 5. The barge was taken to the Frenchman's Cay Shipyard in Tortola for temporary repairs. A clerk at the shipyard said Thursday that the vessel would probably set out Friday or Saturday for Martinique, where it is to undergo permanent repair.
Lt. Kevin Smith of Coast Guard station St. Thomas said investigators are still collecting evidence linked to the barge accident and officials are also awaiting a damage estimate for repair of a 12-foot gash in the vessel's hull.
CHAMBERS, ICC DISCUSS PROSSER CONSULTANTS IDEA
St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce officers met with Innovative Communication Corp. officials Thursday and decided to move forward with an idea put forth last month by the territory's largest private-sector employer, ICC owner Jeffrey Prosser: that a small group made up mainly of business leaders take on the task of identifying and hiring top-flight consultants to advise the territory on how best to attract outside investment.
Speaking at the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber's annual meeting on May 15, Prosser, who lives on St. Croix, had pledged to put up half a million dollars toward the effort if others would match it with at least half that much. So far, no business has offered to do so.
A release issued by the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber following Thursday's meeting termed it "productive" and said the group would gather for a second session in the coming week, this time on St. Croix.
According to the release, those present agreed that each island would determine what it has to offer investors, and market these strengths aggressively.
MSI Building Supplies owner Tom Brunt, who served as chamber president in 1997-99, said the group will "need to maintain a narrow focus in order to achieve success." Current St. Croix Chamber president Charles Hensley said the business community had reservations about "throwing money after more meetings and talk," but that the effort could pay off "if we have a solid plan with the people to implement it."
Edward Thomas, chief executive officer of The West Indian Company, said that for the concept to work, the task force will need to be clear about what direction the territory wants to go economically.
ICC's vice president for corporate affairs, Holland Redfield, said it was crucial "that we work together as a team with the objective of moving this territory forward economically."
The release said the core working group will have seven members "representing the public and private sectors," each with one vote. Prosser had proposed at the chamber luncheon that the core group consist of two members from each chamber, one from Government House, one from the Legislature and one from ICC.
Prosser did not attend Thursday's meeting. He has apparently designated Redfield, a longtime senator who did not seek re-election two years ago, to be his point man on the project.
In his May 15 speech, Prosser – whose holdings include the Virgin Islands Telephone Corp., the V.I. Daily News, the territory's two cable television companies, VitelCellular, Vitelcom, VI PowerNet and the V.I. Community Bank, as well as several other Caribbean cable companies – expressed skepticism about the five-year economic recovery plan recently submitted to the administration by a task force appointed by the governor. Many of the ideas the plan advances, while having merit, "have been rehashed and regurgitated" for years and even decades, he said.
His own vision for economic recovery, he said, focused on "environmentally sensitive growth" built upon such industries as telecommunications, insurance, banking and electronic technology.
Those at Thursday's meeting agreed on the need to study what other communities are doing to attract investment.
Former Labor Department commissioner Carmelo Rivera, representing the St. Croix Chamber, urged that the two chambers combine efforts to maximize their marketing potential.
Hensley and St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president John deJongh Jr. both said they would take the day's discussions to their boards for feedback.
Speaking at the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber's annual meeting on May 15, Prosser, who lives on St. Croix, had pledged to put up half a million dollars toward the effort if others would match it with at least half that much. So far, no business has offered to do so.
A release issued by the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber following Thursday's meeting termed it "productive" and said the group would gather for a second session in the coming week, this time on St. Croix.
According to the release, those present agreed that each island would determine what it has to offer investors, and market these strengths aggressively.
MSI Building Supplies owner Tom Brunt, who served as chamber president in 1997-99, said the group will "need to maintain a narrow focus in order to achieve success." Current St. Croix Chamber president Charles Hensley said the business community had reservations about "throwing money after more meetings and talk," but that the effort could pay off "if we have a solid plan with the people to implement it."
Edward Thomas, chief executive officer of The West Indian Company, said that for the concept to work, the task force will need to be clear about what direction the territory wants to go economically.
ICC's vice president for corporate affairs, Holland Redfield, said it was crucial "that we work together as a team with the objective of moving this territory forward economically."
The release said the core working group will have seven members "representing the public and private sectors," each with one vote. Prosser had proposed at the chamber luncheon that the core group consist of two members from each chamber, one from Government House, one from the Legislature and one from ICC.
Prosser did not attend Thursday's meeting. He has apparently designated Redfield, a longtime senator who did not seek re-election two years ago, to be his point man on the project.
In his May 15 speech, Prosser – whose holdings include the Virgin Islands Telephone Corp., the V.I. Daily News, the territory's two cable television companies, VitelCellular, Vitelcom, VI PowerNet and the V.I. Community Bank, as well as several other Caribbean cable companies – expressed skepticism about the five-year economic recovery plan recently submitted to the administration by a task force appointed by the governor. Many of the ideas the plan advances, while having merit, "have been rehashed and regurgitated" for years and even decades, he said.
His own vision for economic recovery, he said, focused on "environmentally sensitive growth" built upon such industries as telecommunications, insurance, banking and electronic technology.
Those at Thursday's meeting agreed on the need to study what other communities are doing to attract investment.
Former Labor Department commissioner Carmelo Rivera, representing the St. Croix Chamber, urged that the two chambers combine efforts to maximize their marketing potential.
Hensley and St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president John deJongh Jr. both said they would take the day's discussions to their boards for feedback.
AUDIT OF VITRAN STILL BEING SOUGHT
Layoffs, talk of privatization and a recent appropriation of $600,000 to keep Vitran afloat have Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg again calling for an audit of the territory’s transportation system.
About a month ago, Donastorg wrote V.I. Inspector General Steven Van Beverhoudt requesting an audit of Vitran. Van Beverhoudt said his office couldn’t immediately take on the task because of its workload. Donastorg now is asking when the IG's office could do the audit.
With Vitran facing a $12 million operating deficit, the Turnbull administration announced that 62 Vitran workers would be laid off effective May 10. Donastorg and union leaders have alleged that mismanagement is the root of the problem, not the employees.
Union officials cited the fact that Public Works, which operates Vitran, spent approximately $330,000 in transportation funds earlier this year to pay trash haulers on St. John. Public Works has also been criticized for not spending some of the $12 million in federal funds the department received last year on the bus service.
Since Donastorg’s first request for an audit, the Legislature appropriated about $660,000 to rehire the laid-off Vitran workers and keep them on the payroll until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. But most of that money has been spent elsewhere, according to the Turnbull administration's chief labor negotiator, Karen Andrews.
She said $370,000 of the money, appropriated from the government's Indirect Cost Fund, has already gone to pay outstanding bills incurred by Vitran for fuel, tires and operating expenses. The remaining $290,000 was not enough to cover the reinstatement of even some of the laid-off workers. She said the money would go to meet outstanding Vitran obligations through Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. has announced that he is putting together a plan to privatize Vitran. A request for proposals should be completed by the end of July, according to administration officials.
In light of what has transpired since his first audit request, Donastorg on Wednesday again asked Van Beverhoudt to look at Vitran’s books. The inspector general couldn't be reached for comment Thursday evening.
"The layoffs, the use of the Senate appropriation to pay debt and now these privatization proposals all beg for an auditor to come in and give us some answers," Donastorg said.
Donastorg told Van Beverhoudt that "a viable public transportation system is an essential component of a modern community’s infrastructure" and that an audit is a "fundamental tool" in improving and maintaining Vitran.
"I know that your office is experiencing an overwhelming workload, but I ask that you, at the very least, confirm a future date at which you can begin a Vitran audit."
About a month ago, Donastorg wrote V.I. Inspector General Steven Van Beverhoudt requesting an audit of Vitran. Van Beverhoudt said his office couldn’t immediately take on the task because of its workload. Donastorg now is asking when the IG's office could do the audit.
With Vitran facing a $12 million operating deficit, the Turnbull administration announced that 62 Vitran workers would be laid off effective May 10. Donastorg and union leaders have alleged that mismanagement is the root of the problem, not the employees.
Union officials cited the fact that Public Works, which operates Vitran, spent approximately $330,000 in transportation funds earlier this year to pay trash haulers on St. John. Public Works has also been criticized for not spending some of the $12 million in federal funds the department received last year on the bus service.
Since Donastorg’s first request for an audit, the Legislature appropriated about $660,000 to rehire the laid-off Vitran workers and keep them on the payroll until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. But most of that money has been spent elsewhere, according to the Turnbull administration's chief labor negotiator, Karen Andrews.
She said $370,000 of the money, appropriated from the government's Indirect Cost Fund, has already gone to pay outstanding bills incurred by Vitran for fuel, tires and operating expenses. The remaining $290,000 was not enough to cover the reinstatement of even some of the laid-off workers. She said the money would go to meet outstanding Vitran obligations through Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. has announced that he is putting together a plan to privatize Vitran. A request for proposals should be completed by the end of July, according to administration officials.
In light of what has transpired since his first audit request, Donastorg on Wednesday again asked Van Beverhoudt to look at Vitran’s books. The inspector general couldn't be reached for comment Thursday evening.
"The layoffs, the use of the Senate appropriation to pay debt and now these privatization proposals all beg for an auditor to come in and give us some answers," Donastorg said.
Donastorg told Van Beverhoudt that "a viable public transportation system is an essential component of a modern community’s infrastructure" and that an audit is a "fundamental tool" in improving and maintaining Vitran.
"I know that your office is experiencing an overwhelming workload, but I ask that you, at the very least, confirm a future date at which you can begin a Vitran audit."
FIRE SERVICE PHONES DOWN
Two of six telephone lines going into two divisions of the V.I. Fire Services are not working.
The Fire Service moved to the Crown Bay landfill on June 2 and have experienced "difficulties with the lines" ever since, according to a release from Government House.
Fire Services director Pedro Encarnacion said, "If you are calling and do not receive the automated service, it means that your call is coming in on a line that has not been transferred."
He directed callers to "hang up and dial again."
"We are working diligently with Vitelco to transfer the other four incoming lines," he said.
Lines are down to the administrative office and the Arson Investigation and Prevention Unit in St. Thomas.
The telephone number is 774-1211.
The Fire Service moved to the Crown Bay landfill on June 2 and have experienced "difficulties with the lines" ever since, according to a release from Government House.
Fire Services director Pedro Encarnacion said, "If you are calling and do not receive the automated service, it means that your call is coming in on a line that has not been transferred."
He directed callers to "hang up and dial again."
"We are working diligently with Vitelco to transfer the other four incoming lines," he said.
Lines are down to the administrative office and the Arson Investigation and Prevention Unit in St. Thomas.
The telephone number is 774-1211.
FATHERS' NIGHT OUT CONVERSATIONS TO GO ON
It didn't add up to the Thousand Man Meetings that had been envisioned, but Fathers' Night Out amounted to hundreds, maybe thousands, of significant steps.
Between 50 and 60 groups of men — as few as four in some instances, as many as 20-plus in at least one case — met in homes, restaurants and other places Wednesday night to talk about fatherhood in the Virgin Islands community.
The meetings were sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, under the umbrella of its Fatherhood Collaborative 2000. The initial plan had been for 100 men each to invite 10 others to come together and talk. Invited to host groups were fathers, father figures, stepfathers, godfathers, grandfathers and fathers-to-be.
Those approached about serving as hosts covered a broad spectrum in the community, Community Foundation executive director Dee Baecher-Brown said – "from CEO's to stay-at-home dads, people in messenger positions, white collar/blue collar types of occupations, from all walks of life. One group was very young, most people in their early 20s and teens; in another, everybody was a grandfather." At least one group, she said, conversed in Spanish.
"One of the real important themes is that responsible fatherhood is a concern within all segments of the community," she said.
At what may or may not have been a typical gathering, an overall concern for the children of the Virgin Islands and plans for helping young men prepare for manhood dominated the discussion.
It is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect in terms of what brought people out for the meetings, the five participants at this particular one agreed: Do the more active members of the community come forth when called upon, or is there an undercurrent of concern not regularly expressed that showed itself for Fathers' Night Out? Regardless what had motivated them, the five shared a commitment to outreach and interaction.
All agreed that expectations of government help with the individual problems of child raising are misplaced. "Even if you just talk to one kid for one day" was a concept brought to the table's discussion over and over, as was the idea that "Every bit of positive influence is needed, no matter how small."
Successes, shortfalls and tragedies were shared. The importance of after-school programs, proactive intervention and counseling in the schools, and challenges outside of school were discussed. One participant, a top executive of a major local concern, suggested a need for higher expectations of children.
A total of 64 men had confirmed to the Community Foundation that they would host meetings, and between 50 and 60 did so Wednesday night on St. Thomas and St. John, while others had a conflict but planned to convene gatherings later this week or next week. There was at least one meeting on St. Croix and perhaps as many as three, Baecher-Brown said.
Each group host was asked to submit a report to the foundation. A number of reports were turned in already Thursday, she said, and "many of them have said their group would like to meet again for further discussion."
Once all the reports are received and reviewed, the foundation will put togther a report that will go back to all participants summarizing the points covered, the types of suggestions made, and the organizations and initiatives known to be addressing fatherhood issues in the community.
That came as no surprise to Baecher-Brown. She said the Fathers' Night Out idea was modeled on a one-shot gathering that was held two years ago on St. John and evolved into a group that has continued to meet ever since. "In many ways, they inspired the Fathers' Night Out initiative because of what had developed out of a single meeting," she said.
One of the most important effects of Fathers' Night Out, one group observer said, may be the connections established or strengthened among the men at any given meeting by way of getting to know that other members of the community share their concern for children, and other hands and hearts are there available to share to load.
"It was not meant to be and will not be a one-shot deal," Baecher-Brown said.
For those who did not attend meetings Wednesday but are interested in participating, she said, the foundation will serve as a clearinghouse to connect them with gatherings to come. Those interested can telephone 774-6031, fax to 774-3852 or e-mail to dbrowncfvi@att.net.
Between 50 and 60 groups of men — as few as four in some instances, as many as 20-plus in at least one case — met in homes, restaurants and other places Wednesday night to talk about fatherhood in the Virgin Islands community.
The meetings were sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, under the umbrella of its Fatherhood Collaborative 2000. The initial plan had been for 100 men each to invite 10 others to come together and talk. Invited to host groups were fathers, father figures, stepfathers, godfathers, grandfathers and fathers-to-be.
Those approached about serving as hosts covered a broad spectrum in the community, Community Foundation executive director Dee Baecher-Brown said – "from CEO's to stay-at-home dads, people in messenger positions, white collar/blue collar types of occupations, from all walks of life. One group was very young, most people in their early 20s and teens; in another, everybody was a grandfather." At least one group, she said, conversed in Spanish.
"One of the real important themes is that responsible fatherhood is a concern within all segments of the community," she said.
At what may or may not have been a typical gathering, an overall concern for the children of the Virgin Islands and plans for helping young men prepare for manhood dominated the discussion.
It is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect in terms of what brought people out for the meetings, the five participants at this particular one agreed: Do the more active members of the community come forth when called upon, or is there an undercurrent of concern not regularly expressed that showed itself for Fathers' Night Out? Regardless what had motivated them, the five shared a commitment to outreach and interaction.
All agreed that expectations of government help with the individual problems of child raising are misplaced. "Even if you just talk to one kid for one day" was a concept brought to the table's discussion over and over, as was the idea that "Every bit of positive influence is needed, no matter how small."
Successes, shortfalls and tragedies were shared. The importance of after-school programs, proactive intervention and counseling in the schools, and challenges outside of school were discussed. One participant, a top executive of a major local concern, suggested a need for higher expectations of children.
A total of 64 men had confirmed to the Community Foundation that they would host meetings, and between 50 and 60 did so Wednesday night on St. Thomas and St. John, while others had a conflict but planned to convene gatherings later this week or next week. There was at least one meeting on St. Croix and perhaps as many as three, Baecher-Brown said.
Each group host was asked to submit a report to the foundation. A number of reports were turned in already Thursday, she said, and "many of them have said their group would like to meet again for further discussion."
Once all the reports are received and reviewed, the foundation will put togther a report that will go back to all participants summarizing the points covered, the types of suggestions made, and the organizations and initiatives known to be addressing fatherhood issues in the community.
That came as no surprise to Baecher-Brown. She said the Fathers' Night Out idea was modeled on a one-shot gathering that was held two years ago on St. John and evolved into a group that has continued to meet ever since. "In many ways, they inspired the Fathers' Night Out initiative because of what had developed out of a single meeting," she said.
One of the most important effects of Fathers' Night Out, one group observer said, may be the connections established or strengthened among the men at any given meeting by way of getting to know that other members of the community share their concern for children, and other hands and hearts are there available to share to load.
"It was not meant to be and will not be a one-shot deal," Baecher-Brown said.
For those who did not attend meetings Wednesday but are interested in participating, she said, the foundation will serve as a clearinghouse to connect them with gatherings to come. Those interested can telephone 774-6031, fax to 774-3852 or e-mail to dbrowncfvi@att.net.
FATHERS' NIGHT OUT CONVERSATIONS TO CONTINUE
It didn't add up to the Thousand Man Meetings that had been envisioned, but Fathers' Night Out amounted to hundreds, maybe thousands, of significant steps.
Between 50 and 60 groups of men — as few as four in some instances, as many as 20-plus in at least one case — met in homes, restaurants and other places Wednesday night to talk about fatherhood in the Virgin Islands community.
The meetings were sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, under the umbrella of its Fatherhood Collaborative 2000. The initial plan had been for 100 men each to invite 10 others to come together and talk. Invited to host groups were fathers, father figures, stepfathers, godfathers, grandfathers and fathers-to-be.
Those approached about serving as hosts covered a broad spectrum in the community, Community Foundation executive director Dee Baecher-Brown said – "from CEO's to stay-at-home dads, people in messenger positions, white collar/blue collar types of occupations, from all walks of life. One group was very young, most people in their early 20s and teens; in another, everybody was a grandfather." At least one group, she said, conversed in Spanish.
"One of the real important themes is that responsible fatherhood is a concern within all segments of the community," she said.
At what may or may not have been a typical gathering, an overall concern for the children of the Virgin Islands and plans for helping young men prepare for manhood dominated the discussion.
It is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect in terms of what brought people out for the meetings, the five participants at this particular one agreed: Do the more active members of the community come forth when called upon, or is there an undercurrent of concern not regularly expressed that showed itself for Fathers' Night Out? Regardless what had motivated them, the five shared a commitment to outreach and interaction.
All agreed that expectations of government help with the individual problems of child raising are misplaced. "Even if you just talk to one kid for one day" was a concept brought to the table's discussion over and over, as was the idea that "Every bit of positive influence is needed, no matter how small."
Successes, shortfalls and tragedies were shared. The importance of after-school programs, proactive intervention and counseling in the schools, and challenges outside of school were discussed. One participant, a top executive of a major local concern, suggested a need for higher expectations of children.
A total of 64 men had confirmed to the Community Foundation that they would host meetings, and between 50 and 60 did so Wednesday night on St. Thomas and St. John, while others had a conflict but planned to convene gatherings later this week or next week. There was at least one meeting on St. Croix and perhaps as many as three, Baecher-Brown said.
Each group host was asked to submit a report to the foundation. A number of reports were turned in already Thursday, she said, and "many of them have said their group would like to meet again for further discussion."
Once all the reports are received and reviewed, the foundation will put togther a report that will go back to all participants summarizing the points covered, the types of suggestions made, and the organizations and initiatives known to be addressing fatherhood issues in the community.
That came as no surprise to Baecher-Brown. She said the Fathers' Night Out idea was modeled on a one-shot gathering that was held two years ago on St. John and evolved into a group that has continued to meet ever since. "In many ways, they inspired the Fathers' Night Out initiative because of what had developed out of a single meeting," she said.
One of the most important effects of Fathers' Night Out, one group observer said, may be the connections established or strengthened among the men at any given meeting by way of getting to know that other members of the community share their concern for children, and other hands and hearts are there available to share to load.
"It was not meant to be and will not be a one-shot deal," Baecher-Brown said.
For those who did not attend meetings Wednesday but are interested in participating, she said, the foundation will serve as a clearinghouse to connect them with gatherings to come. Those interested can telephone 774-6031, fax to 774-3852 or e-mail to dbrowncfvi@att.net.
Between 50 and 60 groups of men — as few as four in some instances, as many as 20-plus in at least one case — met in homes, restaurants and other places Wednesday night to talk about fatherhood in the Virgin Islands community.
The meetings were sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, under the umbrella of its Fatherhood Collaborative 2000. The initial plan had been for 100 men each to invite 10 others to come together and talk. Invited to host groups were fathers, father figures, stepfathers, godfathers, grandfathers and fathers-to-be.
Those approached about serving as hosts covered a broad spectrum in the community, Community Foundation executive director Dee Baecher-Brown said – "from CEO's to stay-at-home dads, people in messenger positions, white collar/blue collar types of occupations, from all walks of life. One group was very young, most people in their early 20s and teens; in another, everybody was a grandfather." At least one group, she said, conversed in Spanish.
"One of the real important themes is that responsible fatherhood is a concern within all segments of the community," she said.
At what may or may not have been a typical gathering, an overall concern for the children of the Virgin Islands and plans for helping young men prepare for manhood dominated the discussion.
It is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect in terms of what brought people out for the meetings, the five participants at this particular one agreed: Do the more active members of the community come forth when called upon, or is there an undercurrent of concern not regularly expressed that showed itself for Fathers' Night Out? Regardless what had motivated them, the five shared a commitment to outreach and interaction.
All agreed that expectations of government help with the individual problems of child raising are misplaced. "Even if you just talk to one kid for one day" was a concept brought to the table's discussion over and over, as was the idea that "Every bit of positive influence is needed, no matter how small."
Successes, shortfalls and tragedies were shared. The importance of after-school programs, proactive intervention and counseling in the schools, and challenges outside of school were discussed. One participant, a top executive of a major local concern, suggested a need for higher expectations of children.
A total of 64 men had confirmed to the Community Foundation that they would host meetings, and between 50 and 60 did so Wednesday night on St. Thomas and St. John, while others had a conflict but planned to convene gatherings later this week or next week. There was at least one meeting on St. Croix and perhaps as many as three, Baecher-Brown said.
Each group host was asked to submit a report to the foundation. A number of reports were turned in already Thursday, she said, and "many of them have said their group would like to meet again for further discussion."
Once all the reports are received and reviewed, the foundation will put togther a report that will go back to all participants summarizing the points covered, the types of suggestions made, and the organizations and initiatives known to be addressing fatherhood issues in the community.
That came as no surprise to Baecher-Brown. She said the Fathers' Night Out idea was modeled on a one-shot gathering that was held two years ago on St. John and evolved into a group that has continued to meet ever since. "In many ways, they inspired the Fathers' Night Out initiative because of what had developed out of a single meeting," she said.
One of the most important effects of Fathers' Night Out, one group observer said, may be the connections established or strengthened among the men at any given meeting by way of getting to know that other members of the community share their concern for children, and other hands and hearts are there available to share to load.
"It was not meant to be and will not be a one-shot deal," Baecher-Brown said.
For those who did not attend meetings Wednesday but are interested in participating, she said, the foundation will serve as a clearinghouse to connect them with gatherings to come. Those interested can telephone 774-6031, fax to 774-3852 or e-mail to dbrowncfvi@att.net.
