Beautify CNMI announces slogan and bumper sticker contest

Beautify CNMI is looking for a new slogan following the successful “What we do on the land can affect our marine environment” campaign started in 2006.

In order to find a new slogan, Beautify CNMI is looking to the community for help.

Artists are being asked to come up with a slogan and to design a bumper sticker that goes along with their slogan. The winner will receive $150 cash and fifty of their winning bumper stickers to give out to friends and family.

The contest is open to all residents of all ages of the Commonwealth. Guidelines for the slogan contest are:

• must be original
• must be relevant to the actions and mission of Beautify CNMI.
• The bumper sticker can be square or horizontally rectangular.
• Artists and participants can submit more than one design and more than one artist can work together on a single submission.
• Designs may be by free-hand sketch, drawing or computer generated, but must be in electronic format to be considered.
• Entries must be submitted by noon on October 24, 2009 and must include the artist's full name, mailing address, telephone number and email address if available.

A brief statement explaining the design and slogan may accompany entries.

All entries will become the property of Beautify CNMI and can be used freely by Beautify CNMI and must be received on or before Thursday, October 24, 2009 at noon. Entries are to be submitted via email to angelovillagomez@gmail.com.

Beautify CNMI reserves the right to modify the winning logo at any time but when possible, Beautify CNMI will work with the original artists to make these changes.

Beautify CNMI reserves the right to correct any information that appears in this contest in error and is not responsible for omissions.

For inquiries contact Angelo Villagomez at 670 285 6462

Tan Holdings, Friends of the Monument recognized with Beautify CNMI awards

Beautify CNMI announced today the winners of their annual Environmental Champion and Environmental Steward Awards. The awards are given out to recognize individuals, organizations, and businesses that have proven to be environmental leaders in the Commonwealth.

The Environmental Champion award recognizes a person or group that exemplifies the Beautify CNMI spirit. Those qualities include volunteerism, cooperation, innovation, creativity and the ability to infect others with the Beauty Virus. The Environmental Champion is a role model for others to follow. They bring environmental issues to the forefront of public consciousness. They make things happen and effect change.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Tan Holdings, Laurie Peterka, and Ken Kramer as the 2009 Environmental Champions.

Tan Holdings is being recognized as a model of corporate environmental responsibility. Under the leadership of President Jerry Tan, Tan Holdings employees and friends have been part of several environmental projects over the past year. All Tan Holdings offices on Saipan participate in a Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle program and the company participates in a reusable shopping bag campaign with Joeten. Employees, often with the participation of management, regularly participate in cleanups, including the recent island wide cleanup.

Laurie Peterka and Ken Kramer are being recognized for their roles in the creation of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Kramer was so inspired by the concept of the monument that he quit his job so that he would have more time to collect signatures. Kramer was the largest signature collector for a petition being circulated in support of the monument, collecting over 1000 signatures at the street market, in front of stores, at the Sabalu market, and door to door. Kramer also penned nearly two-dozen letters to the editor educating newspaper readers about the benefits of a monument.

Peterka is being recognized for the role she played as staff with the Pew Environment Group. According to one of her nominations for the award, “Laurie has been the backbone of the Friends of the Monument’'s efforts: always there, always supportive, keeping things moving, doing much of the organizing, writing, scheduling, as well as a lot of the scut work.”

The Environmental Steward award recognizes a person or group that leads the community in activities that help protect our environment in a variety of ways. This individual or group has demonstrated the need to take pride in our islands and to take care of the place we all call home. They serve as an example for others, especially the next generation, to follow.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Friends of the Monument as the 2009 Environmental Stewards.

Friends of the Monument was formed to help promote the idea of creating a national marine monument in the waters around the three northernmost islands of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Friends of the Monument engaged in activities to help educate the community --distributing leaflets, conducting meetings, and coordinating with teachers for classroom presentations. The organization gathered more than 6,000 signatures on petitions in support of the designation of a Monument. The Friends sent representatives to Washington, D.C. to meet with White House officials, and participated in television and radio public service announcements and advertising. Ultimately, they were instrumental in the process that resulted in former President George W. Bush designating the Marianas Trench Marine Monument, along with three larger national marine monuments.

The awards were handed out at the Beautify CNMI/PAWS Boonie Dog Show on Saturday, June 13 at the CPA Airport Field.

Beautify CNMI recognizes Steward and Champion Awards winner each year in Spring. Nominations are taken from the community at-large and the Beautify CNMI Committee Chairs select winners. Past winners include Aqua Resort Club, Friends of the Mariana Islands, Marites Castillo, Kathy Yuknavage, Captain Carl Brachear, Adam Sablan, Katie Busenkell, Rose Callier, Mike Tripp, Marianas Dive, Nava Khorram, Max Aguon, Paseo de Marianas Promoters, and Bree Reynolds.

Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of concerned citizens, private groups, and government entities united to enhance the CNMI's natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors. The coalition was a recipient of a 2007 EPA Environmental Award and received a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Congress in 2009. For more information visit them online at http://www.beautifycnmi.org.

Beautify CNMI Meeting Next Week

The first Beautify CNMI monthly meeting in about a year is scheduled for next Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 3:30 PM. This will be a reorganization meeting. We're not going to change too much, just bring everyone back to the table to see how we can continue to work together.

I will start the meeting off with a short synopsis of our different programs over the last 3 years.

PAWS WARS Episode 3: The Revenge of the Boonie

It is that time of year again – when Beautify CNMI! and PAWS team up to celebrate Saipan’s boonie dogs. This year, the dog show, PAWS WARS, Episode III, Revenge of the Boonie, will be held on June 13, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at CPA Airport Field. Categories include:

Star Wars Character
Booniest
Fattest
Most Disobedient
Most Talented; and
Best in Show.

Come down and bring your dog in their best storm trooper or Darth Vader mask. There will be great prizes and loads of fun for the entire family. Registration forms are available here. As we have done in the past, we hope to use the dog show as a method of educating people about the benefits of responsible pet ownership and promote the human-animal bond.

Island Wide Cleanup Award Winners

Saipan, (CNMI) – Two elementary schools and a government agency that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers are one hundred dollars richer today as Beautify CNMI! handed out prizes to groups participating in last month’s island-wide cleanup.

Garapan Elementary School received $100 for the photo they submitted of their entire student body right before cleaning up their campus and the surrounding neighborhood. They won the contest for the photo with the most volunteers.

“I told some of the staff that we won and they were really proud,” remarked Dale Roberts, Vice Principal of Garapan Elementary.

In the contest to take a photo of the biggest pile of collected garbage, San Vicente was declared the victors. ACT President Betty Miller was on hand to accept the $100 on behalf of the students.

“We had a lot of support from the parents on our cleanup day and they deserve a lot of the credit,” said Miller about winning the contest category.

Each of this year’s 61 participating groups also had their names put into a random drawing to win $100. William S. Reyes 5th grader Shizuka Takayama pulled the name of the Children’s Developmental Assistance Center during a press event at the Marianas Visitors Authority office on Wednesday.

“Everyone who participated in this year’s island-wide cleanup deserves a hearty thank you,” said Angelo Villagomez of Beautify CNMI. He added, “the Kramis family also deserves a big thank for their generous donation making these prizes possible.”

Award winners: Roberts and Miller with the $100 checks for their schools. Saipanda is also pictured.

The 2009 island-wide cleanup had the participation of 4,140 volunteers from 61 groups and over 13.5 tons of litter was removed from the streets and beaches of Saipan. The Rotary Club of Saipan, Division of Environmental Quality, Marianas Visitors Authority, and Marianas Tourism Education Council coordinated the event.

The Final Tally

We're done tallying up the final numbers for the Island Wide Cleanup. It is funny to think that several weeks worth of work are going to boil down to a sentence like, "27,070 lbs of trash were picked up by 4,140 volunteers from 61 volunteer groups at 54 adopted sites." I guess that's what this kind of stuff comes down to in the end.

So those are our official numbers. Here they are again:

Number of volunteers participating: 4,140
Weight of trash removed: 27,070 lbs (13.5 tons)
Volunteer groups participating: 61
Number of adopted sites: 54

There are too many people to thank for our success, but my Thank You letter is a start.

Beautify CNMI looking for award nominations

The Committee Chairs of Beautify CNMI are seeking nominations for their annual Beautify CNMI Steward and Beautify CNMI Champion awards. The two awards will be given out at the end of April.

The awards are given out to recognize the individuals or groups who have been environmental leaders during the past 12 months.

There are two award categories, the Environmental Steward and the Environmental Champion.

The Environmental Steward award recognizes a person or group that leads the community in activities that help protect our environment in a variety of ways. This individual or group has demonstrated the need to take pride in our islands and to take care of the place we all call home. They serve as an example for others, especially the next generation, to follow.

According to Beautify CNMI volunteer Angelo Villagomez, “The Steward Award winners are the backbone of Beautify CNMI. These are the people that volunteer their time every single weekend to improve our environment and our islands.”

The Environmental Champion award recognizes a person or group that exemplifies the Beautify CNMI spirit. Those qualities include volunteerism, cooperation, innovation, creativity and the ability to infect others with the Beauty Virus. The Environmental Champion is a role model for others to follow. They bring environmental issues to the forefront of public consciousness. They make things happen and effect change.

“The Champion Award winners are the environmental leaders on Saipan,” explained Beautify CNMI founder Cinta M. Kaipat.

The 2007 Environmental Champion winners were PSS teacher Bree Reynolds, MINA board member Kathy Yuknavage, and local activist Captain Carl Brachear. The winners of the 2007 Environmental Steward award were elementary school student Adam Sablan and volunteer group Friends of the Mariana Islands.

The 2008 Environmental Champion winners were Nava Khorram, Marites Castillo of Friends of the Mariana Islands, Katie Busenkell of PAWS, Mike Tripp of Marianas Dive, and Aqua Resort Club. The winners of the 2008 Environmental Steward award were Friends of the Marianas Islands, Marianas Dive, Paseo de Marianas Promoters and Max Aguon and the Pantalon Boys.

To nominate an individual or group, submit a written nomination explaining why that person or group deserves recognition. You can make as many nominations as you like, but individuals and groups can only be nominated for one award category. Nominations must include the award category the nominee is being considered for, a well written argument detailing the reasons why this nominee should be considered, and contact information for the nominee and for the person making the nomination.

Send nominations to Angelo Villagomez at angelovillagomez@gmail.com or mail them to PMB 360 BOX 10001; Saipan, MP 96950 or call 285-6462 for more information.

$900 in prizes made available to schools

The island wide cleanup that is being planned for next Friday was independently planned by three separate organizations. I wrote about organizing an island wide cleanup on The Saipan Blog for the Rotary Club back in January. In February I got an email from DEQ saying that they were planning an island wide cleanup as part of the Commonwealth Earth Day celebration. Then last month, Marianas Tourism Education Council (MTEC) contacted me to let me know that they were also planning an island wide cleanup in April. All three groups had been planning their separate cleanups for some time, it just took us a while to find each other.

When we found that we had similar goals, we immediately decided to work together (this is back in February) and started roping in other partners. Marianas Visitors Authority agreed to donate $1500 for supplies and Tan Holding, the largest employer on the island besides the government, pledged to have all their companies participate (three hotels, several restaurants, an insurance company, a newspaper, among others).

In the classic Beautify CNMI spirit, each group donates that which they are best at donating. I'm a great organizer. DEQ has government contacts and staff and trucks for hauling garbage. MVA has media people. Tan Holdings and the schools have volunteers. MTEC, MVA, and the Kramises in Washington have money. All our donations of time, talent, money, and manpower come together to make for a great event.

A big part of MTEC's involvement is giving support and financial assistance to the local schools. They donated $1000 towards the cleanup effort. They originally offered to split the $1000 equally between the schools and Beautify CNMI, but I asked them to change it to $900 for the students and only $100 for us. The way I figure it, I'm really good at scrounging up supplies and volunteers and if there is money available for students, better to support the students.

They issued a press release about their donation today.

MTEC Offers Top Schools Cleanup Incentives

Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) – Personal responsibility in having a clean tourism destination is being highlighted by Marianas Tourism Education Council (MTEC), as the group announces cash incentives for Northern Marianas schools that join the Earth Month Island-wide Cleanup on April l7, 2009.

In addition to $100 donated to event organizer Beautify CNMI!, MTEC is setting aside $900 for the Public School System to be divided among the top schools with the highest percentage of student turnout for the cleanup.

“Keeping our islands beautiful is an important part of supporting tourism, and we encourage all schools, especially those with MY WAVE (Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically) clubs to have their students join the April 17 event,” said MTEC Chairman Ed Cho. “MTEC is pleased to support this year’s cleanup and help encourage a clean environment for visitors and residents, alike.”

Beautify CNMI partners Division of Environmental Quality, Rotary Club, and Marianas Visitors Authority are inviting all residents to plant a tree, paint over some graffiti or cleanup a road or a beach during the event. Cleanup over the weekend is also encouraged for people not available on April 17. Assistance with gloves, trash bags, and trash transfer are also available from Beautify CNMI!

Sign-up forms will be the basis of awarding the MTEC incentive. Forms are available from Rotary Club member and event co-organizer Angelo Villagomez at angelovillagomez@gmail.com.

A complete list of participants for the cleanup can be found at http://beautifycnmi.blogspot.com. As of today (April 7), six spots have been adopted by eight organizations, accounting for 136 volunteers.

The coordination of the cleanup is going very well. As of 8:31 AM on Wednesday, April 8, we have 11 sites adopted by 13 different groups representing 591 volunteers. We are about 1/10 of the way there with 9 days to go to continue building excitement. I'm optimistic that we'll reach our goal of 5000 volunteers!

Sign up for the Island Wide Cleanup

I am working with the Division of Environmental Quality, Marianas Visitors Authority, Rotary Club of Saipan, and Marianas Tourism Education Council to coordinate an island wide cleanup for April 17, 2009.

The concept for the cleanup is simple: If several thousand people spend just a couple of hours doing something to improve the islands on the day of the cleanup, the following morning the islands will look pretty nice.

This will make our islands look pretty snazzy in time for Earth Day and for Tourism Month in May.

The coordinators are asking people, businesses, government agencies, schools, and homes to spend an hour or two doing a cleanup at anytime on Friday, April 17, 2009. If you want to adopt a beach that is great, but we are encouraging people to adopt the area near their place of business. Governor Fitial has agreed to allow ALL government agencies to participate during working hours. More information on that should be forthcoming from DEQ and the Governor's Office.

I hope you can participate. I've created a simple signup sheet that will help us track our activities. If you would like me to send you one, please email me at angelovillagomez at gmail dot com. After you fill it out, please either fax or email it back in.

Island Wide Cleanup sign ups begin

The first 50 people have signed up for the Island Wide Cleanup slated to take place on April 17, 2009. The Saipan Mayor’s Office and the Office of Personnel Management were the first organizations to turn in their sign up sheets.

The Office of Personnel Management has adopted the Garapan Fishing Base and has pledged to recruit 20 volunteers to help beautify the area. Likewise, the Saipan Mayor’s Office has adopted Beach Road from Afetnas to Koblerville and has pledged 30 staff for roadside trash collection.

“Our first two signups adopted the roads and areas near their offices. This is what we envisioned when we started planning this cleanup,” said co-organizer Joe Kaipat of Division of Environmental Quality. “We hope to get at least 5000 volunteers this year,” he added.

According to the organizers, the goal of this year’s island wide cleanup is to recruit at least 5000 volunteers to spend a few hours beautifying the islands, whether it is by picking up litter on a road or beach, painting over graffiti, planting a few trees, or participating in some other activity.

The cleanup organizers are encouraging participants to adopt a spot near their homes, offices, or schools, although some organizations will adopt beaches and/or tourist sites.

The organizers are encouraging the community to get involved as much as possible.

Event co-organizer Angelo Villagomez said, “It would be great if we could get a few families to adopt the roads near their homes. We want people to take ownership and responsibility for the upkeep of their areas of the island.”

The Marianas Visitors Authority is providing funds for garbage bags, rubber gloves, and some paint and the Division of Environmental Quality has pledged to assist with transferring solid waste collected to the transfer station in Lower Base. Supplies, if needed, will be available for pickup at the Division of Environmental Quality.

Division of Environmental Quality, Rotary Club of Saipan, Marianas Visitors Authority, and Marianas Tourism Education Council are the co-organizers of the island wide cleanup.

For more information on the how to participate in the cleanup, contact Joe Kaipat at 664-8500 or Angelo Villagomez at 285-6462 or via Email at angelovillagomez@gmail.com.

MIcronesia Challenge on Facebook

Are you a member of Facebook? Would you like to be the envy of all your friends? There is now a Facebook Fan Page and a Facebook Group for the Micronesia Challenge. Join today!

Both the Fan Page and the Group allow users to post comments on a discussion board, upload photos and video, suggest links, and leave comments. The Fan Page allows the administrator to write notes or, as I prefer to do, syndicate a blog feed. I am syndicating the Micronesians in Island Conservation blog until there is a Micronesia Challenge blog. The thing I like best about both is that the administrator has the ability to send messages to every member of both the Group and the Fan Page. This will come in handy, especially once the membership gets into the thousands.

Additionally, the Fan Page links to Fan Pages for the Micronesian governments that have signed onto the Micronesia Challenge: Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. It also links to a Fan Page for Beautify CNMI, an environmental coalition in the Marianas supportive of the Micronesia Challenge. I will link to other non-profits working on the Micronesia Challenge once someone sets up their Fan Pages. (Pehaps we can do this at the next MIC retreat or maybe the next steering committee meeting?)

So what are you waiting for? Log into Facebook and join the Facebook Fan Page and the Facebook Group for the Micronesia Challenge.

Beautify CNMI Email List

I've spent the last two weeks getting Beautify CNMI back up to speed. I've started a Beautify CNMI Facebook fan page and I've updated the email list. We'll have activities all year in 2009. If you would like to be added to the email list, please email me at angelovillagomez at gmail dot com or call me at 285 6462 and I will add you.