Congrats!

PLEASE allow us the opportunity to congratulate Ms. Marites Castillo and her untiring team of volunteers on winning the 2006 USDA Earth Team Group Award and the 2007 Governor’s Beautify CNMI Environmental Steward Award. We appreciate their past service as members of MOVER and now as members of Friends of the Mariana Islands, or FMI.

We have heard that there has been some talk in the community and that there has been some confusion as to the proper recipient of these two awards. USDA and Beautify CNMI! handed over these two awards to the group of individual volunteers from MOVER and FMI who, under Ms. Castillo’s leadership, have volunteered with Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council and the USDA Earth Team as part of the Beautify CNMI! coalition.

Ms. Castillo and her volunteers have given their time to Beautify CNMI! every weekend for 12 months straight. The three people creating this confusion came to one tree planting event almost a year ago, didn’t help out at the event, and then left after they were prominently featured in a group photo. Do you seriously think we didn’t notice?

Let us be as clear as we can: as the former president of MOVER and the current president of FMI, these two awards belong to Marites Castillo and to the members of MOVER and FMI with whom she has volunteered her time. If you were one of those people, even if you only came to just one event with the intention of only getting your picture taken, I encourage you to tell the world that you were a winner, but the plaques stay with Ms. Castillo.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

ANGELO VILLAGOMEZ
REP. CINTA M. KAIPAT
Beautify CNMI!