On Thursday, Aug. 21 and Friday, Aug. 22, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will have a full schedule of meetings and other events during his first official visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The trip is the final stop fulfilling the Secretary's promise to visit all U.S. territories, for which he has significant oversight responsibility as Secretary of the Interior. He will join USVI Governor John de Jongh and Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christiansen at several events, accompanied by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs Doug Domenech. The events open to credentialed media include:
Thursday, Aug. 21:, St. Croix: a press conference with the Governor and USVI Delegate announcing the Secretary’s USVI plans and several grants; tours/photo ops of the Alexander Hamilton boyhood home, Juan Luis Hospital; St. Thomas: tours/photo ops of Roy Lester Schneider Hospital and the Univ. of the Virgin Islands (UVI) fitness center.
Friday, Aug. 22, St. John: a press conference with the Governor and USVI Delegate at the NPS Dock Visitor Center announcing a grant; tours/photo ops of proposed school site, Concordia eco-campsite, Annaberg historic site, Maho eco-campsite.
Event 1:
| Who: | Secretary Kempthorne; Gov. de Jongh; Delegate Christiansen; Joel Tutein, National Park Service superintendent for Buck Island Reef National Monument, Christiansted National Historic Site and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve; John Garrison of the Trust for Public Land; Robert Mathes, USVI Commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources; Dr. LaVerne Ragster, President of UVI; Alex Moorehead, Chairman of the UVI Board of Trustees; Bevan Smith, Director of the Energy Office; Tourism Commissioner Beverley Nicholson-Doty. |
| What: | Press conference to announce grant awards for the benefit of the people and natural resources of USVI and to make an important personnel announcement. Followed by tour of Estate Grange Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home. |
| When: | Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 10:15 a.m.: press conference 10:45 a.m. Tour of Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home with Historian Robert Johnson 11:15 a.m. Press one-on-ones with Secretary Kempthorne. |
| Where: | Estate Grange Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home, St. Croix, USVI |
Event 2:
| Who: | Secretary Kempthorne; Gov. de Jongh; Delegate Christiansen; NPS superintendent Joel Tutein; Commissioner Robert Mathes |
| What: | Photo op: short walking hospital tour |
| When: | 11:45 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 |
| Where: | Juan F. Luis Hospital, St Croix |
Event 3:
| Who: | Secretary Kempthorne; Gov. de Jongh |
| What: | Photo Op: short walking hospital tour |
| When: | 4:45 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 |
| Where: | Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, St. Thomas |
Event 4:
| Who: | Secretary Kempthorne; Dr. LaVerne Ragster, President of UVI; Peter Sauer, Athletic Director of UVI |
| What: | Tour/photo op of UVI Sports and Fitness Center, partially funded by U.S. Department of the Interior |
| When: | 5:40 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 |
| Where: | UVI Sports and Fitness Center, St. Thomas |
Event 5:
| Who: | Secretary Kempthorne; Gov. de Jongh; Delegate Christiansen; Mark Hardgrove, Superintendent of Virgin Islands National Park; Commissioner of Public Works Darryl Smalls; Commissioner of Education LaVerne Terry; Leona Smith, St. John Government House Administrator. |
| What: | Press Conference to announce a grant for the benefit of the people and natural resources of USVI. Followed by tour of visitor center, depart for Catherineburg proposed school site. |
| When: | 9:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 22, 2008 press conference |
| Where: | NPS Dock Visitor Center, Cruz Bay, St. John |
Event 6:
| Who: | Same as Event 5 |
| What: | Photo op/tour of Catherineburg proposed school site |
| When: | 10:20 a.m., Aug. 22 |
| Where: | Catherineburg, Centerline Road, St. John |
Additional Aug. 22 Opportunities for Photos on St. John:
11:10 a.m: Concordia "Eco-Tent" Resort
11:55 a.m.: Tour Annaberg historic sugar plantation site, Virgin Islands National Park
1:10 p.m.: Tour Maho Bay ecotourism campground, renewable energy projects