VI UPDATE
U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records
TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS
06-06-22 YLAC Pinning Ceremony
Legislature USVI
June 6, 2022 · 1.9 hours · gov
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https://youtu.be/jm60_995dh8
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For the genuine change to occur, we must collaborate and be unified. This partnership will serve the growth and
development of its members, their peers, senators and the community at large. Members of the Council, as you get your
pins today, I encourage you to wear them proudly and to remain focused on your responsibility, which is as follows. A,
advise the legislature on the proposed and pending legislation, budget expenditures and policies, matters related to youth.
Also consult with study commissions, committees, and task force regarding issues related to youth. And C, conduct
seminars with its members regarding leadership, civic, governmental, and the legislature. D, meet at least three times, but
not more than six times per day, including but not more than two public hearings on issues of importance to the youth in
the legislative chamber, one on the island of St. Croix and one on the island of St. Thomas.
0:00:00
However, the council may meet up to an additional three times a year if determined by the executive director of the
legislature determines that we have the sufficient budget and resources to remain after paying all costs associated with the
six initial meetings paid. Also report annually to the legislature on its activities by December 1st of each year. The
council may submit proposed legislation as part of its report to the legislature to implement its recommendation. Again, I
want to congratulate each and every one of you for your accomplishment and I truly look forward to working with each
of the members of the council on behalf of a betterment for our territory.
0:01:03
Thank you very much, and congratulations. Thank you very much, Senator Carrion, Chair of the Legislative Youth
Advisory Council. Next, to provide remarks, we will have co-chair Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker. Good morning.
Good morning, Senate President. Good morning, Vice President Francis, Chair of Senator Carrion, a special good
morning to our Legislative Advisory Council members and to the listening and viewing audience. I am Senator
Genevieve Whitaker, and it's a pleasure to be before you today. And members, we made it, right? A number of Sundays
we spent in an advisory role, but I'm just really proud of what we reached today. I'm very proud to see many of you as
youths advocating and promoting government reform, showing interest in institutions and making our laws. I really look
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forward to your leadership that you already displayed.
And as Chairman Kerrion shared the history of LIAC, I want to also add an important fact as well as even my role in this
council. I was, at that time, president and co-founder, which I still am, of the Legislative Advisory Council, I mean, sorry,
of the Virginality Advocacy Coalition, and an advisor, one of the advisors for the council, working with the youth who
are interested in becoming actual members at that time. And I also wanna put out that we had Senator, at that time
Senator Terrance Positive Nelson, who really advocated for the establishment of the council. And with that, coming into
the 34th, I made it my goal to really push that we reestablish the Youth Advisory Council here in the Senate body. So I
do thank the Senate president for moving forward, along with Senator Carrion and all those involved. And I wanna
express also to this time that we reflect, I wanna take a moment of silence for Zion James. He was a young, one of you
council members who did lose his life and we wanna just take a moment just to give reverence to him and his family and
his loved ones, a moment of silence for Zion James. Thank you.
0:02:52
And in speaking about Zion and just an example of what you all are doing, I continue to urge you all to continue down
this path, to rally your peers, to demonstrate the importance of community participation as you all grow into the beautiful
young men and women you are destined to be, as you remain conscious of your actions and how they will affect your
community. You are leaders, you are the future, so it is up to you to ensure our territory is headed in the right direction.
are already on the right track as you demonstrate your willingness to improve our community and create and create for
those who will come after you i ask that you continue this momentum and spark the same light with your peers so we can
shine all shine bright bright light as a territory i simply ask that you all also do this as one united i ask that you weather
the storm allowing it to be the motivation and not discouragement allow the storm to be the catalyst for change whenever
faced with a hurricane or tropical storm any kind of disaster we weather it and always come back stronger and more
unified i'm asking that you do the same within this journey as council members remember where you're from always
remember to pay it forward and continue to be that light eliminates our territory and pushes us as virgin owners forward
and once again it's an honor to be here look forward to supporting you in all your endeavors as you all move forward like
i said from the very beginning i'm here to support along with my staff member who's with me today johnny brown and
we will continue so i want to thank each one of you and leave finally with a quote kofi annan he's the late former united
nations secretary general he's a lot of quotes about youth and he left a really important quote and he stated that the world's
youth are never too young to lead and that's really true today so thank you thank you chairman and look forward to a
great day thank you thank you co-chair senator whitaker next we will have remarks from the vice president of the 34th
legislature senator novell e francis jr thank you very much and good morning senate
0:04:11
president andana for gregory senator second senate secretary genevieve whitaker and of course the chairman of the youth
advisory council senator chairman senator samuel carrion and of course good morning to the youth advisory council to
the viewing and listening audience i'm senator novel e francis jr vice president of the 34th legislature of the virgin islands
and i'm personally honored to welcome you today and to be a part of this pinning ceremony it was former secretary of
state and presidential candidate hillary radham clinton once said young people are at the heart of today's strategic
opportunities and challenges from rebuilding the global economy to combating a violent extremism to building
sustainable democracy this past year has shown us exactly how fragile society and democracy can be when we watch the
u.s capital overrun by rioters and entire communities marching against violence and to end gun violence in many ways
the youth have been the strongest voices leading the way calling for justice peace and change we have high expectation
for this generation and that's why i'm thankful to all of you who have committed your time to serve on the youth advisory
council each of you bring your own perspective to these discussion and legislative and policy matters and I encourage
you to fully participate in this experience you have a front row seat specific and government in action while I don't expect
all of you to walk away from your involvement in the council with a burning desire to become senators I hope that you
will leave with a better understanding of citizenship and the importance of your participation in government and the ways
that policy decisions can resonate
0:06:14
throughout our community. I can honestly say that I've always learned a lot from our youth advisory members of the
Youth Advisory Council. You offer a unique perspective that must be heard and respected. Your voices matter. My
colleagues and I have certainly benefited from your education, activism, advocacy and dynamic energy to keep pushing
our territory forward. As As entrepreneur Richard Branson said, the future needs passionate, happy, and confident young
leaders willing to challenge the start of school and stand up to their conviction. I do ask that when you stand up and you
challenge the start of school, that you do it respectfully and peacefully. Today, we commit to learning from each other as
we work hand in hand to build a better version of us for this and future generations.
0:08:12
Thank you for taking the plunge And congratulations, best wishes. I look forward to working with you over the next
several months. God bless. Thank you, Vice President Nouvelle E. Francis. The Senate President will now provide
0:09:05
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remarks, the Honorable Donna Fred Gregory. Thank you. Thank you and good morning. And good morning to my
colleagues. And most importantly, good morning to the brave young men and women who said yes to standing up for the
U.S. Virgin Islands and participating in the process. While this is the official pinning ceremony of you being members of
the Youth Advisory Council, I know that you've been busy working since last year. COVID sort of set us back but I am
so happy that our council members from the St. Croix district were able to travel over this morning because it's so
important that you have that camaraderie between islands and you have an opportunity to actually meet the council
members your fellow council members in person it's my hope that your experience thus far has been fulfilling rewarding
and that you are in fact truly learning about the legislative process I'm sure that you figure this out because I'm certain
that since you've been council members that you've been following the legislative process not only in your
meetings but also on the television or radio and you know that the legislative process is not all about bells and whistles
and a good time it's very serious business the expectation is that you take your responsibility seriously as well and you
come out with a good product you are one of your responsibilities as per the act 7303 the enabling legislation is that you
are required to provide a report at the end of your council period so we'll I'm looking forward to seeing that report and
receiving the information that you provide in the report based on your observation and based on the work that you've
done what I've learned is far thus far about this group is that your hard-working group of young Virgin Islanders who are
passionate about wanting a better Virgin Islands so that's encouraging that's encouraging and I encourage you to as you
participate in this process I know that you have friends and you encourage your friends to also participate in the process
on the next go around and the next go around because it's important that we engage our young people in the political
process the process of how things work in government sometimes when I look at our social media I look at I listen to our
converse the conversations that we hear on the radio etc many of us are very misinformed about how things really work
in government it's important it's It's heartwarming, actually, that young people like yourselves are interested in
understanding the civics of the U.S. Virgin Islands, so it also helps. I also want you to encourage not only those that are
your peers, but also some of the adults in the room, the adults in the U.S. Virgin Islands, about what the true civics is
around the things that happen here in the institution. oftentimes I see way too much misinformation. So I want to thank
you guys. I want to thank you all for stepping up to the plate. I want to thank you for showing strength, grit, and do it
with grace. Do it with grace. There are times when you're not always
0:10:50
going to agree. And that's good. And when you have a perspective, lean into your perspective, do the necessary research,
and be prepared to come with your argument. What's important is we don't always have to agree, but what's important is
if you are able to get those that are working with you to see what you're saying and come on your side so you could move
the significant, what is it, the project, in our case, the legislation, that's what matters. So come with your own mind, take
time and do your homework. Don't only show up, because a lot of us show up. Showing up is only part of the process, So
part of the work, engaging and participating and folks actually knowing that you were there when you leave the Youth
Advisory Council is important that we know your name. We know that you participated in the Youth Advisory Council.
So I wanna congratulate you all. On behalf of my colleagues that are not here, I wanna congratulate all of you for
participating and taking this very seriously.
0:13:21
And I look forward, like I said earlier, to the end product. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Senate President
Donna Fred Gregory. Now we will begin the official pinning of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council members. So we
invite to the receiving line the chair of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, Senator Carrion, co-chair, Senator
Genevieve Whitaker, and president of the 34th legislature, Donna Fred Gregory. Gregory all right and so we invite the
youth chairperson mr. Anthony Anthony Martin Burrell Jr. to be pinned.
0:14:28
Thank you. Vice Chairperson Akima Richardson. Thank you. secretary julissa gift Thank you.
0:16:01
Treasurer Unique Mason We would like to recognize the public relations officer, Makia Butcher, who could not be here
today. Assistant Public Relations Officer Keon Harrigan-Thomas.
0:18:31
. . . Assistant Liaison DeMario Obias.
0:19:58
Thank you. Sharnaya Freeman Aiden Steffen. I apologize. Aiden Stevens.
0:21:27
Thank you. LaTanya McDowell Christopher Cawley And we would like to also recognize recognize Maya Toud, who
could not be here today with us. We'd like to give all members of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council a round of
applause.
0:22:57
And as we break now for sure, before we break for two minutes so that we can have our Legislative Youth Advisory
Council members officially take their seats. We'll take a group photo. Thank you. Thank you.
0:25:15
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Thank you. please join us after the short break as the council members will take their seats and introduce themselves
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:26:54
Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 10 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the
recogniser as speech]
0:31:54
Thank you. Thank you.
0:36:54
Thank you. Thank you.
0:37:54
Thank you. Thank you.
0:38:54
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:39:54
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:41:24
Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 8 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the
recogniser as speech]
0:42:54
Thank you. All right, so let's go. Here we go. [3 such phrases repeated 13 times · standby audio before the proceeding,
transcribed by the recogniser as speech]
0:46:54
Thank you. [1 such phrases repeated 10 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as
speech]
0:53:24
Thank you. Thank you.
0:58:24
Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you.
0:59:24
Thank you. Oh, yeah, man. We'll be right back. [3 such phrases repeated 8 times · standby audio before the proceeding,
transcribed by the recogniser as speech]
1:00:54
Thank you. Thank you.
1:04:54
Thank you. [1 such phrases repeated 13 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as
speech]
1:05:54
Thank you. [1 such phrases repeated 21 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as
speech]
1:12:24
Thank you for bringing us all today to celebrate this momentous occasion. As we are all gathered here today, we ask that
this meeting be filled with productivity and positivity.
1:22:54
We ask that you keep us all safe, and we thank you for safe travels from those traveling from the St. Croix District. We
thank you once again for having all the center advisors present and for sending your angels enhance us with the
knowledge necessary to carry out our duties today. Thank you, dear Lord, once again for having us all in this
environment during this pandemic. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
1:23:29
Amen. Amen. Thank you.
1:24:16
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1:25:17
Thank you. Good morning, welcome to the Legislative Youth Advisory Council of the 34th Legislature of the Virgin
Islands of the United States organization meeting. The meeting is hereby called to order. I would also like to recognize
the presence of Senator Blighton. Thank you for attending.
1:27:47
Madam Secretary, roll call, please. Makiya Butcher. Makiya Butcher, absent. Christopher Cowley. Christopher Cowley,
present. Shania Freeman. Shania Freeman, present. Jalissa Giff, present. Jalissa Giff, present. Keon Harrigan Thomas.
Keon Harrigan Thomas, present. Anthony Martin Burrow, Jr.
1:28:49
Present. Anthony Martin Burrow, Jr., present. Yannick Mason. Present. Yannick Mason, present. LaTanya McDowell.
Present. LaTanya McDowell, present. DeMario Obias. DeMario Obias, present. Carmindie Pickering? Present.
Carmindie Pickering, present. Akema Richardson? Present. Akema Richardson, present. Aiden Stephens? Aiden
Stephens, present.
1:29:26
Maya Talud? Maya Talud, absent. Mr. Chair, we have a total of 11 present and two absent. absent. Before I ask if there's
any correspondence I would like to also recognize the presence of Vice President Novel E. Francis Jr. thank you and St.
Croix thank you for participating. Madam Secretary is there any correspondence to be read into the record? Yes from
Maya Talud on June 5th good evening I like to remind that I unfortunately cannot make the pinning ceremony I am still
in school and I am off island for a school trip can you please confirm the receipt of this message I apologize once again
1:30:00
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and kind regards Maya to lead you is that all to be read into the record yes right please mark mr. load as excused read the
attendance again from please attendance is now a total of 11 present or one absent and one excused thank you madam
clerk can you please read the agenda into the record the 34th legislature of the virgin islands of the united states meets
today june 6th 2022 in the earl b ottley legislative chambers for the organization of the second legislative youth advisory
council in accordance with act number 7303 members are you chairperson anthony modern borrower junior vice
chairperson amika richardson secretary julissa gift treasurer unique mason public relations officer mika butcher assistant
public relations officer quinn harrigan thomas liaison carmandy pickerin assistant liaison the mario bias other members
Sharnia Freeman, Aidan Stevens, Latanya McDowell, Christopher Crowley, Mia Touloud. Organization of the
Legislative Youth Advisory Council. The Committee on Education, Voting Rights, and Culture. Chair, Sharnia Freeman,
Vice-Chair Anthony Bottom-Borren, Jr. Members, Latanya McDowell, Kian Harrigan Thomas, Jolissa Gift, Christopher
Crawley, Carmendy Pickering. The Committee on Behavioral Health and Wellbeing. Chair, Carmendy Pickering, Vice
Chair, Makia Butcher. Members, Kian Harrigan-Thomas, Latanya McDowell, Akima Richardson, DiMario Obias,
Janique Mason. The Committee on Economical, Environmental, and Industrial Development. Chair, Christopher
Crawley, Vice Chair DiMario Obias. Members, Makia Butcher, Shania Freeman, Maya Talud, Anthony Mortenbar, Jr.,
Aidan Stephens. The Committee on Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications. Chair, Maya Talud. Vice Chair,
Carmendy Pickering. Members, Janique Mason, Akima Richardson, Christopher Crawley, Latanya McDowell, Aidan
Stephens. The Committee on Rules and Judiciary. Chair, DiMario Obias, Vice Chair, Kian Harrigan-Thomas. Members,
Julissa Gift, Janique Mason, Makaya Butcher, Maya Talud, Akima Richardson. Mr. Chair, this is the reading of the
agenda.
1:32:04
Thank you, Madam Clerk, for reading the agenda, and we do have a quorum and can proceed. Today's agenda is the
organization of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council of the 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Do I hear a motion?
Yes. Member Richardson, you may proceed with your motion. I move to adopt the organization of the Second Legislative
Youth Advisory Council. I so move.
1:33:45
Do I hear a second? Second. All right, seconded by Member Give, Christopher Freeman, roll call on the motion. Madam
Clerk. Anthony Martin Burrow Jr. Yea. Anthony Martin Burrow Jr. Yea. Amika Richardson Yea. Amika Richardson
Yea. Jalissa Gift Yea. Jalissa Gift Yea. Yannick Mason Yea. Yannick Mason, yay. Mika Butcher. Mika Butcher, absent.
Quinn Harrigan Thomas. Quinn Harrigan Thomas, yay. Carmen De Pickering. Carmen De Pickering, yay. DeMario
Obias.
1:34:19
DeMario Obias, yay. Sharnaya Freeman. Sharnaya Freeman, yay. Aidan Stevens. Aiden Stevens yay Latanya McDowell
Latanya McDowell yay Christopher Crowley Christopher Crowley yay Mia Touloud Mia Touloud absent Mr. Chairman
you have 11 yays and two absent thank you madam clerk the organization of the legislative youth advisory council and
the the committees is hereby as an official. Congratulations to my fellow members on becoming chairs and vice chairs of
the committees. I will now allow some of the members to give a response, but before we do that, we can give a quick
round of applause on this occasion.
1:35:15
All right, we will now proceed with introductions. And we're gonna start off with Mr. Kian Harrigan-Thomas. You may
proceed, you have two minutes. Good morning to all senators, fellow council members. My name is Kian
Harrigan-Thomas. I am Assistant Public Relations Officer as the Vice Chair of the Committee of Judiciary and Rules.
And I'm just basically excited to be here and to work with my fellow council members. Thank you.
1:36:18
Thank you, Mr. Kean Harrigan-Thomas for your remarks. We will now proceed with Mr. Demario Obias. You have two
minutes. Good afternoon, my name is Demario Obias. I am assistant liaison and I am also chair of the Committee on
Rules and Judiciary. As the chair of the Rules and Judiciary Committee, it is my duty to ensure that the bills that are
being proposed are vetted properly and they do not violate any laws and that they are relevant and not only to the youths,
but to the community at all.
1:36:56
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Rubius. We will now proceed with Ms. Freeman. You have two minutes. To all senators, all
members of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, and to the people of the Virgin Islands. I am the chair of the
Committee on Education, Voting Rights, and Culture. I am Shania Freeman, a 16-year-old upcoming senior attending the
Charlotte and Longue High School.
1:37:39
Ever since the age of 12, I have been interested in my community and different activities for individuals around my age.
From since then, I have involved myself in different activities, such as being a student of the Virgin Islands Institute of
Performing Art, the captain of the exquisite dance team of Charlotte Amali High School, active member of the Amalian
Chapter National Honor Society, and being a class officer for the past two years. Those are just some of the things I
partake in. I also plan to take part in other things as my senior year approaches.
1:38:10
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Being a member of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, I hope it gave me the opportunity- One minute. To make
great decisions for the youth of the Virgin Islands so they may have opportunities to dream big and be what they aspire to
become. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Freeman, for your remarks. We will now proceed with Mr. Stevens. You have two
minutes. To the Senate President and Vice President, Senator Fred Gregory and Senator Francis Jr. respectively, to the
Chair of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, Senator Carrion, and Co-Chair Senator Genevieve Whitaker, Senator
Saru, and Senator Payne Sr. To my fellow members of the council from both districts and to the viewing public, good
morning. I am Aiden Stevens, our junior at the St. Cory Educational Complex. It is my honor to be here today as one of
the members of the Youth Advisory Council. I look forward to working closely with my peers on a committee of
economical, environmental, and industrial development, as well as the community of housing, transportation, and
telecommunications. I'd like to extend a special thank you to Senator Whitaker for her encouragement to apply to this
council, and to Ms. Picard for her patience and support. Both are greatly appreciated. Finally, I would like to say thank
you to my parents, Diana and Nick for the continuous guidance and unconditional love. Thank you all.
1:38:45
Thank you for your remarks. We will now proceed with Mr. Kali for your remarks. You have two minutes. First and
foremost, I'd like to say good morning to everybody and I would like to thank the senators, my fellow council members,
and the general territory at large for selecting me with this heavy privilege and I will take it with much honor. So first and
foremost, my name is Christopher Colley. I am 17 years old, I reside in the island of St. Croix. I am an active senior in
the class of 2022, the graduating class of 2022, and I reside on the big island of St. Croix. Some background on myself, I
am actively a member of the STEM club in my school, the student council, I am a youth counselor in training, as well as
the Junior Statesman of America chapter within my school. As well, I pride myself being a part of this council.
1:40:14
I'm a part of two committees on this council, being the Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications, as well as
Education, Voting Rights, and Culture. I also chair one committee, being the Committee of Economical, Environmental,
and Industrial Development. Some goals I have in place for that committee is education and growth within the workforce
training for the youth, education and growth and development involved in the environment, recycling and protection of
our beautiful territories, wildlife and nature, broadening the range of opportunities financially and industrially related to
the youth of this territory which have been absent in many senses, and as well ending this need for people to leave this
territory because they find that you cannot live a successful life here in this territory. We need to end that and keep the
youths that we have here in this territory because it is beautiful and they have much knowledge to bring and much to do.
In closing, I'd like to thank you for having me here in St. Thomas. It's a beautiful island and it's a great experience here on
this council. Thank you for selecting me.
1:41:09
Thank you. Thank you for your remarks, Mr. Colley. We will now proceed with Ms. McDowell. You have two minutes.
Hi, good morning to all. um senators chairs vice chairs and council members my name is latania mcdowell i am a 17 year
old and i'm also a member of the legislative advisory council i'm a proud graduate of the charlotte amalia high school
graduate with honors i'm also a part of the amalian chapter national Honor Society and also a part, a past member of the
Mighty Marchant Hawks. On the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, I am a part of the Committees on Education,
Voted Rights and Culture, the Committee on Behavioral Health and Wellbeing, and the Committee on Housing,
Transportation and Telecommunications. I am grateful to be a part of this council and and these committees. What it
means to be a part of the council, being a part of this council helps to get the voices of the youth in the Virgin Islands not
to be shadowed, but to be heard about your concerns in the community. Thank you.
1:42:16
Thank you, Ms. McDowell, for your remarks. We'll now proceed with Ms. Pickering. You have two minutes. Good
afternoon to all senators present, to the council members, and to the viewing audience. My name is Carmen De Pickering
and I am the liaison for the Legislative Youth Advisory Council. I am also the chair of the Committee on Behavioral
Health and Wellbeing, which is a topic that I am very passionate about. And I am also the vice chair for the Committee
on housing transportation and telecommunications. Being a part of this council is a great honor. I am proud to be among
such exceptional individuals and I'm excited to work with each and every one of them as well as our senator advisors.
There have been a lot of challenges that our youth has endured these past couple years. So it's a privilege to be a voice for
my peers and a privilege to be a part of the change. With that being said, I want to express my gratitude for being given
the opportunity be a part of this council and i look forward to working diligently alongside the rest of the members thank
you thank you miss bickering for your remarks we will now proceed with miss mason you have two minutes good day
senators fellow council members and the listening public my name is yannick mason i am a 17 year old 2022 high honors
graduate from the charlotte amalia high school i serve as treasurer of the legislative youth advisory council and i am a
member of the committee on behavioral health and well-being the committee on rules and judiciary as well as the
committee on housing transportation and telecommunications i look forward to serving on this team and i just want to say
thank you all for allowing me this opportunity
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thank you miss mason for your remarks we will now proceed with our madam secretary you have two minutes good day
with protocol already being established my name is jelissa gif and i am the secretary of the legislative youth advisory
council i am a 2022 graduate of the saint court central high school i graduated as the public relations officer for the class
I'm SGA president. I'm also a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Youth Auxiliary Group, as well as the Central High School's
Above and Beyond Student of the Year.
1:45:37
This fall, I'll be attending the University of the Virgin Islands to obtain a degree in criminal justice. I joined this advisory
council because I understand the importance of having a voice in decisions that affect me and will be a part of the change
that I want to see in VI. My platform touched on assisting the less fortunate in our society today. I chose this topic
because my mother always taught me to have compassion for others. Whether it be volunteering at events happening in
the community or donating to non-profit organizations or feeding the homelessness, I've always been there.
Homelessness is prevalent and it's not a recent development. It's a growing issue that could affect any of us at any given
time.
1:46:18
So thank you to all who had a part in selecting me for this prestigious council, and I wish to be a big part in it. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Secretary, for your remarks. We will now proceed with my wonderful vice chair. You have two
minutes. all right pleasant good morning listening audience and my my fellow council members thank you for having all
of us here this morning it's a pleasure to be here um i just want to say that my name is akima richardson once again a uvi
student well uvi grad 2022 and one of the things i believe in is social change and social justice so that is what kind of
motivated me to run on the Legislative Youth Advisory Council. So those are some of the changes I would like to see in
the Virgin Islands. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Chair, for your remarks. And then there's me. My name is Anthony
Martin Burrow, Jr. I am honored, first off, to be selected to serve in the Legislative Youth Advisory Council and also to
be chosen by my fellow colleagues to serve as a youth chairperson. So I want to say thank you to all of you for giving me
this opportunity, and I really look forward to serving on the council. I serve in two committees. I am the vice chair of the
Committee on Education, Voting Rights, and Culture, and I'm also on the Committee of Economical, Environmental, and
Industrial Development. I'm very passionate about us restoring the environment and making sure that the youth of today
and the children of tomorrow have some way that they can live and raise their children and their families. I'm also
passionate about education and getting us more moving into 21st century learning and to ensure that our education
counterparts are fulfilling the curriculum and really honoring the students that they serve.
1:47:04
I also look forward to working with my fellow officers in getting some legislation passed and to really make sure that the
public understands that the youth are here. We just want the opportunity to serve and give back. And this is a true
testament to the legislature actually trying their hardest to work with the youth to get our voices to be heard and to
actually work on things that better the youth and the territory as a whole. So I really am appreciative of the honor and I
look forward to serving on the council. 30 seconds.
1:49:08
Right, that being said, before we adjourn, we would like to present the legislative youth advisory council legislative pens
to our advisors. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1:49:45
Can fellow members please give our advisers a round of applause, they're doing a tremendous job and giving them their
pins to signify them being a part of the council is rewarding. So now that we have given them their pins and we have no
more further business, the Legislative of Youth Advisory Council of the 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands is hereby
adjourned.
1:51:43
Thank you.
1:52:39
People named in this transcript
SUSPECTED, and a finding aid only. Names were matched by machine against the spellings used across all 426 of our transcripts, and the
title is the one used in the room. Being named here is NOT evidence that a person attended or spoke · only that the name was said. Speech
recognition mishears names, so a spelling may be wrong even where no alternative is offered.
6x
Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker
heard in this transcript as: Genevieve Whitaker, Whitaker
6x
Senator Samuel Carrion
heard in this transcript as: Carrion
2x
Senator Fred Gregory
the surname alone also matches: Donna A. Frett-Gregory; Donna Frett-Gregory
Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified.
VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0)
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Legislature USVI · 06-06-22 YLAC Pinning Ceremony
2x
Senator Janelle K. Saro
heard in this transcript as: Saru
2x
Senator Marvin A. Blighton
heard in this transcript as: Blighton
2x
Senator Novelle Francis
heard in this transcript as: Francis Jr
2x
Senator Steven D. Payne Sr.
heard in this transcript as: Payne Sr, Steven D. Payne Sr
Bills and acts referred to
Matched by number against our own acts corpus. The number is what the recognition heard, so it may be wrong; where it resolved, the title is the one
the Legislature gave the act.
Act 7303
Act 7303 · An Act enacting the ·Legislative Youth Advisory Council· ---0
Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified.
VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0)
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