COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERAN 
AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 
 
 
BILL NO. 
35-0075 
 
Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands 
 
 
 
May 3, 2023 
 
 
 
An Act to designate the third Monday in February as Virgin Islands Governors Day 
 
 
 
PROPOSED BY: 
 
 
Senators Angel L. Bolques, Jr.  and Marvin A. Blyden 
 
WHEREAS, on April 20, 1917, Rear Admiral James Harrison Oliver became the first 
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appointed military Governor of the Virgin Islands after the Territory was purchased by the 
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United States on March 31, 1917.  From 1917 until November of 1970, Governors of the Virgin 
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Islands were appointed by the sitting president of the United States; and 
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WHEREAS, RALPH MOSES PAIEWONSKY was born on November 9, 1907 on Saint 
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Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He was a businessman and politician who served on the 
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Municipal Council of St. Thomas and St. John from 1936-46, was a delegate to the Democratic 
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National Conventions between 1940 and 1960, and served as the National Democratic 
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Committeeman from the Virgin Islands. RALPH MOSES PAIEWONSKY served from 1961 
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until 1969 as the last civilian appointed governor of the Virgin Islands, appointed by President 
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John F. Kennedy. 
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2 
 
WHEREAS, on August 23, 1968, the Virgin Islands Elective Governor Act was passed 
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in the 90th United States Congress which provides for the Governor of the Virgin Islands to be 
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popularly elected, rather than appointed as they had been up to that point; and 
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WHEREAS, MELVIN HERBERT EVANS, was born on August 7, 1917, in 
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Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, soon after the island had been purchased from 
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Denmark by the United States.  He graduated from high school on St. Thomas, and received a 
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B.S. from Howard University in 1940, and an M.D. from the Howard College of Medicine in 
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1944.  Melvin Evans served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Medical Administrative Corps 
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from 1942 to 1945, and as the Virgin Islands Health Commissioner from 1959 to 1967.  
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President Richard Nixon appointed Evans Governor of the Islands in July of 1969, and he was 
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elected in November of 1970, becoming the first elected Governor of the Virgin Islands along 
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with DAVID E. MAAS who became the first elected Lieutenant Governor.  Lt. Governor Maas 
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resigned his post in 1973 and was replaced by ATHNIEL C. “ADDIE” OTTLEY; and 
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WHEREAS, CYRIL EMMANUEL KING was born on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, on 
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April 7, 1921. He served with the U.S. Army during World War II, received a Bachelor’s 
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Degree in Public Administration from American University, and in 1949 he was appointed as 
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an aide to Senator Hubert Humphrey, becoming the first Black person to serve in the office of 
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a U.S. Senator. King served as Acting Governor of the Virgin Islands for six months in 1969 
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and was elected to the Virgin Islands Senate in 1972.  In 1974, Cyril King persuaded JUAN 
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FRANCISCO LUIS to join his ticket and run for lieutenant governor.  In the 1960s King 
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founded the Independent Citizens Movement (ICM), so he and Juan Luis ran for office as the 
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nominees of the ICM. King and Luis became the second elected Governor and Lieutenant 
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governor in a gubernatorial runoff election held in November 1974; and 
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WHEREAS, JUAN FRANCISCO LUIS was born in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on July 10, 
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1940, and his family moved to St. Croix, Virgin Islands when he was two months old.  Juan 
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3 
 
Luis grew up on St. Croix, graduated from the Christiansted High School as the Valedictorian 
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of the Class of 1958, and earned his pre-medicine equivalency from the University of Puerto 
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Rico.  He became a sixth-grade teacher at the Christiansted Public Grammar School, and 
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worked briefly as a Project Office Manager for the Department of Housing and Urban 
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Development before he served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army.  Juan Luis worked as a Personnel 
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Administrative Officer in the Virgin Islands Department of Health, and in 1972 was elected to 
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the Virgin Islands Senate. In 1974, he was elected as Lieutenant Governor under Cyril King, 
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and was sworn in as Governor on January 2, 1978, following the death of Cyril King. In 
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February of 1978, Juan Luis appointed HENRY A. MILLIN as his Lieutenant Governor, and 
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in November of 1978, they were both elected to a full four-year term becoming the third elected 
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Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands.  Governor Juan Luis was elected to 
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a second term in 1982 and served with JULIO ANTHONY BRADY as his Lieutenant 
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Governor from 1983 to 1987; and 
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WHEREAS, ALEXANDER A. FARRELLY was born on St. Croix, Virgin Islands on 
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December 29, 1923, and served with distinction in the U.S. Army earning an honorable 
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discharge in 1946.  He earned degrees in history, government, a Bachelor of Law from St. 
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John’s College in New York, and later obtained a Master of Laws degree from Yale University 
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in 1961.  In 1962, he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin 
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Islands, and in 1965 he became a judge for the V.I. Municipal Court. In 1966 he was elected 
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as a Senator-at-Large to the 7th Legislature of the Virgin Islands with the highest number of 
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votes ever cast for an elected official of the Territory at that time.  In 1986, ALEXANDER A. 
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FARRELLY and DEREK MICHAEL HODGE were elected as the Territory’s fourth elected 
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Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Upon his inauguration on January 5, 1987, ALEXANDER 
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A. FARRELLY became the first elected Democrat to serve as Governor in the history of the 
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4 
 
Virgin Islands.  ALEXANDER A. FARRELLY and DEREK HODGE served two terms from 
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1987 to 1994; and 
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WHEREAS, ROY LESTER SCHNEIDER, was born on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 
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where he attended the Dober and Lincoln Elementary Schools and graduated as the salutatorian 
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of the Charlotte Amalie High School in 1957.  He received a Bachelor’s Degree in 1961 and a 
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medical degree in 1965 from Howard University.  He was a captain in the U.S. Army from 
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1966 to 1968, serving as a medical adviser and surgeon in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.  In 
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1971, he became Chief Resident at Howard University and served as a faculty member until 
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1975, returning home in 1977 to assume the position of Commissioner of the Department of 
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Health, a position he held until 1986.  As Commissioner of Health, ROY LESTER 
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SCHNEIDER was instrumental in having three new medical facilities constructed in the 
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Territory to provide modern services for the residents, helped establish the first kidney 
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transplant unit in the Virgin Islands, and was the first doctor to perform a kidney transplant in 
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the Territory.  On November 22, 1994, ROY SCHNEIDER and KENNETH MAPP became 
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the fifth elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor in a special gubernatorial runoff election.  
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As governor, ROY SCHNEIDER, among his many accomplishments, was responsible for the 
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establishment of the Departments of Tourism and Agriculture, the creation of a hospitality 
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training institute, and the formation of an emergency action team to plan and prepare for 
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emergencies and disasters within the Territory that was instrumental in getting massive federal 
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aid into the Territory in the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn; and 
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WHEREAS, CHARLES WESLEY TURNBULL was born on February 5, 1935, on St. 
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Thomas, Virgin Islands.  After completing his elementary and secondary education he was 
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awarded a Ford Foundation five-year scholarship to Hampton University where he earned a 
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Bachelor of Science degree in 1958 with honors in history, and a Master of Arts degree in 
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Secondary Education in 1959.  He earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the 
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5 
 
University of Minnesota in 1976.  He served as the Commissioner of Education from 1979 to 
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1987 and established a Cultural Education Division to promote greater knowledge, awareness, 
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and appreciation of the history and culture of the Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean.  Over 
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the years, CHARLES W. TURNBULL established an exemplary record of community and 
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humanitarian service, including serving as an elected delegate to all five Constitutional 
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Conventions of the Virgin Islands; serving as Secretary of the Second Constitutional 
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Convention in 1972; serving as a delegate to numerous National Democratic Nominating 
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Conventions, and receiving numerous awards and citations for leadership including the first 
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Alexander A. Farrelly Public Service Award.  Charles Wesley Turnbull was sworn in as the 
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sixth elected Governor of the Virgin Islands on January 4, 1999, along with GERARD LUZ 
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AMWUR JAMES II, as his Lieutenant Governor, and re-elected overwhelmingly to serve a 
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second term in November 2002, with VARGRAVE A. RICHARDS at his Lieutenant 
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Governor; and 
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WHEREAS, JOHN PERCY DE JONGH, JR., was born on November 13, 1957, in 
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Brooklyn, New York, grew up in the de Jongh Gut area of Savan and Estate Thomas, St. 
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Thomas, Virgin Islands and attended the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School through the 
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eighth grade.  After relocating with his family to Detroit, Michigan he graduated from the 
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Detroit Catholic Central High School in 1976 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 
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Economics from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1981.  He returned to the Virgin 
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Islands after graduating from college and began his professional career working with the Tri-
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Island Economic Development Council helping to identify funding for the preservation of 
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historic buildings in the Virgin Islands.  In 1987, he served as Commissioner of Finance and in 
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addition to his primary responsibilities for the finances of the entire Government, he served as 
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the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and as 
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the first Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority.  JOHN PERCY DE 
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6 
 
JONGH, JR. and GREGORY R. FRANCIS served as the seventh elected Governor and 
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Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands from January 1, 2007 to January 5, 2015.  During 
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his tenure, JOHN PERCY DE JONGH, JR. championed early childhood education issues, 
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establishing the Children and Families Council, and pushed for economic diversification of the 
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four main islands that comprise the U.S. Virgin Islands.   He instituted a government-wide 
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Energy Demand Reduction Program to reduce the Territory’s dependency on fossil fuels and 
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advanced the use of alternative and renewable energy sources in the Territory; and  
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WHEREAS, KENNETH EZRA MAPP was born on November 2, 1955, in Brooklyn, 
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New York.  He moved to Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1961, where he was raised 
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by his maternal grandmother.  He graduated from St. Croix Central High School in 1973, and 
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began his career in the New York City Police Department soon after graduating, based in the 
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83rd Police Precinct in Brooklyn.  He later became a police officer in the Virgin Islands and 
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was elected President of the Virgin Islands Police Benevolent Association.  He was elected to 
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three terms as a senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and later served as Assistant 
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Director of the Industrial Development Commission and Director of the Consumer Services 
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Administration.  He was elected to the 15th Legislature of the Virgin Islands in 1982, and later 
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in the 18th and 20th Legislatures, and in 2002, Governor Charles Turnbull appointed him as the 
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Virgin Island's Public Finance Authority's Director of Finance and Administration, where he 
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managed several major capital projects and served on the Governor's financial and budget team.  
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In November of 2014, KENNETH EZRA MAPP became the eighth elected Governor of the 
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Virgin Islands, with OSBERT POTTER as his Lieutenant Governor, and served the Territory 
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from 2015 to 2019; and  
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WHEREAS, ALBERT BRYAN JR., was born on born February 21, 1968, on St. 
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Thomas, Virgin Islands, to Albert Sr. and Genevieve (Pilgrim) Bryan, and is the oldest of five 
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sons.  He grew up in the Savan neighborhood of Charlotte Amalie, and moved to St. Croix as 
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7 
 
a teenager, where he graduated from St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School in 1985.  Bryan 
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earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Wittenberg University in Springfield 
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Ohio, in 1989, and later received a Master of Business Administration from the University of 
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the Virgin Islands, St. Croix Campus in 2003.  In 2007, Governor John de Jongh appointed 
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Albert Bryan Jr. as Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor.  When de Jongh's 
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term ended in 2015, Bryan returned to the private sector as CEO and President of Aabra Group, 
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a consulting firm, and Master Strategies, a recruiting firm.  He also was executive director of 
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the Virgin Islands chapter of Junior Achievement.  On January 7, 2019, ALBERT BRYAN JR. 
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and TREGENZA ROACH were sworn in as the 9th elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor 
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of the Virgin Islands at the David Monsanto Bandstand, which was built by Governor Bryan’s 
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grandfather Ulric “Sappy” Pilgrim in Emancipation Gardens on St. Thomas.  During his first 
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term as governor, Governor Bryan led the Virgin Islands through economic growth and 
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infrastructure expansion and spearheaded a multi-billion-dollar recovery and rebuilding effort 
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to transform the territory’s critical infrastructure in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria.  
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From March of 2020 through the present day, Governor Bryan has boldly and effectively led 
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the Virgin Islands through the COVID-19 pandemic keeping Virgin Islanders safe while 
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protecting the territory’s tourism-driven economy from collapse.  In January of 2023, 
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GOVERNOR ALBERT BRYAN JR. and LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TREGENZA 
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ROACH were sworn in for a second term and continue to serve the people of the Virgin Islands.  
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WHEREAS, Presidents Day, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third 
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Monday of February.  It is celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United 
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States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring George Washington, the first 
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U.S. president; and 
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WHEREAS, the Virgin Islands falls under the jurisdiction of the laws of the United 
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States.  However, all residents of the Virgin Islands are deprived of the right to vote for 
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8 
 
president of the United States because the Virgin Islands is not a state and does not have 
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members of the Electoral College; and 
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WHEREAS, on a local level, Virgin Islanders have the right to select those who govern 
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the Territories, and a day should be set aside to honor and recognize the contributions of former 
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Governors and Lieutenant Governors that were elected by and served the people of the Virgin 
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Islands; Now Therefore, 
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 
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SECTION 1.  Title 1 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11, is amended by adding a new 
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section 200m to read as follows:  
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Ҥ 200m.  Virgin Islands Governors Day  
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Each year, the 3rd Monday of February, shall be observed as “Virgin Islands Governors 
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Day” in honor of all the elected Governors and Lieutenant Governors of the Virgin Islands.  
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On that day the sitting Governor shall issue a proclamation honoring all past elected Governors 
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and Lt. Governors and hold an appropriate luncheon to commemorate the day.” 
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BILL SUMMARY 
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This bill adds a new section 200m to title 1, chapter 11 of the Virgin Islands Code 
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designating the 3rd Monday of February as Virgin Islands Governors Day.  Section 1 makes 
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the designation and requires that the current Governor hold a luncheon to commemorate the 
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occasion. 
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BR23-0232/April 12, 2023/HLF/REVISED April 13, 2023 
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