STX Hotel And Tourism Association, Chamber Of Commerce And Diageo USVI Award $17,500 In Scholarships

ST. CROIX — On Friday, the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association, the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce and Diageo USVI awarded $17,500 in scholarship funds to four local students, a joint press release the aforementioned organizations issued has made known.

The St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association’s Richard Patrick Henry Hospitality Scholarship was formed in 2008 to assist local young adults who are embarking on careers in hospitality. Scholarship funds are a partial product of the annual Holiday Hope Benefit.

This year, Diageo USVI joined the effort and awarded a total of $10,000 to these students. Winners earned the Diageo USVI Captains of Hospitality award by answering essay questions about how best to promote responsible drinking and responsible service of beverage alcohol in the community.

The 2016 scholarship recipients are:

• Paul Arnold III – Virginia State University
• Sarah Sookraj – University of the Virgin Islands
• Llewelyn Taylor – University of the Virgin Islands
• Emmaleah Turner – University of the Virgin Islands

Three of the students received scholarships totaling $5,000 each – $2,500 awarded from the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association / Chamber of Commerce and $2,500 awarded from Diageo USVI. One winner received a Diageo USVI Captains of Hospitality award of $2,500. The winners and/or their parents were presented with their scholarships during a ceremony held at the Captain Morgan Visitor Center on St. Croix.

The 2016 Holiday Hope Benefit is scheduled for Thursday, December 1 at The Palms at Pelican Cove. The last fundraiser was held in 2014 where over 2,000 toys were donated to local youth organizations. The funds raised benefitted the Richard Patrick Henry Hospitality Scholarship Fund, The Boys & Girls Club of the Virgin Islands and CASA of the Virgin Islands.

Feature Image: From left to right: Sylvia Sookraj, Kimberly McCullom – Chamber of Commerce President, Eberson Browne, Suzanne Rosbach – St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Assn President, Llewelyn Taylor – recipient, Sonny Sookraj, Sarah Sookraj – recipient, Comman Hanna – Vice President of Operations, Diageo USVI, John Morosco and Tamara Lang – UVI.