William Marlin sponsors
tickets for Hollywood trip
PHILIPSBURG--Dow Musical Foundation was encountering financial issues in preparation for the much anticipated Hollywood trip. One problem was paying for the tickets. On Monday, February 5, the deadline for purchasing the tickets, National Alliance leader William Marlin came to the rescue.
Marlin covered the cost of 23 American Airline tickets, which he presented to the participants during a press conference at Dow Musical Foundation’s headquarters.
Marlin explained that the topic of funding the trip had been discussed in Island Council meetings and he found it a pity that government had not considered funding this event, but found it appropriate to sponsor other activities. Therefore, Marlin said, he contacted a good friend of his who helped him with financial support to contribute for the trip.
Dow Musical Foundation director Isidore “Mighty Dow” York said that in his opinion it should not be so hard to receive funding for what he considers a worthwhile trip for St. Maarten’s exposure. He said the constant rejection from politicians, government, businesses and the private sector was discouraging to him as a person who always encouraged people to work hard.
Nonetheless, he said, he had always told the participants not to give up, and he was very grateful for the contributions offered by Marlin.
He said he hoped Marlin’s gesture would serve as an inspiration for others to offer some assistance. He said he had already sacrificed a lot of money from his own pockets and was therefore pleading with the general public to assist in any way they could. The cost of the tickets has been covered, but there are still expenses in Hollywood that will need to be covered, such as hotel, transportation and food.
He said he believed the issue of prioritising what community activities should and should not receive funding from government needed to be considered. He gave examples of evaluating through surveys or examining what the organisations actually do and the visibility of the projects they carried out.
Marlin congratulated the participants and reminded them that on this trip they would be ambassadors for St. Maarten, so they should represent the island in the best way possible and make St. Maarten proud.
The participants are calling on the general public to assist them with sponsorship, asking the public to consider the positive effects for St. Maarten of this venture, which they consider an educational and once-in-a-lifetime trip. They assured that they would represent St. Maarten in the best way and that St. Maarteners should look forward to seeing them make it big.
The group is set to travel from February 27 to March 5 to participate in a week-long schedule of entertainment-related workshops organised by the entertainment company Kemet Productions.
St Maarten vacation rental
