PHILPSBURG:--- Long standing resident and businessman on St. Maarten Emil Lee was presented with a St. Maarten Grassroot Identification card on Thursday afternoon at the Sonesta Great Bay Beach Hotel where a small ceremony was held. The card was presented by the President of the St Maarten Grassroot Foundation Leopold James.
At the ceremony Lee gave a short speech which is in its entirety below:-
Emil Lee and Leopold James- Agents of Change
Dear Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for attending this ceremony.
For many reasons, this is a moment that I wanted to share with family, friends and colleagues.
Without a doubt, being recognized and appreciated as a valued member of the community by a group like the St Martin Grass Roots People's movement is wonderful. Many thanks to Leopold, Jessie and the rest of the movement.
But in my opinion, this isn't the real story here tonight. There is a much more interesting story to tell.
Up to about 3 or 4 years ago, Leopold James and Emil Lee would have been perceived as polar opposites and perhaps even as adversaries or enemies. But then in 2012, I gave a speech as SHTA President about the inevitability of change, the need for innovation and the paralysis that accompanies fear.
And in this speech, without providing any commentary on their messages, I commended several people for having the courage to be constant and vocal advocates for change, including Leopold James.
Well, this initiated a series of chain reactions, and with Karen Hana's assistance, a couple of meetings between SHTA and the St Martin Grass Roots People's movements were organized. These meetings generated mutual understanding, which in turn blossomed into mutual respect and even friendship.
We learned a few valuable lessons:
Complete agreement is unrealistic and boring.
We will not agree on everything. I mentioned that I love my wife, we have a beautiful son together, our futures are inextricably linked together, and we still don't agree on everything. So agreeing on everything is unrealistic, boring and shouldn't be a barrier to cooperation. So on some points, we simply agreed to disagree.
Our paths are very aligned especially chronologically.
When we sat and really examined our paths to success and concerns such as caring for the interests of all residents of St Maarten, protecting the island's environment, culture and heritage, good governance, integrity and transparency, there was so much that we agree on. And even more interestingly, the areas where we may have some philosophical differences, come chronologically far after the points where we have consensus.
There is Value in Cooperation
The more we spoke, the more we found that we both shared a passion for the island and we both believed the path to making St Maarten a happier and more prosperous island rests in honest dialogue, partnership, good governance and practical solutions.
So the real story here tonight is,
Imagine if Leopold James and Emil Lee can find common ground and work together for the best interest of St Maarten, we all can.
Change is inevitable. We need to have an open mind and the courage to learn and adapt. As long as your interests are truly for a better St Maarten, then we should all be able to find common ground and work together.
I am proud to accept this offer of a St Martin ID Card and gladly accept my role as an agent of change.