The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), through its Dollar A Day program, has come to the assistance of Teen Times in its efforts to take talented young St. Maarteners on an educational performing arts trip to New York.
Teen Times will take the winners of its annual event, Talent Showdown, to New York to not only take part in performing arts activities, but to do their small part in promoting St. Maarten. The group of youngsters will take to Time Square to distribute St. Maarten promotional items as well as push the friendly island on Black Entertainment Television (BET).
"Teen Times has been in existence for 16 years, and strives to showcase the talent of the youth on St. Maarten. With this being said, SHTA is proud to say that they have agreed in assisting Teen Times by donating US $2000 towards their trip to New York City, which will be a prize for the winners of its upcoming talent show," Executive Director of the SHTA Valya Pantophlet said.
"The trip SHTA is helping to sponsor is an educational tool for the talented, where the young individuals will take several classes in different performing arts fields, workshops, and get the chance to visit historical institutions. This trip to New York is also used to represent St. Maarten, and the youngsters have a chance to market the island with flyer distributions to encourage Americans to visit," she said.
Coordinator of Teen Times Mike Granger expressed gratitude to the SHTA for recognizing the important role positive St. Maarten youth play at home and abroad. "These teens are filled with energy and pride when talking about their island to potential visitors. They love their island. We are very happy that the SHTA has come onboard with us in this venture. In these times of economic difficulty, the SHTA's assistance will go a long way in making the trip a reality," Granger said.
Teen Times has taken groups of 20 or more youngsters from St. Maarten to New York on five previous occasions.
