THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

I CAN'T thank everyone enough! A MILLION THANKS to all of you who came out yesterday and will come out again today to participate in the 2009 Island-wide Cleanup in observance of this year's Environmental Awareness Month. The number of participants this year shattered the number we established almost three years ago with the 2006 Island-wide Cleanup called "1020 on 10/20" (Where we asked for at least 1,020 volunteers to participate in the Island-wide Cleanup on October 20, 2006, but got 3,380 volunteers instead!) This year, well over 4,000 volunteers (4,040 yesterday morning and counting!) from government, private, and the community set aside whatever they were going to do yesterday to collectively do one GREAT thing for our community -- BEAUTIFY IT and walk right into history while at it!

WAY TO BEAUTIFY CNMI!

Angelo Villagomez (of Beautify CNMI!, the Rotary Club, Pew Environmental Group, Friends of the Monument, and MINA)and Joe Kaipat of DEQ did an outstanding job of organizing this massively successful cleanup.

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors: The Rotary Club, DEQ, MVA, NTT Docomo, McDonald's, Ron & Nancy Kramis, PDM Promoters, Marianas Tourism Education Council, and Beautify CNMI!

Oh, and by the way, THANKS to Bank of Guam and Shirley's for donating the money to build our Beautify CNMI! trailer and THANKS to FMI for building it. Joe and the DEQ gang put the trailer to good full use during the cleanup!

And one final thought -- Can you all think of a better way to showcase our beautiful islands to our many friends and visitors who will be arriving by sea and air to attend our Flame Tree Arts Festival? Please...Let's keep our islands clean and beautiful. Let's continue to Beautify CNMI!

Cinta M. Kaipat
Beautify CNMI!

The Beautify CNMI "Beauty Virus" Is Alive And Well

Thanks to Aya-san and Willy-san of Isa CNMI for keeping the Beautify CNMI "Beauty Virus" alive and well!

Gus and I got our niece and nephews together and headed up to the Last Command Post in Marpi, Saipan, this bright Sunday morning for a cleanup with Isa CNMI and 200 visitors from Japan. They are members of the Nenpoushinkyou group in Japan. They say they have 800,000 members. WOW!

I put together this slide show of the day's events. The first 100 or so pictures were taken of the cleanup.

The last pictures are of the first blooming flame tree of the group we planted on lower Dandan Road (the road leading up to Dandan from the Welcome/Adios Sign). We planted these trees last year, and now one of them is already blooming!

The last pictures are of the road sign on Tun Kiyoshi Road.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in to help. Isa CNMI's Aya-san and Willy-san Matsumoto led the effort with Beautify CNMI and her coalition partners MVA, PDI, Tasi Tours, RC&D, PEW, and community members. In addition to Gus and I and our niece Sheena Saures and nephews Peter Saures, Franklin, Josiah and Jun Lizama, other community members who were there included Juanita Fajardo and her niece Breana and nephew Vince.

Once, again, thanks to everyone for a fine job! Arigato-gozaimasu!