{"id":398338,"date":"2023-08-10T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=398338"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"MTEC-pays-off-Beach-cleanups-to-balance-sheets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/MTEC-pays-off-Beach-cleanups-to-balance-sheets\/","title":{"rendered":"MTEC pays off: Beach cleanups to balance sheets"},"content":{"rendered":"

With registration now open for the 2023 Marianas Tourism Golf Classic on Sept. 2, 2023, at LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort west course on Saipan, the Marianas Tourism Education Council is counting on a good turnout to support its community outreach and school tourism MY WAVE (Marianas Youth Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically) Clubs.<\/p>\n

And speaking of counting, Finance manager Franco Santos recently shared his experience being a member of MY WAVE Club for two years at Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, where he participated in beach cleanups, attended tourism-related seminars, and joined cultural dance clubs. Santos said he joined the club because he was interested in learning about tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned the importance of our tourism industry, how to welcome our visitors and learn what job opportunities are out there in the hotel and tourism industry,\u201d he said. \u201cI participated in beach cleanups, attended tourism-related seminars, and joined cultural dance clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santos\u2019 first job upon high school graduation was at LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort. While working, he earned a Bachelor\u2019s of Science Degree in Business Management and Accounting Concentration from Northern Marianas College, and now serves as a Finance manager at the Marianas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations. He continues to enjoy many of the same experiences visitors look for when they visit the Marianas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to play golf, go hiking, go to the beach, and spend time with my small family exploring our beautiful islands and what it has to offer,\u201d said Santos. \u201cWhen I see tourists around, I always think of what I learned from MY WAVE Club. We need to treat our visitors with respect, welcome them with open arms, and treat them like family. Treating them like family makes the relationship more impactful and meaningful so that when they go back home, all the stories they tell their family and friends will be genuine and authentic; even the smallest gesture will go a long way. I love seeing tourists roam our streets, soaking in the hot sun at the beaches and exploring our beautiful islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santos also volunteers his time to assist with numerous golf tournaments, including the 2023 Marianas Tourism Golf Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love what the MY WAVE Club is doing and even though we\u2019ve been hit with so many adversities in the past years and our tourism industry is not where we would like it to be, we need to keep moving forward and keep our head up to make things better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to hear from former MYWAVE Club students and realize just how much their lives were impacted by joining the Club,\u201d said MTEC chair Vicky Benavente.<\/p>\n

Tournament registration forms and sponsorship details are now available on the Marianas Calendar at www.mymarianas.com.<\/p>\n

Registration is $120 until August 25, 2023. After Aug. 25, registration increases to $140. Optional play is $30. Registration\u2014including payment\u2014is being accepted at LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort (credit card or cash only) and the Marianas Visitors Authority office (cash or check only) on Beach Road, Garapan, at the Gold Beach Hotel building. Checks should be made payable to Marianas Tourism Education Council.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Marianas Tourism Golf Classic Committee chair Martin Duenas at mduenas@mymarianas.com<\/a> or committee member Jack Aranda at jaranda@mymarianas.com<\/a> or call (670) 664-3200\/1. (MTEC)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


Beach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With registration now open for the 2023 Marianas Tourism Golf Classic on Sept. 2, 2023,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-398338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}