 |
| National Vice-President of International Relations of the Navy League Jackson Stevens |
Basseterre, St. Kitts (May 11, 2006): St. Kitts and Nevis is exploring the possibility of joining the Navy League of the United States.
The Navy League was established in the US in 1902 by U.S. President Theodore 'Teddy Roosevelt' to influence the Congress to build a strong Navy. It has since expanded to countries around the world and provides support to vessels from allied states.
National Vice-President of International Relations of the Navy League Jackson Stevens visited St. Kitts last week and dialogued with several interested stakeholders about the formation of a St. Kitts-Nevis council. Stevens, a retired army officer and Vietnam veteran, lives in St. Martin and established a council there in 1996.
During an interview with SKNIS, he explained some of the benefits that the island have enjoyed since being officially chartered.
"Between late 1994 and 2001 we had over 170 ship visits to St. Martin including 12 aircraft carriers which really boosted our economy," he revealed adding that it (the Navy League local council) is a civic and social organization.
Were involved in community service projects and we have the advantage of using the sailors from the ships who volunteer to perform these projects. On St. Martin, over the past 12 years we've had over a thousand volunteers from various ships.
"They've performed over 7,500 hours of community service on the island working on schools, churches, one of our orphanages, sports facilities even one of our cemeteries that was pretty run down," he divulged.
Representatives from the public and private sector attended the meeting with Mr. Stevens. A minimum total of 25 persons are needed to start an island council of the league. Stevens explained that based on the level of interest, he was confident that the Federation will become a member of the Navy League very soon.
The Vietnam vet added that partnerships are important to the United States Navy citing the recent visit of the US missile cruiser Monterey to St. Kitts and Nevis. He highlighted the community projects the groups performed while here and explained that the Navy League also stresses partnerships.
 |
| Jackson Stevens looks on as Joseph Hendrickson (right) prospective member of the Navy League Dave Connor |
"Our Navy League on St. Martin does work with other civic organizations," Stevens said naming clubs such as the rotary and lions. "The US Navy is involved in & the Partnership of the Americas and they are working with people all over, and that's were doing in the Navy League (forming) partnerships all over the world."
Additional information about the Navy League of the United States is available by logging on to www.navyleague.org. Persons interested in joining the local council of the Navy League can contact Joseph Hendrickson at 466-4938 or Bill Ewing at 465-2588. The full interview with Jackson Stevens will air on ZIZ Radio on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 p.m. as the feature story on SKNIS Perspectives. A rebroadcast can be heard on Sunday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m.
