Friends of Argyle donate to airport project

Fri, Jul 20. 2012

The Argyle International Airport Project got a recent cash injection when the Friends of the Argyle International Airport made its first donation of US$10,000 to the project.{{more}}

The cheque was handed over, in a ceremony held at Government House, to Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne by Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Organization Garnes Byron.

Speaking at that event, Chief Executive Officer of the International Airport Development Company (IADC) Dr Rudy Matthias pointed out that the organization was started by a group of patriotic Vincentians who felt they had to make a contribution to the development of their homeland.

Matthias said that there are some small but important projects which constitute the cultural component of the Vincentian tourism product and he encouraged the FAIA to adopt one of these projects.

The projects include the construction of a heritage park and a Carib village.

He pointed out that the IADC has been working closely with the St Vincent National Trust in this regard.

He said through the efforts of both entities, several archaeological teams from Holland and Canada have done excavations within the airport site, which have unearthed a number of significant artifacts that are important to documenting the history of Argyle and the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines as a whole.

Byron said the establishment of the organization came about as a result of several United States based Vincentians, who are passionate about their home-country, deciding to combine their energies to make a contribution to the airport project, as opposed to leaving it to outside contributions.

Sir Frederick, who accepted the cheque on behalf of the IADC, expressed appreciation to the FAIA for their contribution, especially considering the economic environment in which it has been made.

The FAIA has several fund-raising events planned for later this year and promises to make further contributions to the project in the future.(API)