The lawn of the Governor’s residence was the scene of much cheer last Wednesday night, March 14th, as fifteen pilots with their colleagues met at a reception to celebrate the Governor General’s Cup Air Rally. The Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally is organized by Aviation Connection, a charitable organization that serves as the official trustee of the Governor General’s Cup Canada.
The airmen and airwomen had arrived at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport earlier that day, after departure from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. This year marked the fourth visit of the air team to Anguilla where they returned to enjoy the friendliness of our people and the tranquility of our hospitable environment. Their visit was coordinated by the Anguilla Tourist Board under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism.
Manager of Corporate Affairs at the Anguilla Tourist Board, Mrs. Shellya Rogers-Webster, chaired the reception and cordially greeted the gathering. She then introduced HE Gov. Tim Foy who gave the team his characteristic jovial welcome. In a complimentary tone, he made it known to the flyers that it was quite significant that they had taken the “trouble” to come to Anguilla.
After giving a couple light-hearted snippets of humor, the Governor purported to the cheerful flyers: “Do go back and tell your people that Anguilla is perhaps the most amazing place in the Caribbean. It is the place that holds the most resilient people, and it is one of the most beautiful islands anywhere in the world. Tourism is our life-blood, and what makes the difference is that when people come here, like yourselves, you experience it, you enjoy the welcome, and you enjoy the hospitality of the people.”
Next to address the gathering was the Hon. Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Mr. Victor Banks. He told the flyers: “Due to the fact that you are here as people who continue to fly all around the world, I am sure that you will take back with you this great experience that you are having here in Anguilla. That would be helpful for us in promoting the industry that drives our economy.
“We want to make sure that this destination is ‘top of the mind’ for every grouping who wants to travel throughout the world. This is a preoccupation that we take very seriously in our efforts to sell Anguilla. I do thank you for the role that you are playing by coming here. Your visit is very important to us in terms of this destination, so please continue to ‘like us’, and we wish you every success.”
Mr. Curtis Richardson, the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, also made warm remarks in a cordial welcome to the flying team. After sharing some striking humour in offering the pleasure of his company to any of the pilots who might have an empty seat flying down to Trinidad, he expressed hearty thanks for their coming to Anguilla yet another time. “I do want to thank you all for coming again, and I am glad that you are experiencing the rich Anguillian hospitality, as it is one of the things for which we are so renowned.”
Speaking on behalf of the flyers themselves was Ms, Catherine Tobanus, the President of the Governor General’s Cup Air Rally, who also organized the novel air excursion. However, she first introduced Camille Dumas, a noble Dutchman, who is the Trustee of the Governor General’s Cup. He thanked Governor Foy for his warm reception, and then gave thanks to all those who have had a part to play throughout the year in developing the plans for their trip.
He said: “For some of you pilots, I know this trip here means a lot because you have heard many stories of how the hurricane impacted the island but, as you can see, the government and the people have worked hard to put the country back together. I know that they have worked hard to receive us, and I want to thank the Tourism Department and Mr. Banks for their warm hospitality.”
As for Ms. Tobanus herself, she noted that over the past year she had been working hard to organize the Air Rally. She stated that she gets to pick the destinations that are aviation-friendly, and Anguilla definitely is. “It’s all about the people,” she said. “This is what makes the difference in one destination over another. Anguilla, you are a very wonderful, warm and friendly people, and we really appreciate your welcome every time, which makes us want to keep coming back. We have been coming here since 2010 and we have been well received. We are well received in other places as well, but Anguilla is a place where we actually feel at home, for sure. So we thank you very much for your warm hospitality.”
The final speaker at the reception was President of the Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association, Mr. Delroy Lake, who said: “We heartily welcome the Governor General’s Cup Air Rally back to Anguilla for another year. What I have seen and heard so far says to me that in Anguilla we are doing someth ing right, though we are battered and bruised at this time due to the events that occurred over the past six months.
“It was in 2012 when I first met with some members of this group, and I was amazed that they fly from so far to get here. Some of them leave Switzerland and fly down to Canada and the United States then fly here. Some of us may think that we only do that kind of travel by jet plane, but some of the planes that these pilots do this trip on are so much smaller than jets.
“For them to choose Anguilla for four consecutive visits says a lot about Anguilla and its people. I would like to say again, to my colleagues, we are doing something right. Let’s just take it to the next level. Thank you guys for coming back on this your fourth trip, and we hope that there will be a fifth, sixth and seventh.”
The Anguillian had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Richard Schmidt and asked him to list the type and model of aircraft that they use for these Caribbean expeditions. He informed us that there are: 3 twin-engine Cessnas; 3 single-engine Cessnas; 2 single-engine Piper Arrows; 1 twin-engine Piper Seneca; 1 single-engine Beechcraft Sierra; 2 twin-engine Beechcraft; 1 home-built Lance Air; 1 home-built Vans; and 1 Pilatus PC-12.
From Anguilla, the team flew down to Trinidad & Tobago, then on to Bonaire, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rico, Honduras, Mexico and then back to Florida.
