Chairman of the Anguilla Summer Festival Committee, Fitzroy “Briggy” Tomlinson, has announced the winner of the US$10,000 prize related to the Festival Passport Promotion. It was won by eighteen-year-old Jade Laurent, a trainee-employee at Republic Bank.
“I feel very happy and fortunate,” Jade said. “It did not register to me that I could ever win. I did not take it seriously at all, until a couple of people called me and asked me if it was true that I was the winner. I was shocked and asked, ‘what money?’ Then, I saw a missed call from the Festivals Commission. I quickly called back and I was informed that indeed I had won the US$10,000 promotion prize.”
“In the beginning, I had really played light of the idea of winning,” Jade said. “I had attended four shows, but I scanned my passport only twice. So I was quite surprised when I was officially told that I was the winner. I think it is a very creative way of raising funds for the festival, while enabling someone to benefit.”
When asked how she intends to spent her winnings, Ms. Laurent answered: “Well, I will just put it away and let it grow until I really need to use it.”
Mr. Tomlinson said that he had envisioned the idea of raising funds through the Summer Festival Passport when he attended the Mango Festival in Nevis. There, the passport was utilized as a tour pass for patrons during the Mango Festival.
He said that after last year’s Summer Festival, an evaluation was made to come up with efficient methods of increasing the Festival’s revenue base. “The passport inspiration came to my mind,” he said, “and I studied it to come up with a concept whereby I could monetize the passport. This year is our first trial and it has definitely paid off.”
By: James R. Harrigan
