IT&E Chief Executive Officer David Gibson and Executive Director Velma Ann Palacios hold the ceremonial $5,000 check as they join Northern Marianas Sports Association President Jerry Tan, center, and other members of Team Marianas on Tuesday at the IT&E main office in Susupe.
Contributed photo
IT&E Chief Executive Officer David Gibson on Tuesday donated $5,000 to Team Marianas, which will compete in the 2025 Pacific Mini Games that Palau is hosting from June 29 to July 9, 2025.
Gibson, along with Velma Ann Palacios, executive director and Robert Harrell, senior director for customer experience and service delivery presented a ceremonial check to Northern Marianas Sports Association President Jerry Tan at IT&E’s main office in Susupe.
With Tan were the other NMASA board officials and some members of Team Marianas, which will bring a total of 162 CNMI athletes to Palau to participate in 10 of 14 events. The first group of CNMI athletes will leave on June 25, 2025.
Tan said IT&E has long been a major supporter of sports in the CNMI — not only of this year’s Pacific Mini Games athletes but also of sports activities throughout the Commonwealth over many years.
IT&E has also been consistently supporting local athletes who compete in off-island sports events, he added.
Without sponsors like IT&E, Tan said, “we would not be able to send our delegation, [and] we are very happy to send 162 of them. We want to give them maximum support.”
In these challenging economic times, Tan said, “we really appreciate and are very grateful for their support.”
Gibson reiterated IT&E’s commitment to support sports in the Marianas. “This is one of our favorite traditions — sending young kids to Micronesian games,” he said. “It’s something that everyone on the team here looks forward to supporting and we think it’s great for the community. I think it’s great for the athletes, it’s great for the Marianas. So we are very proud to be part of it.”
