HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Gov. Joseph Flores Memorial Park was filled with government of Guam employees and their families to celebrate Labor Day with a fiesta and activities.
Those in attendance were happy to see government agencies come together to relax and honor the hardworking men and women of GovGuam.
“I think it’s a great event. It’s good for morale. It’s good for camaraderie for everyone. Everyone kind of does their day-to-day for their agency services, so to have everybody in one centralized place and just to all around have a good time, I think it’s good for the work environment,” said Emily Tenorio, a family member of a government worker. “It gives people a sense of something else that they are working toward outside of their four walls or outside of the 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. So it’s a nice way for them to bring their families out, socialize with their co-workers and also network with other agencies.”
The Labor Day event was filled with food, festivities and entertainment, giving GovGuam workers an opportunity to be proud of their accomplishments.
“I just feel that with everything that happened this past year, whether it be with politics or Typhoon Mawar and the like, it’s nice to just kind of have a day to put everything to the side and just come together, reconnect and just more or less celebrate each agency’s accomplishments and contributions to the island,” said Antonio Diaz, who works for Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center. “It’s nice to be able to recognize that and it’s nice for our government to be able to come together to have all the agencies interact.”
Diaz said the event also allowed GovGuam workers to take care of their mental health.
“It’s very beneficial for mental health because it just gives the opportunity to do the self-care that we are advocating for the community. So we are always constantly, as service providers, telling everybody else to take care of themselves and keep their mental health in mind and it’s actually a day where the government recognizes that as well for service providers and government workers … to take care of ourselves,” Diaz said.
For many GovGuam workers, it was a well-deserved day of fun and fellowship.
“I think we are so grateful because it’s been a challenge for so many years since with the COVID-19 and then the typhoon; … it’s a lot of work. … I am really thankful and grateful that we are being recognized,” said Manny Minas, who has been a Guam Power Authority employee for 12 years.
Minas was happy to be able to take a break and celebrate for the day.
“We are … close to 100% restoration but now we are working with (Federal Emergency Management Agency) on all of those permanent repair projects, so it’s busy and we have this ginormous workload to finish because there’s deadlines. But no regret; we are here to work and support the whole island,” Minas said.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, far right, and Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio join members of Guma’ Kinalamten I Taotao Tano’ performing at the start of the Labor Day 2023 Fiestan GovGuam Picnic Sunday at Gov. Joseph Flores Memorial Park in Tumon.
