This year’s winners will take home $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000 for the first, second and third placers, while the rest of the participants will get consolation prizes.
On Thursday, Christmas trees with attractive and colorful ornaments fashioned out of recycled materials such as tin cans, plastic cans, water bottles and others were displayed by the 16 participating elementary schools at the Paseo de Marianas.
This year’s panel of judges was composed of CNMI first lady Josie Fitial, Jerry Tan of Tan Holdings, Marian Aldan-Pierce of DFS Galleria, James Nelson of Docomo, Gordon Marciano of Pacific Development Inc., Tina Palacios of the Sorensen Media Group, Martin Duenas of the Marianas Visitors Authority, Ruel Villacrucis of RNV Construction, and Lisa Huyn Eller and Joe Kaipat of the Division of Environmental Quality.
The Saipan Awa-Odori team along with other local performers and cultural dancers entertained the crowd who were at the Paseo de Marianas to see the Christmas trees.
This year’s theme was “A Green Christmas for the Children of the Marianas.”
Sonia Siwa of PDM Promoters Inc. said they are thankful for the continuous support of the community and their sponsors in their promotion to increase awareness of the importance of recycling.
The annual contest is supported by the Office of the Governor, the First Lady’s Vision Foundation, the Women’s Affairs Office, DEQ, MVA, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, the Division of Parks and Recreation, the Koblerville Youth Learning Center and Beautify CNMI.
