By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
BART Jackson is the new chairman of the Commonwealth Ports Authority Board of Directors.
The board convened at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting classroom at Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport to elect a set of officers, among other items on the agenda.
At the start of the meeting, interim chairman Antonio B. Cabrera welcomed new board members Carline Sablan, Eusebio Manglona, Juan Salas, and Vincent Camacho.
With a 4-to-3 vote, the board elected Jackson as chairman. Cabrera retained his seat as vice chairman, while Sablan and Manglona were unanimously elected secretary and treasurer, respectively.
In an interview after his election, Jackson, who is no longer with Bridge Capital LLC, said it has been a great experience serving on the board for the past year. He added that he has learned a lot about port operations in the CNMI and looks forward to working with other board directors and CPA management to help advance the Commonwealth.
“We’ve been in a bit of an economic hole,” he said, adding that CPA helps begin the work of getting the airport back on track, increasing visitor arrivals, and ensuring that the ports operate as efficiently and profitably as possible.
“The island needs to work together. We are in a bit of an economic mess, a bit of a tourism mess, and the only way we can recover is by all of us working as one Marianas team,” Jackson said.
Although CPA is not responsible for marketing — which falls under the Marianas Visitors Authority — he said the agency is still on the frontline of promoting the CNMI as a tourist destination because tourists’ first experience is at the airport.
Jackson said CPA works with airlines and tour agencies to make processes more efficient and service-oriented. “Anything we can do to work with MVA and the Hotel Association of the NMI to bring tourists here and attract people, we want to be part of that effort,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of a well-informed board, rather than one that simply acts as a rubber stamp. “It’s important that each board director makes good decisions,” he said. “To do that, we need good information. I’ve been encouraging committee chairs and members to provide more updates on what is happening in their areas of responsibility, whether it’s seaport, airport, or finance, so that we can make better decisions.”
A longtime resident of the Marianas, Jackson is a former vice president of Bridge Capital, former general manager of PIC Saipan and a former board member of the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands. On Guam, he was a board member of the Guam Visitors Bureau and served as chairman of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
