COVER STORY
And we were able to keep people safe from COVID and we had tre- mendous support from the federal government that assisted as well. You know, keeping people safe, but the key to it was bold decision making. I had a team of people that advised me. But I tough decisions based on the numbers. Leaders value lives and made tough decisions to save lives. And, regardless of the politics, I did what was right for most of the people all the time."
us. So, we got some people that are really vulnerable because they haven't been made whole yet. We still only have half a hospital on St. Croix and we're trying to get our temporary hospital open five years later, but we're barreling forward trying to do our best to be prepared and be resilient for any other climate warning events because tidal waves, earthquakes and hurricanes are the real threats where we live."
So, we've been pushing that a lot for governors."
The St. Croix USVI Alumni Chapter
Emergency Management Within the USVI
Leadership in the National Governors Association
"I'm a Charter Member and Past Polemarch of the St. Croix USVI Alumni Chapter. We're just getting back on our feet. One of the things that I liked to do was with the Queen Louise Home for Children, an orphan- age here. Another big event for us has always been one of my favorite events to go to was the Special Olympics. Of course, there was tremendous hur- ricane support that was provided by the Fraternity for us here in the Virgin Islands during the hurricane. So, when other places face disasters, we'd like to make sure that we're supporting them as well. Because who feels it
At right, Silhouette Yolanda Cabodevilla Bryan and Governor Bryan have two daughters, Aliyah and Sumayah and a beloved dog, Coby Bryan. The Bryan’s have been married since 1998. Mrs. Bryan is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated – St. Croix Alumnae Chapter and is an Advisory Board Member of the Department of Health Chronic Disease Division. Opposite page: The USVI First Family— Sumayah, Aliyah join their parents at Government House in St. Croix. "Well, I think right now we're like emergency management profession- als. We could give classes in terms of management. But you know, every hurricane season for the last three years, we really held our breath and had one CAT 1 (hurricane) come through the Virgin Islands in my ten- ure, and we recovered really quickly. But the thing is, the homes that were damaged in the last two CAT 5 events, were homes that were built before 1989. Before we changed the building code, and ‘89 was Hugo, the major storm, so now we're rebuilding those homes and we feel that we're build- ing in a manner that is so resilient, I mean, the stuff that was damaged, the hospitals, the schools, roads, and all these things were built in the 80s or before so they were not up to spec and climate change is real. We are dealing with it. And now, we have a Building Code that's going to support
"Yes, I'm on the rural Community Renewal. I am the co-chair of that committee. Broadband is a big part of what we do. Here in the Virgin Islands, I'm embarking on a project. Right now, almost every public hous- ing community has free broadband service up to five megs. Today, there are over 60 locations in the territory with free 5MB access and many more to come. This is a challenge for many of our governors. When we think of the mainland, we think of the urban areas, but when you think about rural Georgia, Mississippi, and Kan- sas, broadband is not as accessible.
28 | SUMMER 2022 ♦ THE JOURNAL
PUBLISHING ACHIEVEMENT IN EVERY FIELD OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR
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