John McCarthy
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The USVI Hotel & Tourism Association and HTA members celebrated Thanksgiving with the Boys & Girls Club of St. Thomas during their annual luncheon on Wednesday and with a generous turkey donation from Frenchman’s Reef.
With a long-standing corporate focus on supporting the community, Frenchman’s Reef donated 50 turkeys to families at the B&GC as well as staff.
“It’s been a challenging year for our young islanders and their families. Frenchman’s Reef and our ownership group, Fortress, wanted to make the Thanksgiving holiday especially joyous,” said Kurt Wiksten, general manager of the resort. “The Reef has a long history of supporting the community that has become our extended family. We are happy to join other HTA resorts in making this Thanksgiving happy for so many families.”
In addition to the turkey donation, Frenchman’s Reef and other HTA members donated food and drinks for the B&GC annual holiday luncheon held at the Oswald Harris Court center. About 80 children and their families enjoyed a delicious meal thanks to Bolongo Bay Beach Resort (barbeque chicken), Emerald Beach Resort (macaroni and cheese), The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas (barbeque tofu), The Westin St. John (cookies), French Quarter Bistro (island stuffing), Bellows (three cases of water), Frenchman’s Reef (turkey) and USVIHTA (ham).
In past years, the association and its members have served meals and enjoyed entertainment with the children at the B&GC, but due to COVID restrictions, meals were prepackaged for families this year.
“Despite the different conditions under which we’re now holding our annual holiday luncheon, we still believe its paramount to support our community and its families,” said USVIHTA President Lisa Hamilton. “It’s such a pleasure to see the joy on the children’s faces during our annual luncheon, and we look forward to joining them again in the future for a true celebration!”
The HTA and its members also distribute toys annually for the holidays, and thanks to a $5,000 donation from Frenchman’s Reef to purchase toys for B&GC families on St. Thomas and St. John, the tradition will continue this December.
