Continuing their thrust to preserve St Vincent and the Grenadines’ rich history, the St Vincent and the Grenadines National Trust held its annual charity dinner and

auction last Saturday night at Government House at Old Montrose.{{more}}

Guests were treated to an evening of fine dining, melodic music and a chance to bid on some of the goodies at the auction.

Some of the items up for auction included DVD players, a lovely painting entitled: Haiti- a broken rhythm, a beautiful dress by top Vincentian designer Kimon Baptiste, among others.

Some of the persons in attendance included: Brazilian Ambassador to St Vincent, Renato Xavier, Taiwanese Ambassador, Leo Lee, High court register Tamara Gibson-Marks and her husband, attorney Ronald Marks.

Delivering brief remarks, Chairperson of the Trust, Louise Mitchell-Joseph, said that a lot has been accomplished since last year’s dinner. She noted that after extensive research, a decision was taken by the Ministry of Transport and Works to tear down Government House to erect a brand new edifice.

Mitchell-Joseph added that when the Trust heard of this, they wrote to the Minister of Culture, René Baptiste, who was instrumental in putting a halt to the demolition of the building. Although the building has gone through renovations over the years, Mitchell-Joseph said that they are working on obtaining funds to restore the building back to its historic beauty.

Some light was also shed on the project that is currently underway at the Old Argyle Sugar Mill by students of the University of Hartford in Connecticut, USA, in association with the Trust and the International Airport Development Committee. The project entails uncovering and documenting the relics of the one-time sugar mill, which is expected to be moved to the heritage site at Escape.

Some of the students who made the trip to St Vincent were awarded certificates.

Nearly 20 years after the late Dr Earl Kirby indicated in a letter to Glenroy Adams that he had won the environmental award of the Trust for his work in preserving marine life, Adams only received that award last weekend after being promised he would be presented with the award not too long after receiving the letter.

Culture Minister Baptiste and Governor-General Sir Frederick Ballantyne lauded the Trust for the work they have been doing over the years by preserving the monuments in society.