BRIDGE Capital LLC is investing in the 22nd Annual HANMI Charity Classic Golf Tournament with a $750 cash donation made on Friday (July 26) by Bridge Capital LLC Vice President/GM Bartley Jackson.

“We’d like to welcome back Bridge Capital as a Superior Package sponsor for our golf tournament again this year,” said Tournament Chairman Das Krishnan.  “Their continued support shows their commitment — in good times and less good — to our community and especially, our tournament.”

Registration is now open for the tournament, to be held on August 24, 2024, at Coral Ocean Resort or COR Saipan. Registration forms are available at COR clubhouse, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan front desk, and at www.saipanhotels.org/.The early bird tournament fee is $110 for CNMI residents and includes an awards banquet at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan’s Ataari Dinner Show.   Optional play is $30. The fee increases to $130 after the early bird deadline on Aug. 10, 2024.  Registration fee for non-CNMI residents is $180 (also includes green fee and awards banquet).  Optional play will include Accurate Drive (Hole #16), Circle (#6), Longest Drive (#18) and four chances for Nearest to the Pin (Holes #3, #7, #12, and #14). Showtime is 6:00 a.m., and the tournament will start at 7 a.m. 

Early hole-in-one prizes include $5,000 cash from Island Training Solutions.  The tournament will be open to the first 144 paid registrants. The tournament follows a blackjack double Peoria format.

For more information, contact Tournament Chairman Das Krishnan at (670) 483.6405 or das.krishnan@ihg.com/.

BRIDGE Capital LLC Vice President Bart Jackson met recently with Garapan Elementary School Principal Derwin Johnson in front of the new school signage donated by the private company. 

For the past school year, Bridge Capital also donated ground maintenance services to the school as part of its Adopt-A-School Project. 

Jackson said Bridge Capital staff members have volunteered to cut grass, pressure wash, and perform other grounds upkeep work on the school campus. 

Ahead of the opening of the school year, in addition to volunteer ground maintenance, Garapan Elementary School also requested some new signage, which Bridge Capital provided. 

Jackson said his company is glad to help the community.  “We try and help them whenever they need help,” he added. “Bridge Capital is committed to doing whatever it can to improve the community and be a participant, and for us that means doing a lot of different things. Helping young people is among them. We really want to help the youth, help them learn, help them get an education. Anything we can do to support Garapan Elementary School we’re ready to do.”

Johnson said the sign is something the community can be proud of. He said he is grateful to Bridge Capital.

“We definitely appreciate the support,” he added. “There are a lot of businesses around us and just the fact that they [Bridge Capital] reached out and they’re here for the school’s needs — it’s a huge help.”

Maggie Sablan, responsible for delegation logistics, and Gloriana Teuira, director of the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture, accepted the donation.

Julie Duenas from Bridge Capital expressed that this donation aligns with the company’s commitment to supporting local arts. Bridge Capital also sponsors CNMI’s Got Talent and the annual Flame Tree Art Competition.

Sablan mentioned that the delegation is still seeking donations from the business community.

The CNMI’s delegation to FestPac includes 100 members representing various arts disciplines and two youth delegates, Shannon Sasamoto and Jude Litulumar.

Litulumar is excited to represent his Carolinian culture at FestPac, while Sasamoto, the 2019 Miss Marianas, is eager to connect with the Pacific Islander community.

Sasamoto and Litulumar will undergo leadership and ambassadorship training with other Pacific Island youth delegates.

FestPac 2024 will take place in Honolulu, gathering participants from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.

The donated funds will contribute towards airfare costs, which amount to approximately $160,000 roundtrip for the official delegation members.

Teuira expects the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation to assist with funding the expenses.

FestPac begins on June 5 with an opening canoe ceremony.

“HOPE of the Marianas” by Christian Apolonio emerged as the top pick, winning the Best of Show title at Bridge Capital’s 11th Annual Art Competition during the Flame Tree Arts Festival on April 20 at the Garapan Fishing Base. Apolonio’s artwork earned him $2,000 in prize money.

Richard Manglona’s piece “Princess Sosambre” clinched the prestigious Governor’s Choice award for this year, with Manglona receiving $1,000 in recognition.

Other notable winners included Greg Elliott’s “Eagle Ray” in the open division, Myla Deets’s “Talayeru Tranquility” for photography, Jiyun Kim’s “Flame Tree Festival” in the student category (ages 12-17), Michael Nishimura’s “Flores Abot” in painting and drawing, and Daniel Guo’s “Turtle” in the 11 and under category. Guo received a $750 prize, while the first-place finishers in each category were awarded $1,500 each.

In the second-place spots were Jun Seo Kim’s “Beauty in the Reef” in the open category, Milliana Camacho’s “Hooked on Paradise” for photography, Gwanhun Son’s “The Jewel of Saipan” in the student category (12-17), and a tie between Christian Apolonio’s “Hope of the Marianas” and Zhong Yan Tang’s “Daughter of the Sea” in painting and drawing. Joyann Kundu’s “Managaha Sunset” took second place in the 11 and under category, earning $500, while the other second-place winners received $1,000 each.

Bridge Capital LLC’s Vice President Bart Jackson expressed satisfaction with the event’s turnout, noting 276 entries this year. Judges, including House Vice Speaker Joel Camacho and Governor Arnold I. Palacios, faced difficulty selecting winners due to the high quality of submissions.

Jackson revealed plans to continue showcasing this year’s and past entries, potentially at the re-opened Paseo De Marianas. Additionally, Bridge Capital is exploring options for producing prints of entries collected over the competition’s decade-long history.

The Flame Tree Arts Festival, which featured 11 food and beverage vendors and 32 art booths, attracted hundreds of island residents from April 19-21, showcasing the vibrant creative talent of the CNMI community.

BRIDGE Capital has extended the deadline for its art contest to April 12. 

As of Friday, Bridge Capital’s Alex Palacios said the company had already received 233 entries but wanted to give artists more chances to submit their work.

More than $15,000 is at stake in the competition. The prize categories are as follows: 

Best of Show wins $2,000; painting and drawing, $1,500 for first place and $1,000 for second place; photography $1,500 for first place and $1,000 for second place; open category, $1,500 for first place and $1,000 for second place; age category, 12-17 years old, $1,500 for first place and $1,000 for second place; age category, 11 years old and under, $750 for first place and $500 for second place; and the Governor’s Choice Award, $1,000.

Eligible participants can submit up to two works of art. Entries must be physically delivered to the Bridge Capital office at 1057 Micro Beach Road by 5 p.m. on April 12, Friday. The Bridge Capital office is located adjacent to Marianas Creations and Everest Kitchen.

Submissions should be in the form of traditionally accepted artistic materials and techniques, including 2-D art, such as painting, drawing, collage and photography, and 3-D art, which includes sculpture, metal work, carving, modeling, casting, pottery, glassblowing, etc. 

Digital artwork must be printed and framed on canvas or photo paper.

For more information, go to cnmiart.com, email events@bccnmi.com or call (670) 322-2222. 

THE Joeten-Kiyu Public Library on Thursday hosted an Easter fun event in collaboration with first lady Wella Palacios, the Friends of JKPL, and Bridge Capital LLC.

About 170 children participated in an Easter egg hunt. Participants were split up by age.

JKPL staff also transformed the interior of the library into a “mini carnival” with indoor carnival games, food vendors, an arts and crafts station, an egg painting station, and more.