B.E.S. student wins top Cruise Association prize

Awards come in all shapes and sizes, but the one announced today by the Belize Tourism Board is a hefty sum by any standard.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Eleven year old Josie Lee is the top junior winner in the 2007 Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Environmental Poster Competition held each year for the region’s students.

Lee is a Taiwanese student attending Belize Elementary School. Through the help of her friend and interpreter, thirteen year old Kelly Liao, she explains what it was like when she received the good news.

Kelly Liao, School Friend
“She is saying that she is very happy, but that she did not expect to win and all her praises she will give it to God.”

It took Lee ten days to complete the poster over the Christmas holiday. The entry entitled “We Only Have One Earth” focussed on what can be done to preserve the environment. Because the poster is now the property of the F.C.C.A., it was not available for viewing. But it must be a masterpiece because Lee will be awarded two thousand, five hundred U.S. dollars for her effort.

Jacqueline Godwin
“She won two thousand five hundred U.S., that’s five thousand Belize, what she plans to do with the money?”

Kelly Liao, School Friend
“Help her brother Kevin and she to learn piano, have piano lessons.”

Jamie Lee is proud of her daughter, who has been described as a shy but a very disciplined and talented student.

Lee was chosen from among fourteen participants from the region. In recognition of her win, Lee and her classmates will be invited to a luncheon on one of the F.C.C.A.’s member cruise lines. Meanwhile, her school will be given a prize of five hundred U.S. dollars.