A three-day conference taking place on St. Thomas brought together top state officials from across the United States to discuss policy, commerce, and economic development.  On the opening day of the National Lieutenant Governors Association Winter Meeting, Dec. 5, participants gained a perspective on how the V.I. government views its strengths and challenges.
Association Chair Pamela Evette offered greetings as the Friday morning session came to order.
After delivering welcoming remarks, Evette led a panel discussion featuring Assistant Tourism Commissioner Alani Henneman and V.I. Economic Development Authority Managing Director Margarita Benjamin. The EDA served as one of the event’s sponsors.
Acting Governor Tregenza Roach — the territory’s lieutenant governor — served as host for the winter meeting. He sent welcoming remarks that were read by the association chair and promised to join in person later in the day.
Benjamin led the group through an overview of her agency’s Vision 2040 economic development plan. She explained how the authority, along with the Economic Development Commission and the Economic Development Bank, works to attract visitors to establish themselves in the territory.
“Vision 2040 is a long-term strategy to transform the territory into a vibrant place to live, work, invest, and innovate while ensuring that there are opportunities for our future generations,” the director said.
Henneman spoke about how the Department of Tourism works to attract the traveling public.
“This year, in 2026, will turn out to be — as long as we have no major incidents — will turn out to be the best year on record for the U.S. Virgin Islands, which trumps our record-breaking year in 2024 because of the increased airlift … and because of the increased cruise visits we have to the territory as well,” Henneman said.
Participants also heard from the day’s keynote speaker on Friday. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jeth B. Rey serves as chief information officer for planning, strategy, and network architecture. He warmed up his audience with a personal story of how he left his home on St. Thomas for Virginia at age 13 and began his military career by signing up with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while in school.
In his remarks, Rey advised visiting officials to take a close look at the cybersecurity structures in their government information systems.
“Cyber threats grow more sophisticated by the day,” he said. “I think the threat is that our critical infrastructure is at risk and we all need to pay attention to it.”
He also touched on the need for the United States to revamp its education system to make sure students learn about information systems from an early age.
Participants took advantage of the question-and-answer portions of each presentation to discuss matters they, as lieutenant governors, were facing in their home districts.
Officials from Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Guam, Kentucky, Maryland, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and the Northern Mariana Islands gathered at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef to attend the winter meeting.
Local sponsors supporting the event include the EDA, Guardian Insurance, Theodore Tunick & Co., and Tully Law, PLLC.
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