We're seeking talented and creative individuals to join the award winning USVI Culinary Team. Open team positions include two chefs, a pastry chef and a bartender. Team members will meet regularly to hone their skills before representing the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Taste of the Caribbean. The team also participates in local and association events throughout the year. Applicants must be 21 or older, good public speakers, able to attend monthly practices March through May and weekly practices in June, and attend the Taste of the Caribbean in Miami, Florida June 26-30. Applicants should be innovative, value teamwork and thrive under pressure. The deadline to apply for bartender and chef positions is March 6. Following application reviews, a cook-off will be held on a date to be announced to determine the final team members. Bartender applicants will similarly participate in a bartender competition at Old Stone Farmhouse on March 13 to determine the team bartender. Click here to download the chef application . Click here to download the bartender application and here to download the bartender competition guidelines . Read the full press release here .

Don't worry if you're not a professional chef! You can support the USVI Culinary Team by choosing to be a team sponsor, getting prime exposure at the Taste of the Caribbean attended by hundreds of stakeholders and tourism professionals. Thank you to the USVI Department of Tourism for supporting the team as a Platinum Elite sponsor, but we still need your support to ensure the team has all of the resources needed to bring home the gold! Read the full sponsorship letter. Read about levels of sponsorship.

Michealrose Ravalier, the St. Thomas-St. John District 2020 Teacher of the Year, believes in the educational value of field trips. On Jan. 17, she brought 18 members of the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Science Club to Coral World for a Discovery Day. Her students participated in several activities through which they could explore the ocean without getting in the water. According to Ravalier, “The Coral World experience gave students the opportunity to learn in a non-traditional way. Classrooms without windows and doors are such a great way to help students learn about nature and the importance of preserving our true riches – our island resources.” Read more.

Be prepared for the upcoming toxic sunscreen ban which will take effect April 1, 2020. Act 8185, supported by the hotel and tourism association, amends Virgin Islands code by adding a section banning the retail sale or offer for sale, and the distribution or importation for retail purposes, of topical sunscreen products containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. Click here to read the full legislation and please take steps to be ready on April 1.

Hotel growth last year continued to stimulate regional economies and augurs well for a strong 2020, according to reports and forecasts given at recent Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association meetings. CHTA introduced a new companion event called Caribbean Tourism Pulse, held around the organization's annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace at Baha Mar in The Bahamas last month. Read more .

Click here to read the transmittal letter from Gov, Albert Bryan to the 33rd Legislature.

More from VI Government:

Government House on the Air

Silver Airways, America’s leading independent regional airline, is proud to announce the history-making milestone appointment of Cindy Guay as the first female Captain to fly the ATR-600 series aircraft in the U.S., including both the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600. In addition, Captain Guay is now flying alongside Silver Airways’ first all-female flight crew, including First Officer Susan Sugar, and Flight Attendants Rachel Peacock and Flavia Fabiano, all based in Orlando. Read more.

Exceptional customer service begins with attentiveness and continues with communication. Even in the most unfortunate of circumstances, keeping a focus on the customer is key. Click here to read about a time that Delta airlines offered a "WOW" experience for their customers.