June 2, 2013
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
“Through every chapter of our nation’s history, Caribbean Americans have made our country stronger – reshaping our politics and reigniting the arts, spurring our movements and answering the call to serve. Caribbean traditions have enriched our own, and woven new threads into our cultural fabric. Again and again, Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have reaffirmed America’s promise as a land of opportunity – a place where no matter who you are or where you come from, you can make it if you try.” – Barack Obama, President, United States of America
“We know that as other nations in the hemisphere make strides against drug trafficking, the threat as I said may increasingly shift back toward the Caribbean.” – Joe Biden, Vice President, United States of America (Associated Press)
“We believe that today’s discussions further strengthen the relationship between the Caribbean and the United States. It would no doubt help the United States to articulate clearly its policy toward the Caribbean, which would provide an overarching framework for the relationship and cooperation.” – Michel Martelly, President, Haiti (Miami Herald)
“The fact that our customers have come to stay with us, makes it our duty to ensure that they get their money’s worth. Whether it’s food and beverage, room service or transportation, you just have to get it right and make sure that when they leave, they say, “I have got to do this again.” – Adam Stewart, CEO, Sandals Resorts International (Travel Weekly)
“The next step for the Caribbean is to free its largest export, travel and tourism, from all internal barriers, even as it becomes the global model of successful regional coordination and cooperation between the public and private sectors in tourism. Reducing the cost of the Caribbean’s biggest export will surely stimulate a “jobful” recovery that our region so badly needs in its most important and most easily stimulated economic sector.” – Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, former tourism minister of the Bahamas and former Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (Caribbean Journal)
“That report did not ask the one big question of who offers the best prices. And hands down, the number one thing we’re told by our customers is that the price matters … we’re not for everybody, and we’re fine with that.” – Misty Pinson, Director, Corporate Communications, Spirit Airlines (Bloomberg Businessweek)
“You need your team’s trust, and you build that trust by being honest.” – Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter (Inc.)