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Tom Bolt, Managing Attorney of Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C., a St. Thomas business law firm, was reelected in August by the general membership of the American Bar Association as an At Large Delegate to the ABA’s House of Delegates during the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, Ilinois.

The House of Delegates is the legislative body of the ABA and determines the internal governance and public advocacy policies of the organization. The ABA, with more than 400,000 members, is the largest voluntary association of professionals in the world. The ABA provides member and public service through law school accreditation, continuing education, public information campaigns, legislative recommendations to Congress and state and territorial legislatures, and initiatives to improve the quality of the legal system and the administration of justice.

Bolt has served as a member of the ABA House of Delegates since 1989 when he was the first delegate from the United States Virgin Islands.  He served with distinction for ten years as the representative of the Virgin Islands Bar Association.  Subsequently, during his term as President of the local bar, he was elected as an At Large Delegate to the ABA House and has served continuously since then.

Continue Reading American Bar Association Reelects Virgin Islands Attorney

Even in the sweltering Sunday morning heat, a cool breeze blew through the eight open windows of the living room at No. 4 Adele Gade, rustling the trees in the garden and fanning the sweaty brows of the small group of residents gathered outside.

"You should be here in the evening — the wind just sweeps right through," said Celecia Hernandez, the new owner of the house, which was donated to Habitat for Humanity V.I. a few years ago by Cecile deJongh as a tribute to her grandmother Adele Louise Galiber. The house was always filled with joyful memories, with love and music, and the time had finally come to turn the keys over to a new family that could bring the same kind of happiness back to its grounds, deJongh said at the official dedication ceremony Sunday.

"This day couldn’t come soon enough," she added. It was hoped that the house would be given to a single mother, "just like my grandmother was," deJongh said.

Continue Reading Habitat Virgin Islands Dedicates First Home

"The Road to Family Economic Success" was the call to action at Governor John P. de Jongh’s Summit on Poverty and Economic Opportunity which was convened at the Carambola Resort on St. Croix on Friday, May 8th.  The Summit was presented in collaboration with the National Governor’s Association and Governor de Jongh’s Children and Families Council.

Tom Bolt, Managing Attorney of Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C., the leading business law firm in the United States Virgin Islands, was a panelist in the Summit’s discussion on housing.  Bolt currently serves as President for Habitat for Humanity of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Chair of the Territory’s Salvation Army Advisory Board, and Counsel to the Virgin Islands Territorial Association of Realtors.

Continue Reading VI Leaders Join Governor on Road to Family Economic Success

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday awarded the Territory $570,662 in grants to help the homeless, marking the first time in recent years that the Virgin Islands has secured all available funding under HUD’s Continuum of Care grant program.

"What we have done is broken the glass ceiling – come into our own – as far as federal assistance to help in the plight of the homeless," said Tom Bolt, Chairman of the Virgin Isalnds Continuum of Care on the Homeless, a coalition of local agencies, public and private, that work with people who are homeless.

"Now, we have gotten the maximum amount of money the feds would allocate to us under the formula," he said.Continue Reading Territory Receives $570,662 in HUD Grants for the Homeless

A celebration of diversity took place the Friday night before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day  at the St. Thomas Synagogue as the 37th sabbath service honoring the life of the Dr.King was held in conjunction with an awards ceremony recognizing the contributions of seven area high school students to their community. Elliott Davis, Jr., an intern at Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C. and a student at The Antilles School was one of the students honored with the Martin Luther King Jr. Awards, which included a certificate and a $500 savings bond. The students were chosen for their high academic standing, extracurricular activities and their exemplification of the values of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Continue Reading TBA Intern Awarded MLK Award

Last night a child cried himself to sleep in Tutu as he had no supper.  A mother in William’s Delight agonizes over having to choose between paying her WAPA bill or putting food on her family’s table.  A senior couple faced with an every shrinking fixed income and escalating costs has to forego their lunch every day to pay prescription costs.   These are the tales of hunger in America’s Paradise, the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

This week, November 16-22, 2008, Governor John P. deJongh has declared as Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in the Territory.  In a land of plenty, there is no good reason for people to be hungry. Continue Reading Ending Hunger in the Virgin Islands

The Salvation Army launched its Annual Appeal on Saturday, September 27th at Emancipation Gardens on St. Thomas with a concert of The Salvation Army Southwest Division Youth Band.  Tom Bolt, Managing Attorney of Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C. and Chairman of The Salvation Army Advisory Board outlined the events of the weekend launch.

The performance highlighted the kickoff for The Salvation Army’s Annual Appeal which includes a drive for the expansion and renovation of its St. Thomas Corps headquarters on lower Main Street. The events started with a Friday night concert at Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel, followed by Saturday’s concert and parade, a concert Saturday evening at Church of God of Prophecy, a 9 a.m. service at the St. Thomas Reformed Church, and finally wound up with a Magens Bay picnic at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Continue Reading Salvation Army Launches Annual Appeal

HUD Secretary Steven C. Preston addressed the annual conference of the National Alliance to End Homelessness on Tuesday in Washington, DC.  commending Virgin Islands homeless advocates, Tom Bolt, Chairman of the Virgin Islands Continuum of Care on Homelessness and Michael Akin, Director of Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands  and the others attending for their "tremendous work for thos who need the help desperately."

Immediately after his address Secretary Preston released  HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress which details a 30% drop from 2005 to 2007 in chronically homeless people living on the nations streets and in shelters. "We can all be encouraged that we are making progress in the reducing chronic street homelessness," the housing secretary said.  "But we must also recognize that we have a long way to go to find a more lasting solution for those struggling with homelessness every day." Continue Reading HUD Secretary Releases Annual Report on Homelessness and Commends Advocates

Tom Bolt, Managing Attorney of the St. Thomas law firm, Tom Bolt & Associates, P.C., was among the 250 attorneys, judges, law professors, legislators and other state and territorial officials –  all lawyers – participating in the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), concluded today in Big Sky, Montana.  Bolt was honored at the meeting by being elected as a Life Member of the ULC, having served as U.S. Virgin Islands Commissioner since 1988.  Bolt is currently a member of the Legislative Council of the national organization.

 
Now in its 117th year, the ULC is comprised of more than 300 commissioners appointed by every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to draft and promote enactment of uniform laws that are designed to solve problems common to all jurisdicitions.  Commissioners donate their time as a pro bono public service.
 

Continue Reading Virgin Islands Attorney Honored at National Conference

NetScout Systems, Inc., a leading provider of integrated network and application performance management solutions for organizations worldwide held their annual corporate awards recognition program in St. Thomas this weekend.  Michael Szabados, Chief Operating Officer, hosted over 200 NetScout employees and their families at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Hotel recognizing outstanding contributions and accomplishments over the past year.  But unlike many other corporations, NetScout set out to make a difference in the community they were visiting.

 

Working with Judi Nagelberg of Island Meetings and Incentives, a St. Thomas destination management company, Szabados and his NetScout team were determined to contribute to the community they were visiting.  Friday evening at NetScout’s Annual Awards Banquet at the St. Peter Greathouse, Szabados presented Habitat for Humanity of the Virgin Islands President Tom Bolt and Board member Alan Fleming, Chair of Habitat’s Construction Committee, with a  check for $10,000 to promote Habitat’s mission of eliminating poverty housing in the U.S. territory.  Continue Reading Habitat Welcomes NetScout Voluntourism