10 St. John Tradewinds, December 14-20, 2009 We offer Elegant Upscale Villas and Classic Caribbean Style Homes, All with spectacular ocean views and private pools. Airport & water taxi service, jeep rentals, dockside greeting, chef, housekeeping & child care services, all available. Creating unforgettable vacations since 1996. Contact Kathy McLaughlin for assistance with all your travel needs. Visit our web site or email to select your private "Island Getaway" 888-693-7676 toll free 340-693-7676 tel 340-693-8923 fax www.islandgetawaysinc.com islandgetaways@earthlink.net (340) 7741658 LA TAPA e s t au sr aon open 6 days. closed tuesdays 693.7755 or www. latapastjohn.com Custom Embroidery Supplier of wholesale and retail embroidery Hats - Polos - Tees - Bags Logos - Monograms - Stock and custom designs Town & Country Center siege” 119-4047 VIVA! Villas Inc Virgin Islands Vacations é- Ville Visit our "Factory Outlet" retail store: Where Quality, Value and Service Excellence matter! Offering affordable Vacation Rentals on beautiful St. John. Give us a call at (888) 856-4601; Check out our live availability at www.vivacations.com and learn about the VIVA Difference. U.S. Virgin Islands Takes Over Atlanta As Angie Smith Represents St. John St. John Tradewinds In keeping with the Department of Tourism’s strat- egy to market the territory to potential visitors in pri- mary gateway markets, the department coordinated a series of high-profile events in Atlanta recently target- ing area travel agents, Atlanta-based media and Geor- gia residents. Combined, the week’s events created the opportu- nity to promote the territory directly to more than 75 travel agents, 30 journalists and 85,000 consumers in just one week. VIVA! Villas owner Angie Smith was the sole St. John representative at the event, and the only villa company official from the Virgin Islands. “The blitz/trade show was done to attract more travel agents to book clients in the V.I. now that Delta Airlines is offering more flights from Atlanta to the territory,” said Smith. The week’s events began with a travel agent lun- cheon hosted by Regional Sales Manager Kay Mil- liner. Top-tier travel agents based outside Atlanta’s metropolitan area attended the luncheon, where they learned about the territory’s latest developments. A travel agent cocktail reception and destination presentation was hosted the following evening in At- lanta which provided the opportunity to promote the territory to agents. All travel agent events were attended by hotel rep- resentatives from Bolongo Bay Beach resort, Divi Carina Bay, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef, Secret Har- bour, Sand Castle on the Beach, VIVA! Villas and Wyndham Sugar Bay. g St. John Tradewinds News Photo Courtesy of Angle Smith VIVA! Villas owner Angie Smith at the Atlanta trade show, above. Atlanta residents woke up to the sounds of steel pan music and culinary delights from the USVI on Thursday, December 3 when CBS’ Better Mornings Atlanta dedicated much of its 2-hour morning show to the U.S. Virgin Islands, featuring a series of USVI- branded segments throughout the broadcast. “Through our comprehensive approach we’re pleased to be able to target all of the key audiences that can influence travel to the territory from the At- lanta market,” DOT Commissioner Beverly Nichol- son-Doty said. Plans are already underway for the DOT to saturate additional key markets in 2010 with a series of similar events. Concrete Polishing Offers Alternative to Tile By Jaime Elliott St. John Tradewinds After selling his concrete finishing company in the states, Robert Melnik brought all of his equipment to St. John when he and his wife Betsy moved to the island more than two years ago. Now that equipment is being put to good use again since Melnik launched Innovative Concrete Polishing Technologies on Love City recently. “Innovative Concrete is a company that I first start- ed in the states,” said Melnik. “I formed it originally for my son but then he went back to school and I sold the business and brought all of the equipment to St. John.” Concrete polishing is a grind and polish process that utilizes industrial diamonds, hardeners and seal- ers to level and polish a floor from within the concrete surface itself. While the process has been around for years, recent advances have made polished concrete floors more accessible and desirable, Melnik ex- plained. “Polished concrete floors are really becoming more of a commodity now than ever before,” he said. While the use of concrete floors has been wide- spread in Europe for some time, the practice is catch- ing on across the globe thanks to its environmental safety and cost-effectiveness. “Concrete floors are an alternative to tiles and con- crete doesn’t need any glues or any finishers which would end up in landfills,” said Melnik. “Also con- crete floors can be cleaned very easily without deter- gents or chemicals.” “Polished concrete is also one of the most eco- nomical flooring alternatives out there,” Melnik said. “Reduced costs come from reduced maintenance and the durability of the product.” The practice, which also improves old and deterio- rating floors, makes perfect sense in the islands where concrete floors are common sightings. “Before this the only real choice for people was tile,” said Melnik. “Polished concrete really makes sense down here because it can improve an old floor and is ideal for a new floor.” Melnik’s first island floor job was his own East End home, which he completed last year. Since then, In- novative Concrete has done work for the St. Thomas Human Society and expects more orders soon. “Architects have been really interested in this pro- cess because it’s green and is a great alternative to tile,” said Melnik. For more information on Innovative Concrete Pol- ishing call Melnik at 779-4089.