To honor a great achievement not only for
Sint Maarten but the Dutch Caribbean region, the Honorable Minister of Justice
Ms. Anna E. Richardson recently held a ceremony at the Government
Administration building to congratulate and highlight Immigration officer Leo
Vanterpool on his achievement of becoming Sint Maarten's 1st Document 3
Specialist.
Officer Vanterpool is the first and only Document 3 Specialist on the island and
in the region. He traveled to the Netherlands and attended the Royal
Netherlands Marrechausse Academy where he remained for a period to undergo both
theoretical practical training to acquire his certification at the Learning
Institution.
Though all Immigration officers are
certified to detect fraudulent documents based on level 1 and level 2
certifications, having a level 3 certification goes more in-depth into fraud.
Officer Vanterpool is now also certified as a train the trainer giving him the
ability to train his colleagues in this area.
During the ceremony, the Minister
Richardson gave attendees such as his classmates and supervisors the
opportunity to share some congratulatory words with Officer Vanterpool. Several
shared special moments about how Officer Vanterpool always exemplified academic
excellence and they always new he would achieve great accomplishments.
As a token to remember he’s valued,
Minister Richardson expressed how proud she is of Officer Vanterpool presented
him with a crystal award engraved with the following words: “ Commander of the Education
Training and Knowledge Center of the Royal
Netherlands Marrechausse declares that Leo Ignacio Vanterpool has fulfilled the
requirements of the document expert/specialist course “Doc 3”.
Officer Vanterpool in the presence of his
classmates and colleagues representing the graduating class of 2013,
supervisors, mentors, his beloved mother whom he referenced to as his Queen and
the Honorable Minister if Justice, expressed his profound gratitude to everyone
in the room for the support and encouragement they’ve given him over the years
to present day.
He also expressed his gratitude to the
Minister for giving him this opportunity and advised her that he sees her
efforts to make positive strides for the ministry and staff and prays that’s
she continues to be successful with all she is doing.
The ceremony was rounded off with a
celebratory toast and a memorable photo to be framed and displayed at the
immigration office for future generations to be inspired by this historic
achievement.