May Breeze 2010 - The Placencia Breeze

Placencia Lobsterfest Raffle PrizeThe Placencia BTIA Lobsterfest Raffle is well underway with greatprizes coming in on a daily basis. At print time there were already45 different prizes contributed. Raffle tickets will be going on salesoon and are available for a low, low price of $2 a ticket or $20 fora book of 11. Below is a list of the prizes available so far…..Remember this raffle is one of the largest fundraising componentsto the Placencia Tourism Center’s sustainability and all thesupport we receive in greatly appreciated.A BIG thanks to those of you who jumped right in with a prize ormultiple prizes! And a big thank you to everyone who is planningon sending in their prize.Barnacle Bill's Beach Bungalows - 1 night stay for 2. Gooduntil November 30th.Belize Bank Ltd. - $100 Savings AccountBelize Bank Ltd. - $100 Savings AccountBelize Bank Ltd. - $300 Savings AccountBella Yoga – 1 unlimited monthly yoga passes to Bella YogaBella Yoga – 1 unlimited monthly yoga passes to Bella YogaBella Yoga – 1 unlimited monthly yoga passes to Bella YogaBlue Crab Beach - 1 box of Goss Chocolate, milk or darkCaptain Jak's Cabanas - $50.00 cash prizeCasa Placencia 1 night in our Garden Room w/strong coffee andchoice of pastry from our Bakery in the morningDanube Austrian Restaurant - $50 Gift CertificateDanube Austrian Restaurant - $50 Gift CertificateEasy Living Apartments - 1 night for two persons, subject toavailability - in off season.Goss Chocolate - 1 box of Goss Chocolate, milk or darkLaru Beya Resort - 1 dinner incl. wine at our RestaurantQuarterdeck for 2 persons ( value $150,00)Laru Beya Resort - 1 night in our Oceanfront Suite for 2 personsLola’s Art - a 9x12 valued at 210.00, choice of the winner.Los Porticos Villas - 100.00 cash prizeLos Porticos Villas - two glass framed picturesMiller’s Landing One night stay for two with complimentarycontinental breakfastNautical Inn - 3 nights stay for winning couple before Sept. 1,2010.Peninsula Towing – 1 Free Towing within Placencia Village“Water Tower to the Point” - $25 valuePickled Parrot Pizza - $100 Gift CertificatePlacencia Office Supply - $50 cash prizePlacencia Tennis – Tennis Racquet & Tennis Balls plus a seriesof three 1 1/2 hour lessons with USPTA Pro Bob Rodgers. Good for1 year (some exclusions)Platinum Designs - $200 Voucher towards design project orconsultationRobert’s Grove 1 night stay for 2 in our Penthouse Suite withContinental Breakfast and Saturday night BBQ Buffet DinnerRobert’s Grove - Tuesday night Mexican Buffet for 2 withMargaritaBelize TradeWinds Cruise Club $100 cash prizeRumfish Y Vino - $50 gift CertificateRumfish Y Vino – 1 bottle of wineSEA (Southern Environmental Association) – Trip for 6people to the Sapodilla Cayes. Dive and/or snorkel guides (privatebiologist) provided, island barbecue and non-alcoholic beveragesincluded. Some restrictions apply.Seahorse Dive Shop – Dive and/or Snorkelling Trip for 2.SPECTARTE GALLERY offers a Market Mania MysteryBox. Great surprise items andcoupons to be redeemed from our market vendors andneighborhood businesses. Good Luck.Splash Dive Shop - Dive Certification for 1 person ... value BZ$800.00Sun Breeze Hotel - Two Nights Stay for two at the Sun BreezeHotelThe Secret Garden Day Spa: - Our specialty "4 Hands Massage"by Lee Nyhus and Nikita YoungThe Secret Garden Day Spa: Manicure/Pedicure by NikitaYoungThe Secret Garden Day Spa: Swedish Massage by Lee NyhusThe Secret Garden Restaurant – $50 Gift CertificateThe Villas at Cocoplum - $100.00 cash prizeVirginia Glessner – One PaintingWhipray Caye Lodge – 1 overnight stay for 2 with mealsWild Orchid Properties - $200 Cash PrizeDeb & Dave Vernon have been in theBelizean tourism business for over 20years. David was born in Placencia. Heeventually moved to Belize City thenonwards to California as a teenager. Aftercompleting his education, he decided tomove back to his home of Placencia.The Placencia Breeze May 2010 - Page 22Spotlight on BTIA Member – The North BeachSoon after David’s return to Placencia inthe mid '80's, the road was cut to thevillage. David, always the innovator,started the first bus service on thepeninsula with a van he had. Later hepurchased a larger bus and decided to usethe van for running tours. This ventureinto tourism led him to take the first tourguide course ever offered in Belize. Dave was introduced to theowner of International Expeditions and began leading naturalhistory tours throughout the country.Deborah first came to Belize in 1989 on a natural history trip shetalked her father into taking with her. Of course this trip was ledby one of Belize's best guides! Deb and Dave found they shared alove of birding and this led to lots of time being spenttogether. Deborah moved to Belize from California in 1991 afterfalling in love – with David and Belize! Deb and David spent theearly years backpacking around Belize, Mexico, Guatemala andHonduras. Married a year later, they began building (with theirown hands!) their first venture together, Deb & Dave’s Last Resort– a small guesthouse in Placencia. Deb ran the guesthouse whileDavid cemented his reputation asone of Belize's premier naturalhistory guides. It was a number ofyears later, when expecting thebirth of their daughter, that Daviddecided he wanted to spend moretime at home. They agreed thatwith David’s knowledge of naturalhistory and Debs business sense,they could open their own touroperation in Placencia. ToadalAdventure Belize was born. Toadal Adventure specialized in softadventure and kayaking. For a number of years, Toadal ran themajority of inland day trips on the peninsula. It was in the earlyyears of Toadal Adventure that David received the first ever TourGuide of the Year award from the Belize TourismBoard. Eventually the company moved into kayak touring andtoday offers first rate private day trips.Seeing that tourism in Placencia was moving in a new direction,Deb and Dave decided that a more upscale accommodation in amoderate price range was needed in Placencia. After a family tripto San Pedro they were inspired by the apartment they stayedin. They wanted to build something that catered to families, likethemselves. Someplace that made people feel at home. They had aparcel of land and decided to build The North Beach. The NorthBeach is a vacation rental that is basically two, 2 bedroomapartments whose configuration can be changed to be anythingfrom a one bedroom apartment up to the entire, 4-bedroom houseupstairs. It suits everyone from a single individual who would likethe convenience of a kitchen/living area to groups of family orfriends traveling together.In each of these ventures Deb and Dave have used their own travelexperiences to build businesses that focus on what travelerswant. A budget guest house that is comfortable, clean and haslittle extras to make a guest feel at home. A tour operation thatoffers people a daily taste of adventure, pushing them just a littlebeyond their comfort zones to give them a feeling ofaccomplishment and pride. A vacation home that really feels likehome and allows guests experience the culture of PlacenciaVillage.In between running The North Beach, 2 other businesses andbeing a mom, Deb volunteers time at the Placencia Children'sLibrary at the primary school and is dispatcher for the PeninsulaVolunteer Fire Department. David is very involved in communityorganizations including the Placencia B.T.I.A., St. Johns MemorialSchool, Placencia Tour Guide Association and Placencia VillageCouncil. In addition, David, a BTB certified trainer, teaches tourguide training courses in Placencia and surroundingcommunities. Their daughter, Ciara, is getting pretty good atshowing rooms and helping check in guests!