AWARDED:
Gregory & Linda Fritze (January 2008)

 

 

 

 

AWARDED:
Doug & Roxanne Hook (October 2007)

 

 

 

 

AWARDED:
Uwe Lange (October 2007)

 

 

 

 

AWARDED:
Steve & Stepahnie Ando (July 2007)

 

 

 

 

AWARDED:
Douglas Welsh (April 2007)

 

 

 

 

 

AWARDED:
Jeff Goldman (April 2007)

 

 

AWARDED:
Paul & Anja Vossen (March 2007)

Paul Vossen and Anja Dahmen live in Herkenboschin the state of Limburg and together they manage Financial Consulting Firm in Roermond.
They first came to the Antilles to visit a friend of them who was working in Curacao. The second time that they visited him, he gave them a one day trip to Bonaire for their wedding anniversary.
They toured the island by scooter and loved it.
They love the sunshine, the splendid nature, the untouched and lovely island, the culture and the friendly people from the island.
After their friend returned to Holland, they kept returning to Bonaire and stay at an apartment from the family Sander who are from Roermond too. “We come every year to Bonaire and we are glad that we own a house on the island. We have been coming since 1991, and we want to stay in Bonaire once and for all, that is our dream”.  

Paul and Anja from Holland are two of Tourism Corporation Bonaire’s Ambassadors. Congratulations! 

AWARDED:
Philip Kingry (January 2007)

“BONAIRE’S REEFS ARE THE BEST OF THE WORLD”, HE SAIS. He feels at home and attends Rotary club meetings while on vacation

This is my story:
Some SCUBA friends introduced me to your beautiful island in 1992.  Since then, I have made annual visits to Bonaire, often coming twice a year.  Most visits are only for a week, but occasionally I stay for two weeks.  I have returned the favor and introduced Bonaire to many other friends.  My grandson joined me last year as a graduation gift.

Bonaire is such a wonderful place.  The people are so friendly and the diving is fabulous!  Thanks to the efforts of STINAPA and the island’s dive operators, the reefs are among the best in the world.  Through the years, I have enjoyed staying at many of the resorts as well as renting apartments and private homes.  The wide variety of delightful restaurants, on the island, is also a plus.

I feel almost at home when I visit due to the friendships established over the years.  I frequently attend the local Rotary club to do a “make-up meeting” while on vacation.

Thank you and congratulations Phil!!

AWARDED:
Mike & Tina (January 2007)

ALL THE WAY FROM GERMANY TO ADVENTURE BONAIRE
They love the island so much they bought their own appartment

These are our experiences with Bonaire:
We are Mike and Tina, a couple from Germany and we both like Bonaire, the friendly people and the nice nature with all the different animals and of course the charming reefs, very much! We are divers and we read in a German dive magazine about Bonaire, came the first time in January 1991 and stayed at Buddy Dive Resort. After that wonderful holiday we came every year and since 1992 we bought our own apartment at Hilltop where family and friends can stay when they visit the island. Bonaire is quiet, safe and beautiful, a real ‘divers paradise’!
Masha danki.

Thank you and congratulations Mike and Tina!!

I come back to Bonaire because I always enjoy coming to this beautiful island and I enjoy seeing and watching some of God’s creations that I can not see elsewhere. The water is so clear and beautiful and the reefs are so full of life. It is so amazing to see so many different fish, creatures, and corals. At Capt. Don’s the stay on the island is super, the staff are all friendly and helpful. I always feel that I have some friends here. Thank you for taking care of this place. – Silver Ambassador Donna Trippett.

THEY ARE CELEBRATING THEIR 45th ANNIVERSERY ON BONAIRE
That they fell in love with Bonaire is an understatement

These were their words:

We love Bonaire! It is really a “Divers Paradise.” In 1988 on our 27th anniversary we came to Bonaire and had our very first experience with scuba diving. Until now we logged 500 dives with 335 here on Bonaire. To say we fell in love with diving and Bonaire is an understatement. The quiet, friendly, casual, unhurried atmosphere of Bonaire keeps us coming back. The unspoiled beauty of the reefs and their protection by the Marine park is a credit to the determination of many people. They keep Bonaire a “paradise”.

Congratulations Bill & Carol!

Mrs. Vicki Miller is a role model and pro-active ambassador for Bonaire.

After having read a brochure with interesting information of Bonaire and seeing nice pictures of Bonaire in 1989, Vicki Miller decided to visit Bonaire for the first time in September, 1990. Vicki felt very attracted to the quiet atmosphere and wonderful nature of Bonaire. Since then, Vicki has kept visiting the island and last year Tourism Corporation Bonaire honoured Vicki as an ambassador of Bonaire, this having visited the island 15 years. Vicki even visited the island two times in a year.

Now as an ambassador of Bonaire, Vicki is promoting the island to children in the US. In March 2006, Vicki was approached by Fair- OAK Elementary School and Woodstock Elementary School to take part in their annual Cultural Arts and Career Explosion program to share her experiences with the children. Vicki chose Bonaire as her subject and gave the children some interesting information of Bonaire and showed them some beautiful pictures of the island, which left the children very delighted with the island.

The children after that wrote a letter to Vicki, to thank her for telling them such great things of Bonaire and that they all would like to visit Bonaire once. They were delighted with the scuba-diving and nice weather all year long.

Vicki’s dream is to start student exchange programs that would arrange trips for US students to Bonaire to study the island’s nature management and challenge them to share their experiences with others. She is a licensed counselor and is specialized in children, teens and their family’s relations. She hopes that this will allow her to work with Bonairean foundations like Jong Bonaire, Maria Hopner, the youth with specials needs and disabled children.

Tourism Corporation Bonaire would like to sincerely thank Mrs. Vicki Miller for the great promotion she is doing for our island and look forward to a wonderful cooperation between TCB and Mrs. Miller.

Congratulations to the Grahams!!

TCB would like to congratulate Mr. David and his two sons, Zachary and Taylor, with their silver ambassador medals from the island of Bonaire. Dr. Graham, his wife, and two sons started traveling with the US Scuba Center Group 17 years ago. Then their third son, Taylor, was born. Taylor was 6 months old on his first trip to Bonaire. So it is Taylor’s 15th consecutive year traveling to Bonaire.

They love the friendly people of Bonaire, the tranquility and the spectacular diving. The three Graham children have always referred to the Flamingo Beach as their “Bonaire Home” because they love the swimming pools and the friendly Flamingo Beach staff.

Everyone in the Graham family scuba dives. They know that the best diving in the Caribbean is in Bonaire.

It is a pleasure to honor the Graham family with the Silver Ambassador medal. We hope to see them back year after year.

Congratulations and thank you!

Pat Roman and Michele Hutchison have been visiting the island for years and have been recently honored as Bonaire Ambassadors. Over the many years of traveling to Bonaire, they enjoy sharing the love for the island with both their diving and non-diving friends.

According to Pat and Michele, after a week the reactions from visitors are all the same, “this place really grows on you, I haven’t felt this relaxed in years”, is what they hear and what they share. Their dive travels have taken them to many destinations in the world including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the islands of Micronesia, but they always returned to Bonaire and Divi Flamingo, their home in Bonaire. Bonaire is their favorite spot in the Caribbean.

In 2003, Pat reached a dive milestone and logged her 1000th dive on Klein Bonaire. Pat and Michele say that when they think of Bonaire, it is all superb.

It is a pleasure for Tourism Corporation Bonaire to recognize Pat and Irwin as Bonaire Ambassadors. We thank them for their visits and great comments about Bonaire.

Congratulations and Thank you!

They Love Bonaire!

After snorkeling and scuba diving in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan (Honduras), and Hawaii, they followed the suggestions of friends, “go see Bonaire!”

Ralf and Charlotte did and fell in love with it!

Since that 1st time at Bonaire Beach, then Sunset Beach, then at the Sand Dollar they have been coming every year to enjoy this beautiful island, the rich marine life, the friendly Bonaire people, and the still unspoiled nature and the unsurpassed richness of the Bonaire Marine Park.

According to Ralf and Charlotte, “It is comforting to see how fast nature, if undisturbed, repairs even the devastating destructions of the storm 6 years ago! The shore line between the Sand Dollar and Eden Beach is tearing with colorful swirls of fish of all kinds, colors and shapes, even colorful corals and sea anemones grow on the broken pieces of former piers and docks!

This is their 16th Bonaire vacation and they hope to be able to come for many more times.

Ralf and Charlotte thank the people of Bonaire and give their best wishes for this beautiful place! They also give a very special and heartfelt “Danki” to all the Sand Dollar people who took such good care of them for so many years and made them feel at home. They are wonderful!

Congratulations Ralf and Charlotte with your Silver Bonaire Ambassadors medals!

This is the 15th consecutive year that Mr. and Mrs. Molder have been coming to Bonaire.

Every year they look forward to their return. The first time that they came here, their stay was of 1 week, then this turned into 2 weeks, and since they both retired they have been visiting for 4 weeks during the last two years.

They love first of all the friendly people of Bonaire, the sea with the wonderful sea life and also the tranquility of the island. Mrs. Sybil Molder can also practice her Dutch when she is in Bonaire, which is a plus.

For Tourism Corporation Bonaire it is a pleasure to honor Family Molder as Silver Bonaire Ambassadors. We hope to see them back year after year.

Congratulations!

When they first came to Bonaire in 1989, they found this coral island to be a bit different – unique in every way. Diving was their passion in those days, and Bonaire had it all, the most beautiful coral and sea life in the world. Despite the initial shock of having few sand beaches, they fell in love with the island, its friendly people and wonderful cuisines. Throughout the years they have visited, they bought a time-share at Divi Flamingo.

The peace and tranquility that they experience at Divi is overwhelming! Even after 18 years, the love affair continues.

Their annual two weeks here in Bonaire are hardly enough, but they are the highlight of their vacations and now the highlight in their retirement years! Gene and Marcia Trieglaff received the Silver medal for visiting the island for 18 consecutive years.

For Tourism Corporation Bonaire it is a pleasure to have thefamily Trieglaff as Silver Bonaire Ambassadors.

Congratulations!

This is our 19th consecutive January in Bonaire. We fell in love with the island, its underwater beauty, and the warm friendly people. We started bringing our children15 years ago, and now we also come with our grandchildren. We have also spent several summer weeks here. We really feel that Bonaire is like a second home for us. Although it can be challenging to get here from U.S., it’s definitely worth it! Good luck for a bright future!

TCB welcomes Alfred and Sarah Galiani from Virginia, US to the Bonaire Embassador Club. They love the relaxing atmosphere of the island. Alfred and Sara started coming to Bonaire in the year 1985 with dive group. Then they brought their daughter, and now they bring their grandson and granddaughter for their first dive on Bonaire. Alfred and Sarah love the fact that every year when they return people from Bonaire come up to them to say welcome again. On one of their visits, a joke turned into a three week tennis session! Congratulations!

The year 2005 marks Bernhard's 16th consecutive year of visits to Bonaire. Even way back in 1989, when he first visited the island, Bernhard knew that Bonaire was the place that he would be sure to visit yearly. Certified to dive in Bonaire, he states that Bonaire has the most beautiful underwater life and seascapes. His words for our island: Bonaire, the Beautiful Island. On this visit, Bernhard is enjoying the hospitality of Bellafonte Chateau de la Mer.

 

Two years ago, Bob and Marisa just received their Bronze Award, but have now upgraded to Silver, having attained the goal of visiting Bonaire for sixteen consecutive years! Since their very first visit, they have enjoyed the hospitality of Carib Inn. Bob and Marisa are divers and also enjoy windsurfing. They tell us there is no other place in the world which rivals Bonaire for these sports!

Jim and Diane Emry started coming to Bonaire in the 70's as their vacation spot.

Upon their first trip the island, they fell in love with the people of Bonaire. They were both also exposed to an underwater world that was most beautiful.

Over the years they saw many changes, but even through its growth, Bonaire has remained the paradise that they first discovered. The people continue to be warm and friendly. The Marine Park has been well preserved. They enjoy the unhurried, relaxing atmosphere that Bonaire continues to offer.

Cor and Gerry Huisman from Holland have been coming to Sorobon Beach Resort for fifteen years already, and they still love it! They used to go to Curaçao also, but this year they have chosen to stay on Bonaire only. Cor is also the oldest guest of Sorobon, and is 81 years young!

Bruce is awarded the silver medal at Carib Inn for 16 years of visits to Bonaire.

Richard is awarded the silver medal at Carib Inn for 16 years of visits to Bonaire. He tells us:

"This is my 16th year of visiting Bonaire and it certainly will not be the last.  My friends at the Carib Inn and everyone connected with the Bonaire Marine Park have done a spectacular job of making Bonaire's natural beauty and warmth the high point of my scuba diving experience. I've traveled to Australia, Micronesia, Thailand, Hawaii, and Mexico, but always come home to Bonaire. I'm happy to say that I never visit Bonaire without bringing friends from around the world with me! Everyone has been enchanted by Bonaire's beauty and friendly people. I look forward to my next visit in July, 2005!"

Bob and Toni Fortino from Syracuse, New York, USA originally started coming to Bonaire 16 years ago, mainly for the diving it offered. However over the next couple of years they were not only drawn here by the diving, but also by the warmth and friendliness of the people.

Through the years they have experienced so many wonderful things too numerous to mention. Bob and Toni also enjoy seeing the progress evidention of the island while never losing its individuality.

These are just a few things which makes coming to Bonaire a unique vacation experience year after year.

They have many fond memories of the people they have met in Bonaire, and always look forward to seeing them when they return. Bonaire is truly a Paradise!

Because of their 16 consecutive years coming to Bonaire, The Tourism Corporation Bonaire honored them as Bonaire Ambassadors and here they received their Silver Medals.

To see more recipients of Silver Medals, click here.