EARLY LIFE

       Mr. James started Super Dad 340 on February 23, 2016. Super Dad 340 advocates for the fathers in the community. The vision for Super Dad 340 came from Mr. James’ father’s example and his realization of the lack of support for and involvement of fathers in the community. “In the Virgin Islands right now, the mothers are in control. There are lots of single mother homes. I’m not saying that a single mother cannot raise a young man or young woman. However, it’s good to have that balance. Even if there isn’t a father in the household. At least a male role model, whether it be a cousin or an uncle. We as a community, we must become father figures for those who don’t have fathers,” explained Mr. James. This leads up to Super Dad 340. A Super Dad is a father who goes above and beyond to makes sure that his family is well. Not just for his children, but he makes sure that his family is doing well. “My father played a major role in my life. He was very interested in politics. Every time there was an election he was always there. It was a form of apprenticeship being under my father. Through networking we met a lot of people and my father’s friends became my friends. I was able to learn from my father and it passed onto me. Now that I can do great things as a father I want to pass it on to the young men in the community. I saw a void. Mother’s Day came around and everyone made noise, but Father’s Day came around and you could hear a pin drop. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make noise for Father’s Day,” described Mr. James.

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       June 18, 2016 was the first Super Dad 340 event where they honored 5 fathers who were chosen by Super Dad 340 and the Rotary Club of St. Croix. “Being eligible to become a Super Dad doesn’t require you to be married. The man needs to be heavily involved in the child’s life. Not only financially, but in all other aspects. For example, going out to the child’s school, taking them out for fun, attending spelling bees, reading to them and playing with them. Essentially he must be involved in that child’s life. It is a plus if you’re married. The groups ask for input from the community and research the nominee’s background to ensure that the individuals are indeed eligible for the title “Super Dad”. The event went extremely well with Senator Francis and Senator Nelson as guest speakers.

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       On June 11th 2017 they honored 6 more dads at the Second Annual Super Dad 340 Ceremony. The guest speaker this year was Terrance Joseph who ran as a Democrat in 2016 and is an avid advocate for fathers in the community. The event featured local artist, Maria Carmona. Each father received a plaque to honor their hard work and outstanding dedication to their children. The event was even featured on the front page of the St. Croix Avis on June 18, 2017.

BUSINESS VENTURE

       Super Dad 340 is a for-profit business. To increase proceeds the company started selling the Proud Parent of the USVI T-shirts. Mr. James doesn’t want it to be a non-profit. His ultimate goal for the business is increasing the amount of merchandise he has, even expanding to “Super-Moms”. He would like to expand it to other Caribbean islands. All the profits will go back into the organization and he will give some of the proceeds back to the youth. It is currently only in the USVI, but Mr. James plans to take it global. “Eventually with Super Dad 340 advocating for fathers, we want to have seminars encouraging fathers to step their game up,” explained Mr. James.

PUBLIC FIGURE

       Mr. James speaks at the Youth Rehabilitation Center (YRC), Boys and Girls Club and several schools across the island.  “I love speaking with At-Risk Youth for the fact that I was once an at-risk youth. Not saying that I was into gun violence, but in neighborhood that I grew up in it could have been so easy for me to become a product of my environment. That’s why I enjoy working with at-risk youths,” said Mr. James. He usually visits the Juanita Gardine Elementary School and thinks that the school is being overlooked. “If you look at the population of that school, many children are from low-income homes. That’s my passion and love, the Juanita Gardine school. I know there are lots of at-risk youths there. We spend a lot of time at the elementary and junior high level because statistics show that junior high students start to learn about sex and drugs. I want to catch them right there before they go into high school. Once you’re in high school it’s like college, you’re on your own,” explained Mr. James.

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       In July 2017, he spoke at the UVI career fair where he shared his life story, the importance of learning finance, taking risks, setting goals, networking, and entrepreneurship. At a second UVI event he presented to three groups of students between the ages of thirteen through sixteen years old for 45 minutes on the same topics. “We are planning to host more workshops and seminars in 2018 on all 3 islands. We are working towards having more like-minded individuals to help bridge this generational gap in the V.I.,” said Mr. James. 

TAKING POLITICAL ACTION

       Mr. James is running for senate as a Democrat in the 2018 election. He plans to work with the young democrats to change the mentality of people who are democrats and feels that the democrats have so much work to do as a party. He is excited to be a part of that process. “I see innovation when it comes to the young democrats. It is time for out of the box thinking and updated technology. We are now using social media to get our messages across instead of the regular means of communication i.e. radio stations, newspapers and press releases,” explained Mr. James. There’s a big gap between the millennials and the elders. The elders feel that the millennials are not ready and the millennials feel like the elders should leave office because they are holding us back.

MR. JAMES' PLATFORM