Cutting the ribbon to declare Milano Diamond Gallery at Port St. Maarten officially open on Friday evening are (from left) Marketing Director Shelby Rojas; Regional Manager Vick Makhija and his daughter Mannat Makhija; owner Tulsi Kheskwani; and Chief Operations Officer Rahul Kheskwani.
~ Raises more than $16,000 to help residents rebuild ~
PHILIPSBURG--Milano Diamond Gallery held its grand opening at Port St. Maarten with a celebration of music, cocktails and a fundraising silent auction at the establishment on Friday evening.
Regional Manager Vick Makhija said the Milano Diamond Gallery name had been acquired recently. Milano, which is headquartered in New York, has about 49 branches around the region. He said the store had been a missing element at Port St. Maarten and the port was happy to have been given an opportunity to open the store there.
The opening of the store at Port St. Maarten brings to four the total number of stores in St. Maarten that fall under the same umbrella, three under the Milano name and one Diamonds Forever. Makhija said Milano is a reputable company with high quality products that are primarily made in-house. The company manufacturers 80-90 per cent of the products it sells.
The store opened its doors at Port St. Maarten on November 15 last year and decided to hold its grand opening celebration on Friday evening coupled with a charity event.
Fifteen to 20 items were up for grabs in the silent auction, which raised US $16,000 to help residents in Dutch Quarter and South Reward rebuild from the effects of Hurricane Irma. In addition to the $16,000 raised during the silent auction, funds were donated directly for the charity initiative, but this total had not yet been tallied up to press time.
All the proceeds will be turned over to the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF), which will channel the funds to persons who need to rebuild in the two identified areas. Makhija sees the funds donated to the worthy cause as “a step towards humanity,” adding that if a smile is put on the face of even one person, the company would be happy.
A number of establishments donated the items that were auctioned and Makhija thanked everyone for their donations.
