Fredrick Morton, Jr

The charismatic former legal counsel for MTV wowed a crowd of local businesspersons and fans of Caribbean music gathered at the Reichhold Center for the Arts. Morton met with members of the media, and signed autographs prior to taking the stage to talk about his brainchild, the TEMPO television station.

The attorney told Caribbean Net News, "Tempo has used the island of St Croix as a venue for nine productions, more so than any other location, and will be returning there on November 4, for the one year anniversary of the launch."

Morton went on to say that since he is a St Croix native the musical interests and talents of Virgin Islanders can't help but be a part of his long term thinking about the future of TEMPO.

During his speech Morton said the name TEMPO "came to him and through him from God to him when he awoke at about 3:00 am one morning."

He said he strongly believes "the spirit of God shines through in the music of the Caribbean," and "the Caribbean is being united through the force of  all Caribbean music being brought together in the form of TEMPO."

Morton announced that a total of 20 islands are reflected on-air, with about 1.5 million viewers watching the channel at the present time. He further stated, "It just goes to show you that you can come from a very small island and have a huge impact on the world." 

Morton said the Caribbean is stronger when unified, rather than regionally, pointing out that the "Caribbean produces more athletes than any other region of the world." 

Throughout his brief speech, the Caribbean music aficionado involved the audience in answering questions and responding to his comments.

St Thomas music promotor Kenneth Joseph said that he feels the presence of TEMPO will allow people on the mainland who are not familiar with what the USVI has to offer the Caribbean music world a chance to be heard.

Businesswoman Afrika Harrigan, said she felt," The VI can embrace TEMPO because it represents and is a part of the culture of the Virgin islands."     

Morton wrapped up his comments by introducing salsa singer, Denise "Saucy Baby" Belfon, who wasted no time getting audience participants to their feet when she started to belt out her namesake introduction, by performing "Saucy Baby." 

A few ladies were invited to join her on stage for an impromptu lesson on what can best be described as the appropriate body language for a female salsa performer.

Well known reggae and R&B singer, Jimmy Cozier was next called to the stage. When the sound system began to fail, the seasoned performer entertained the audience by performing acappella as he was cheered on by listeners, who continued clapping and joining him in song.
 
The St Thomas-St John Rotary Club organized the event as a chance for the business community to network. The RSVP gathering was publicized as a opportunity for the business community to become more informed about the advertising opportunities available with TEMPO.

However, the presence of both the performers and the TEMPO executive drew a much larger number of attendees than usual, with the Reichold Center seating capacity filled to about 75 percent.

The civic group holds the social events on a monthly basis.