What a month it has been! One week ago – just two weeks after Hurricane Irma hit our sister islands and St. Croix served as a place of relief and refuge – another Category 5, Hurricane Maria, wreaked havoc on the Virgin Islands. This time, St. Croix was not quite as lucky – many homes lost their roofs, power lines were downed, the leaves were literally blown off of the trees. The road to recovery will be long, but progress is already being made.

Our fleet is ready to roll!

We are pleased to report that Centerline Car Rentals’ staff and fleet are ok. Manuel, Edwin and I arrived at our Airport Office on Thursday morning to assess the situation. We sustained some water intrusion at our office, which was a mess to clean up, but minor compared to what we know many in our island family are going through. Some of our vehicles had minor damage, but repairs are already underway. Our airport counters and admin office are open. To all who are planning to arrive on St. Croix in the coming weeks and months and need a rental car, we are ready for you!

Mobilizing Search & Rescue and their Marine escort.

Our first post-storm customers were the United States Marines and the Fairfax County search and rescue teams. We have been providing Jeeps, vans, 4×4 trucks and other vehicles to these groups. We are also providing support to the Air Force, VI National Guard, FEMA, AT&T, Cruzan Rum reconstruction crew, British Royal Marines, Bohlke, Medivac, and other recovery operations.

The La Reine and Christiansted offices will be closed until further notice as our focus is on Airport operations for now.

The VI Port Authority working hard to restore the Airport.

We would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to many groups who have been working tirelessly to help our beautiful island:

• To WAPA and Broadband VI, thank you for getting us up and running promptly!
• Our gratitude goes to all of the first responders who have been on the ground helping to restore a sense of safety and security.
• We have so much appreciation for the immediate and massive effort of the VI Port Authority who have been working to open up transportation to and from St. Croix.
• And thank you to all who have send their thoughts, prayers and support. We are grateful to be part of such a caring community.

Help is here	Help is here
Help is here	Medical triage tents at the airport
Organizing the troops	Ready to serve you!
Helping one of our neighbors re-fuel	Returning our rental horse to his lot across the street

If you are interested in supporting relief and recovery in St. Croix, please consider a donation to Tim Duncan’s 21 US Virgin Island Relief Fund or one specifically for St. Croix, like this St. Croix Relief Supplies fundraiser.

Also, keep in mind that one of the best ways to help us is to keep tourism alive in the USVI! We’re still surrounded by the beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean. St. Croix’s many hotels, bars and restaurants are eager to show you some Cruzan hospitality later this winter. And, of course, Centerline is here to help you get around!

If you need to change your upcoming reservation, please do so on our web site, www.stxrentalcar.com, or by calling 340-692-2525. Please do not reply to this email or contact us through Facebook to change a reservation.