MERRY Christmas! Richard Lacey (left) yesterday awarded this $1,000 check to José Ángel Agüero (right) Agüero's wife Ivannia Bejarano and their four children, Ángel, 4, Kender, 6, José, 9, and Juan, 16. Agüero's name was drawn in a free raffle Lacey held for those in the community where he opened his Green Turtle Souvenir Outlet. Tico Times/Robert Goodier

Green Turtle Awards $1,000 to Shuttle Driver
By Robert Goodier
Tico Times Staff
rgoodier-at-ticotimes.net

When José Ángel Agüero heard he won $1,000 in cash and merchandise, his first thought was for the necklace he would like to give his wife.

Agüero, his wife Ivannia Berjarano, and their four children accepted the prize yesterday in the form of a colossal check handed over by Green Turtle Souvenir Outlet owner Richard Lacey. The windfall was the payout on a lucky draw in a free Christmas raffle Lacey held for community members and crafts makers around his arts and crafts store.

“This is a good motivation to keep recommending this place,” said Agüero, a shuttle-bus driver for the nearby Hampton Inn.

The prize value is triple that of his monthly income. Of the total, $500 is cash, and $500 can be exchanged for in-store merchandise.

The adults don't have grandiose plans for the money – they said they would use it to pay off some debts and buy household necessities, but their children, four boys ages 4-16, were running the numbers on their shopping-basket credit before they hit the aisles. They wanted a hammock, a drum and hats, and the youngest, “Angelito,” 4, had his eye on a wooden crocodile.

Agüero wanted to give his wife, Ivannia Bejarana, a necklace, he said, after that, maybe some shirts for the kids.

The raffle was Lacey's contribution to the community in which he set up shop a little more than year ago. He would like for it to be the first of many such drawings, the next one planned for Easter.

“You feel good giving to someone like him (Agüero), who earns so little,” Lacey said.

The Green Turtle offers 10,000 crafts in wood, ceramic, jewelry, leather, among other products from 150 Costa Rican crafts makers. It gives a percentage of its profits to sea turtle conservation groups.

The souvenir store is located in Alajuela, northwest of San José , near the Juan Santamaría International Airport behind the Hampton Inn. For information call 430-0211.

Click on the link and download more Green Turtle Souvenirs News!!

Green Turtle Project - The Tamarindo News 12/2005 - 01/2006

Can Souvenirs Save The World? - The Tamarindo Times June 15/July 15 2005

Boruca Crafts Preserve Memories - Tico Times/November 28, 2003