Happy New Year! Welcome to the Year of the Ram!

It is said, people born in the zodiac sign of the Ram - 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, and 2003 are very thoughtful, righteous, sincere, and elegant. They are also artistic, calm, reserved, happy, generous, and kind. These personality traits make them very likable and add to their charm. Are you a Ram?

It is hard to believe but we have just passed the halfway point of our fiscal year. At this time, I'd like to acknowledge and thank our Board Members, Committee Chairs, and Assistant Executive Director Lei Momi Fujiyama Pillers for their unconditional support and continued hard work in planning and scheduling our community events and workshops to enrich your chamber membership experience.

The New Year 2015 already started with a bang. On January 7th, your chamber, in participation with the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, held its first joint Goji Kara or business after hour event at the new First Hawaiian Bank Branch, located at Prince Kuhio Shopping Center. This sold out event was attended by some 70 chamber members. Those in attendance viewed first-hand the most automated banking system in the state...tasted onolicous food catered by Don's Grill ...and got to sample fine white wines provided by Kadota Liquor. We want to thank Chuck Erskine, Branch Manager and his staff at First Hawaiian Bank for their warm hospitality.

Following the Goji Kara, chamber first vice president Darren Nishioka attended the 67th annual Hawaii Floriculture Nursery Association (HFNA) Shinnenkai at Nani Mau Gardens on January 10th. In support of president Eric Tanouye and the officers and directors of HFNA, dignitaries present included Governor David Ige, Mayor Billy Kenoi, and House of Representative Clifton Tsuji. According to JCCIH First V.P. Darren Nishioka, the event was very successful and all in attendance truly had a great time.

On January 22nd, your chamber held our inaugural Shinnenkai at Nani Mau Gardens. This fun-filled event was attended by 60 plus chamber members and guests. Along with the delicious prime rib dinner, attendees were treated to the sweet sounds of Stevenson Sioloa, and participated in many lucky number drawings, thanks to the generous donation of many chamber members. In addition, members found the selfie photo opportunity especially entertaining, thanks to the generous donation of Ryan Kajikawa and Brandy Miyose who brought their Picture U Photo Booth.

The distinguished Urasenke Hilo Association held its annual New Year's Tea Ceremony at Liliuokalani Park Gardens on January 26th. Led by past chamber presidents Russell Oda and Art Taniguchi, who also serve as President and Vice President of the Urasenke Hilo Association, the event included preparation and presentation of powdered green tea (Matcha), followed by a great lunch prepared by members of the Urasenke Hilo Association at the Tea House.

On the evening of January 26th, the Japanese Community Association of Hawaii (JCAH) held its 43rd annual Shinnenkai at the Crown Room of the Naniloa Hotel. It was an honor and privilege to represent our chamber at this gala event. Ms. Jan Higashi was installed as the new and first female president of JCAH and dignitaries in attendance included former Governor George Ariyoshi and First Lady Jean Ariyoshi, the honorable Consul General of Japan Toyeei Shigeeda, and County Mayor Billy Kenoi and First Lady Takako Kenoi.

In the coming months, your chamber will be offering other exciting events and programs to further enrich your membership.  On March 2nd, your chamber together with the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, will be co-sponsoring the "Journey through the Universe" via a dinner engagement at the Hilo Yacht Club. These events will soon be followed by our 16th Annual Chamber Golf Classic Tournament at Hilo Municipal Golf Course on March 4th and our sponsorship of the Economic Outlook of Hawaii County presented by Mayor Billy Kenoi later in the month.

We truly appreciate your continued support of the chamber and look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events.

The New Year is a good time to reflect and to set goals. One of the goals for the Education committee is to educate our members. This year we will be rolling out a series of leadership workshops. In January to kick off the series, we were very fortunate to have Dr. Dave Hyslop from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) speak to us about the importance of using 360-degree job assessments. 

 

 

As a leader, our main goal is for our employees to succeed. What is the best way to measure and build an individual's leadership effectiveness? In many organizations, individuals move up the ladder because they are good at what they do but do not have formal training on how to be a leader. One of the keys in developing leadership effectiveness is to increase the leader's "sensitivity" about how well he/she is performing. This assessment has proven to be effective because it identifies the individual's current level of leadership performance, identifies specific behaviors demonstrating strengths and competence, identifies areas for improvement in leadership performance, assists in creating coaching opportunities between the leader and his/her supervisor (if applicable), and provides sufficient information to create a development plan and to measure long term growth. 

We invite you to join us for our next Lunch & Learn on Thursday, April 19, 2015 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at the new UHH Student Services Building with leadership guru Teresa Wallace. In this workshop, you will receive a personalized assessment highlighting your performance on the 10 scientifically proven talents of successful entrepreneurs and hands-on coaching activities that help you better use your strengths, develop your opportunity areas, and a guide that assists you in understanding the entrepreneurial talents of others. We hope to see you there!

Big mahalo to our master of ceremonies, Gordon Takaki.  With just two days before the event, he was a sport and stepped up to the plate when asked to emcee.  Ryan Kajikawa and his better half Brandy Miyose of Picture U Hawaii generously donated their photo booth.  Members dressed up in playful costumes and took pictures together.  Missy Miyashiro did a great job with the centerpieces where members wrote down their wishes for 2015.  For the closing of our Shinnenkai, we were fortunate to have four past presidents:  Dwayne Mukai, Randy Kurohara, Carol VanCamp and Tommy Goya lead us in our tejime.  Randy shared a great story with us about his time in Ohshima, Japan and his experience with tejime there.

Appreciation goes to our raffle prize donators:  KTA Super Stores, First Hawaiian Bank, Ginoza Realty, Inc., Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and Allstate Insurance.  Members were able to get tickets for these prizes by opening up their hearts and giving to the Friends of the Children's Justice Center.  Our Underwear & Sock Drive was a great success with 21 packs of socks and 24 packs of underwear.  Thank you to our amazing JCCIH members for your generous hearts!

For more information on Journey through the Universe, please visit: http://www.gemini.edu/journey

CTE Program Advisory Council Meeting

One reason CTE programs are successful is because the college works closely with the industries that will employ our graduates. On February 19, the college will host the Career & Technical Education Program Advisory Council for the annual program meetings.

Advisory councils are formed for each degree program, so community leaders in business, industry, and the professions can provide guidance regarding course content, the selection of training equipment, employment needs, and the effectiveness of different programs.

2nd Annual Hawai'i CC Day

One way we are celebrating CTE Month is with our 2nd Annual Hawai'i CC Day on February 26 and 27. Hundreds of middle and high school students will visit the Manono Campus in Hilo and engage with our CTE programs as well as our liberal arts, social science, and natural science programs. Faculty, staff, and current Hawai'i Community College students will also be available to answer questions. This annual event was developed as a way to showcase our campus, services, and academic programs for Hawai'i Island students.