HANA HOU SAIL – JULY 15th
If you missed it, hopefully you’ll join us when
we set sail again on July 15th.
Same time: Gather at 5:15p.m. at
the Beach Bar, Sheraton Moana.
Boarding: 5:30p.m. sharp! (We
left one passenger at the lifeguard station waving aloha to us.) Tickets are $10 members and $12 guests. Pupu platters are provided by your special
events team: Pat Shapiro and Louise Coward.
Pat reminds us that parking is available at the zoo, or on the Ala Wai,
or you can valet park at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider for $4.50 if you validate
your parking ticket (and that means you gotta buy at least a soft drink). That’s in addition to the delicious
Mai Tais & soft drinks that can be purchased, on board, for $1, beer for
$2. Dress is casual. You will get wet climbing onboard!
Please RSVP to Pat Shapiro ASAP: phone 395-1217,
email patspics@yahoo.com
Oh yes, one more thing, if the weather isn’t on our side, the boat
won’t be there, so we’ll picnic on the beach instead! HANA HOU!
by Rudi
Laarhoven
Our traveling members this month are MARY HOUGHTON (MHC,Inc.) who is leaving on Thursday, July 20 for a two-week visit
to the British Isles and neighboring Ireland.
Mary is taking her mother-in-law for her 80th birthday to
places that meant something to her in her younger years such as the Trocadero
in London and Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. A few weeks later, JANE
BROWN (Automation Management
Consultants LLC) is flying to Amsterdam where she will use a Eurorail Pass
to stop over in many places and visit many countries. On her list to date are the EXPO in Hannover, Germany, Salzburg
and Vienna in Austria, the Alps in Switzerland. Undoubtedly, we will hear more
from her about this adventure. RUDI LAARHOVEN’s (Computer Training Academy) daughter, Silayan, who is a Fulbright
scholar in Germany, just wrote how interesting and different the pavilions are
at the EXPO. One can spend days walking
around and absorbing the diversity of the cultures that people our globe. Silayan noticed one pavilion from Lesotho, a
tiny country in central Africa. They
used to share their house in Canberra, Australia, with a demographer, DJ, from
there, but have lost contact. The hostesses at the pavilion knew him and were
willing to pass a letter from Silayan on to him. It will be interesting to see if he writes back to them in
Hawaii. Silayan is due home in time to
talk to Jane about the Expo. LOUISE
WOODEN (Fairway View Bed & Breakfast) returned
from an extended trip that began May 15 with three nights in Vienna, then
cruising the Danube, stopping & touring inland along the way, then ending
her trip with three nights in Prague. On her way back to the U.S.A. she visited
relatives in Washington, D.C., northern Minnesota, and her three daughters and
eight grandchildren in Washington state and Santa Cruz, California. Louise is
happy to be home again! She wants us to
know how very proud and pleased she was to accept the Alex Memorial Scholarship
2000 at our last luncheon for her daughter Springy Yamasaki. Springy is Dean of
Students at Skyridge Middle School in Camas, Washington working on a Masters in
School Administration, with the next step, becoming a school principal. GLORIA AFFIGNE (Pepsi-Cola Company) wants to share with us how thrilled she is
with her Lasik, laser eye surgery. She
does not use her glasses any longer, while before the surgery she was totally
helpless without them. It was the right
time for her to take the step. Gloria
pointed out that, in general, the laser surgery has become more effective and
affordable, and easier to execute, with
less risk. DENISE CROSBY, president of the friendliest collection
agency in town, May We Help?, just added two new associates to her
company - Noa Batlin and Debbie Kim-Ito - both of whom joined May We Help,
after hearing Denise’s enthusiastic talk about her company at recent PWN
luncheons. They make a trio of PWN-connected associates, along with Carol
Johnston, who joined Denise a month ago, following one of our
luncheons. Denise made good use of her Entertainment Book when she bought
Subway sandwiches to serve the ladies at their introductory session. Don’t forget to send me your latest uses of
your Entertainment Books so we can share them with all members. BONNIE LAMBING (NIKKEN Independent
Distributor) had a true All-American July 4th celebration as she
and her husband spent Independence Day on the USS Missouri. They toured the ship, had a BBQ dinner &
drinks, danced to big band sounds and that of former PWN member Jan
Brenner. They also probably had the
best seats in town for fireworks.
Bonnie says they were fantastic as they viewed those close-up at Pearl
Harbor, but could also see Ala Moana and Hickam’s displays. She said, “Best 4th I’ve ever
had!” On Thursday, July 6th,
TV viewers throughout the nation got to know a man named, Omer Poirier, a
federal prosecutor here in Hawaii. Many
of you probably watched TVs #1 show, as Omer, the first contestant from Hawaii
to make it to the hot seat on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” walked away with
$125,000. Omer told Regis Philbin about
his hobby of bread-making, and how he shares it with others in his office. Well, it seems he also shares his delicious
bread with PWN members. Omer is a friend
of DENISE CROSBY (May We Help?), and was on a hike with her and JANE
BROWN (Automation Management Consultants LLC) and BARBARA GUSS (Adecco). We wonder if Omer will be as ready to share
his newfound wealth as readily as he shares his bread.
WELCOME
TO NEW MEMBER
CONNIE SIZEMORE
Sacred Hearts Academy
3253 Waialae Ave
Honolulu HI 96816
Tel. at work: 734-5058 ext 242
Fax: 737-7867
Tel. at home:262-1887
Email: csizemore@sacredhearts.org
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Who Is Bonnie Lambing?
(as told to Carol Williams by
Bonnie)
Well, at this
point in my life I’m still trying to figure that out and decide what I want to
be when I grow up. In the whole scheme
of things our lives are just an instant in time, and the past is past and
really no longer matters.
But, since you
asked, I grew up in Seattle. I have two
children from my first marriage. Carl is now 37 and lives in
Palmer, Alaska and Cheryl, who is 33, is expecting her first baby in
December. I lived in Seattle until I
moved to Hawaii with Cheryl, in 1984. She has long since returned to Seattle.
In April of 1988, I met my
husband, Russ, through the Unity Church singles group. We were married at Unity
on September 1, 1988.
I was a
Certified Medical Assistant, so when I first arrived in Honolulu, I worked for
Dr. Jim Barahal at Doctor’s On Call in Waikiki. Since that time, I have held a variety of positions at Straub, AIG Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, and
as owner of Above and Beyond Travel.
Now I am in the best place of all, working at home for myself, as an
Independent Distributor of Nikken Products.
I became a
Nikken distributor because of the possibilities I could envision both in
helping others and help them have a business.
The products have helped me so much that I wanted to use them to help
other people; but unfortunately, most people are very slow to accept something
“new” (NIKKEN products are actually not new at all, they’re a part of Mother
Earth and a natural force in our bodies), so I am simply telling people the
story and hoping that when they finally wake up to the need or run across a
friend that I could help, they will remember me.
Along with using
my NIKKEN products for good health, I try to walk in the early morning three to
five times a week (you asked what my hobbies are … well, at first I was going
to say that walking would be considered a hobby, but it’s really a chore …
skiing, traveling and learning to play golf are my true hobbies). And, I’ve just started attending aqua
aerobics at the Mauna Luan pool two or three mornings a week (one hour of that
and I really feel like I’ve had a work out)!
Some of you
might think I still live in the house Russ and I designed and built at the
850-foot level in Kahalakua. What a
view we had! We had moved there in 1996
after living in a model home at Kailua Bluffs, a community developed under my
husband’s direction. We recently sold
the Kahalakua house and moved into a condo which we remodeled at the Mauna Luan
in Hawaii Kai, right back where we started in 1988. (Our first home was at the Esplanade Condo in Hawaii Kai.)
I have been a
member of PWN since 1993. In 1995 I
chaired the Annual PWN trade show, this year I’m handling Arrangements. This helps me to get to know some of you
better. I know many women in Hawaii on
a casual basis, and would like to get to know some of them a little better, but
time seems to get in the way. PWN is
one way to force us to take the time to know each other better, and once you
know someone better, it’s easier to network with them.
What is my philosophy
on life? The person I admire most would
be Oprah Winfrey, and I guess the reasons I admire her would about sum up my
philosophy, also. She has become a true
advocate for helping women to “Find Their Spirit”. Believe me, I am still searching. I also truly admire the work
she is doing in recognizing other people helping people. I often ask myself what is it that I am
meant to be or do, and I’m still not sure about that.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Alex’s Legacy
At our June luncheon, we were pleased to honor
the memory of a little girl who left this life before she had the chance to
live and experience all that her family hoped for her to experience. Our scholarship fund was set up to benefit
members and their families with continued education in the name of Alex, the
niece of former PWN
president, Beth Busch. Following are
excerpts from an article written by Beth Busch which appeared in an issue of
the PWN newsletter following the death of her niece, Alex.
“…I’ve been
thinking almost daily that I need to write something for the newsletter. During the last three years, as Alex waged
her battle against leukemia, Professional Women’s Network members have been a
constant source of support to my sister Kim, Alex and to me. We’ve felt your prayers and had Network
newsletter articles about Alex taped up in her room at Cook Children’s in Fort
Worth. We feel the need to say
something, but it’s hard to know what…
…One day, I went
into Alex’s room and the Child Life Specialist, someone we had grown to like very
much, had posted a few words about hope.
The unlikely author was Vaclav Havel, a playwright before he became
president of Czechoslovakia. His words,
though simple and seemingly obvious, struck right at the heart of our situation
and became a kind of mantra for us during those last days: “(Hope is) the certainty that something
makes sense regardless of how it turns out.”
“It is hope above all which gives us the strength to live…”
…How do you go
on when your dreams are gone?
With hope. And with the knowledge that Alex has her
victory. She did not lose this battle;
she won – and she won big! Not only is
she rollerblading in heaven, free of a body that did not serve her well in this
life, she has complete understanding of why this happened to her – something
Kim and I still search for.
On behalf of
Alex and her family, thank you for remembering her with the Alex Memorial
Scholarship. She only attended a little
bit of kindergarten, but she loved it and she loved learning and she will love
that you honor her in this way. We
thank you again for all your support and we hope you take comfort, as we do, in
the knowledge that you have a new angel watching over you.”
It is the hope of PWN that the scholarship
awarded this year to Springy Yamasaki, daughter of member Louise Wooden, will help Springy to realize her dreams in life and,
as pointed out by Scholarship Chair Ute
Regan, the money is surely needed, however the greater feeling arises
knowing that people care and want to help in the struggle for education. Congratulations
to Springy and to her very supportive mom, Louise.
Reflections on Hope
Either
we have hope within us or we don’t.
It
is a dimension of the soul and it is not essentially
dependent
on some particular observation of the world.
It
is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart.
It
transcends the world that is immediately experienced
and
is anchored somewhere beyond its horizon.
Hope
in this deep and powerful sense is not the same
as
joy that things are going well
or
willingness to invest in enterprises
that
are obviously headed for success,
but
rather to work for something because it is good,
not
just because it stands a chance to succeed.
Hope
is definitely not the same as optimism.
It
is not the conviction that something will turn out well,
but
the certainty that something makes sense
regardless
of how it turns out.
It
is hope above all which gives us the strength to live
and
try new things.
-- Vaclav Havel
Always
keep hope in your heart. This is Alex’s
final lesson and her legacy to us all.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
REMINDER: PWN
mailing labels (member list)are available to Network members only for $20. Send your $20 check payable to PWN to:
Professional Women's Network, PO Box
37052, Honolulu, HI 96837
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
JUNE LUNCHEON SPEAKER RECAP
By Bonnie Lambing
SPEAKER: LOWELL KALAPA “The Ship Continues to Drift”
Per Mr. Kalapa,
the title of his speech pretty much summed up the performance of our
legislators this past session. He began
by telling us that some of the information he was about to present, with regard
to the local government, might leave us feeling appalled, but hopefully would
get us fired up enough to maybe take some action.
In the last
three or four years, our tax system has changed dramatically, but sadly it took
a major and prolonged slump in our economy to get our legislature to finally
pass some legislation to revise it. The
bad news is that much of the good tax legislation that was passed in those 3 or
4 years had been discussed for two or three decades with no action taken
because, basically, changes in the law would mean less money for
government. This was the first time a
change had been made to our income tax rate since 1965, when $25,000 was a high
annual income.
Other
legislation addressed at this session:
Pyramiding General Excise Tax passed in
1999, which reduced the tax rate on sales of services, which are resold, or
purchased for resale. It took 30 years
to accomplish this change.
Act 70 Legislation passed in 1999,
recognized that in 1987 we had decided to makeourselves
more price competitive on the World Market, and should exempt goods sold
outside the state from the 4% general excise tax, but unfortunately services
sold outside Hawaii were not included.
Finally, in 1999, with Act 70, the legislature corrected that, however,
there is a form that must be completed by you and your client in order to
qualify for the exemption.
But the “Ship
Continues to Drift”. We have cut
incomes taxes, but government has made it more difficult to do business in this
State by raising user fees and the fees for registering a business. We have adopted fees that are the same as
the State of New York, and these fees have created a 14-million-dollar budget
surplus. At a time when we desperately
need new businesses in Hawaii our legislature seems to be doing all they can to
discourage it. In addition, the cost of
obtaining a building permit has been dramatically increased, discouraging
new construction. Most of the
construction in Honolulu now is being paid for by bond funds, which will soon
run out. Where will our construction
industry be then?
Mr. Kalapa feels
that the belief that our economy is getting better is false euphoria. Our government continues to do everything it
can to make the cost of doing business in this state higher and higher. Our economy has not improved except by
circumstances totally beyond our control.
The mainland economy has caused interest rates to climb at a time when
Hawaii’s economy was just beginning an upturn; Mr. Kalapa predicts two more
interest rate hikes before the end of the year, and a slowdown for our economy
again.
More and more
businesses are closing their doors and the owners are leaving the state. We have 76 legislators that do not
understand business. They don’t think
that businesses should be making a profit.
One of the
biggest problems of our legislature is Political Party imbalance, which is
detrimental to progress. Mr. Kalapa
feels change will not be made until people, meaning us, you and me, get
involved. Find candidates you can
support, preferably fresh, bright new faces.
We need to replace these long time legislators who have forgotten their
purpose and what is good for Hawaii.
Mr. Kalapa also
pointed out the need for education reform in Hawaii, with more business
training for our students.
Until we get
involved our SHIP WILL CONTINUE TO
DRIFT.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
JULY 2000 LUNCHEON
SPEAKER
Mufi
Hannemann is a member of the Honolulu City Council. Hannemann, of
Samoan-German-English parentage, was born and raised in Honolulu. He attended
public schools in Kalihi before being accepted to Iolani School, where he was
student body president and an all-star athlete in basketball and football. He
graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1976 and studied in New Zealand
as a Fulbright Scholar before returning to Hawaii to teach and coach at Iolani.
He has a diverse background
in government, business, and politics. Hannemann began his public service as an
administrative assistant to former Governor George Ariyoshi. He followed that
with a term as special assistant with the U.S. Department of the Interior
during the administration of President Jimmy Carter. In 1983, he was selected
for the prestigious White House Fellow program, serving on the staff of
then-Vice President George Bush. Upon his return to Hawaii, he was named vice
president for corporate marketing and public affairs for C. Brewer and Company,
Ltd. Hannemann left Brewer to become a member of the Governor's Cabinet, first
as director of the Office of International Relations, then as director of the
Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism before being
elected to the City Council.
Please join us, Wednesday, July 26th to hear City
Councilmember and mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann, share his thoughts on the
state of the city. Get involved and
ready for a rousing Q&A session.
Location:
Hale Koa Hotel
Date/Time: July
26, 2000 (bring your business cards)
Registration and
Networking @ 11:30 am
Reservations: Telephone 533-4800 by noon Monday, July24th. Reservations are required for confirmed
seating. No shows are billed. Doors
close promptly at noon, reservations
may be forfeited if not claimed by that time.
Menu: Soup:
Tomato basil
Entrée: Herb Seasoned chicken breast
w/fresh vegetable
&
garlic mashed potatoes.
Dessert:
Ginger orange strawberry shortcake
Coffee
and Tea is served
Vegetarian: Fresh fruit salad
Cost: Members: $18
Guests: $25
Validated
parking: $2
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