Rotarian of the Week: Paul Sibley

Honolulu Sunrise President Paul Sibley grew up in southern Louisiana where he graduated with a B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University then a M.B.A from the University of San Francisco with dual concentrations in International Business Management and Finance. Paul has worked for HMSA since 2002 leveraging his previous finance and consulting skills developed over the past 17 years in investment banking, IT consulting, real estate development and commercial lending. At HMSA, Paul is involved in most aspects of the company from payment reform models to community collaborative grant writing, and more.

Outside of HMSA, Paul is a board member of the Lyon Arboretum Association, active with the American Cancer Society and involved with endurance events while spending all available time with his lovely wife of 11 years and their two young boys.

Tourism, Tech and Giving Thanks

At Honolulu Sunrise, we started the week with some of our favorite people: Liz Kane, D5000 Assistant Governor, Central Oahu Clubs; Pete’s wife, Judy Van Zile; former member, Pastor Dan, who exchanged banners from Tiburon-Belvedere, California with President Paul Sibley and Russell Akamine who lead the 4-Way Test.



Vocational Talk: Jay Jurick

We all knew Jay Jurick’s business TurnOn Tech did “something” with computers… as it turns out, computers are just a means to an end. Jay’s goal is simplification. He helps companies create a single-solution for all their needs, including accounting, contacts, job tracking, inventory, delivery, etc. Or in Jay’s words, “One system to run a business—a single data set.” And while Jay’s been pushing this smart way of working long before cloud (Internet-based) computing became popular, the rest of the world is finally catching up. As for the photo, Jay started his presentation by talking about “questionable” influences in his young life… we think he turned out ok.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

Monday’s speaker, Frank Haas, is the Dean for Hospitality, Business, and Legal Education at Kapi‘olani Community College. He has extensive experience in marketing and tourism—experience that’s coming in handy in these challenging years.

In Frank’s talk titled “Hawaii tourism at a crossroads,” he explains that Hawaii lost 1 million in visitors in the last 2 years, but lost $2.7 billion in visitor spending. Trends in the economy have resulted in switching from “class to mass.” What does he hope for Hawaii’s future? Among many suggestions, Haas advocates increased measurement and accountability, defining Hawaii’s brand as the destination for niche markets and courting high-end tourists who can create sustainable markets, for example, the elite Chinese. To find out more, contact Frank at fhaas@hawaii.edu.

Reminder for Today: Rotary Gives Thanks
5pm at Palama Settlement. Thanks Jan for spearheading this great project!

Double Your Money for Polio
Make a $100 or larger contribution to Polio Plus this week at rotary.org and your contribution will be doubled for your Paul Harris. Also, the End Polio Now Sunrise Exercise will be held on Saturday 23 at 900 Fort Street Mall (Pioneer Plaza).