About Us - Officers of the Organization

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

PRESIDENT - Kai Pelayo   Kai Pelayo, Director of Operations at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, comes to the Grand Wailea with 33 years of experience and brings with him a broad and extensive base of knowledge and accolades from the hospitality industry. Previously, he was the director of food and beverage at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa, overseeing all culinary and conference operations. Pelayo was also the director of resort operations at the AAA Four Diamond-rated Resort Semiahmoo, where he oversaw day-to-day operations of the 198 room property and its five restaurants, full service spa, 300-slip marina and two championship golf courses. He has also held executive positions at Hyatt and Starwood Hotels.   Raised on Maui, Kai is proud to be a King Kamehameha III School and Lahainaluna High School graduate. He has also successfully completed the Preferred Institute/Washington State Leadership Development Program and received numerous performance awards for his leadership.

	PAST PRESIDENT - Mercer "Chubby" Vicens   Chubby Vicens, Charter member of the MNHCC, is the owner of Vicens Entitlement Group and former VP of A&B Properties. One of Maui's most involved citizens, he served as a member of the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC), which provides comments, advice, and recommendations to the Planning Director on the Countywide Policy Plan and the Maui Island Plan. Vicens is also the former chair of Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO).
	VICE PRESIDENT - Johanna Amorin   Native of Oahu, one of seven girls to parents, John Son Young and Hannah Kahanahaipule Shin, graduate of Kaimuki High School, attended College of Commerce and continued education spanning over 30 years in business management and customer service. A diverse background of work history and education paved the way for entrepreneurship in 1994 and business ownerships with Jobline X-Press, Inc., Tidy-Up Service and former Kozo Sushi Maui.   Mother of 3 sons, she and husband, Howard Silva Amorin of Kihei, Maui, have 3 grandchildren. Current involvement with Maui United Way, Maui Drug Court, Maui Community College, Maui American Cancer Society and is a former Maui County Planning Commissioner and Commission Chair. Other important memberships include Maui Chamber of Commerce; H.A.N.O. (non-profit); Queen Kaahumanu Society; Royal Order of King Kamehameha Auxiliary and Maui Chinese Club. She was recently appointed to the Maui County Salary Commission.   As an advocate volunteer since 1974, Johanna evolves her life to give and at the same time enjoy her efforts. This year marks 21 years as a participant in the Great Aloha Run and continued support is given to many cultural and community groups on Maui and Oahu. Family, business ownership and volunteering to support the local communities in Hawaii Nei are her priorities.
	SECRETARY - Della Nakamoto   Della Nakamoto is a commercial account executive with Atlas Insurance Agency, Inc. She has been in the commercial insurance industry for twelve years insuring a wide range of businesses and organizations. An active contributor to the local community, Della also serves on the boards of the Rotary Club of Kahului and Maui OnStage. She is a past president of the Maui Business & Professional Women (Maui BPW) and was named the statewide organization's Outstanding Young Careerist in 2000.
	TREASURER - Ginger Soares   Ginger Soares is currently self-employed and has been a member of the MNHCC for two years. A Maui High School graduate and liberal arts major at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, she has 17 years of residential mortgage lending experience. As the mother of five children, she attributes part of her success to the belief that it takes a strong stomach to be self-employed in today's real estate industry. Besides having a family and contributing many hours volunteering at the homeless shelter and Parent Teacher Association, Soares' accomplishment of being an entrepreneur has been most fulfilling, despite the hard work and the current economic climate. It is her primary goal to have her company succeed through endurance and perseverance.
Board Members at Large:
	Retired Chief Executive Officer of Maui Petroleum (Hawai`i Petroleum and Minit Stop), Jimmy Haynes was appointed to the University of Hawai`i Board of Regents in 2003. He is an alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where he received his bachelor's degree in accounting. He is a board member of the Hawai‘i Petroleum Marketers Association and Maui Arts and Cultural Center and member of the Maui Rotary Club. He is a trustee of Seabury Hall and the 1997 recipient of the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce O‘o Award for Hawaiian Businessman of the Year. In 2005 Haynes received the T. S. Shinn Award from the Maui Chamber of Commerce for outstanding community service and business leadership.   Jimmy Haynes was awarded the MNHCC 2nd Annual Ko`i Pelekikena award for his long-time service in the Chamber as its president. He is a Charter member of the MNHCC.
	Paul Mancini, of Mancini, Welch & Geiger law firm, graduated magna cum laude from Boston College and received his law degree from Georgetown Law Center. A native of Boston, he served in the Peace Corps as a lawyer in Truk, Micronesia. In addition, he was a VISTA and Legal Aid lawyer in Bethel, Alaska. After moving to Maui in the 1970’s, he became the director of Lokahi Pacific and also served in the administrations of Mayor Elmer Carvalho and Mayor Hannibal Tavares. He has been listed in both Best Lawyers of America and Best Lawyers of Hawai`i.   Mancini has been actively engaged in the Maui community and currently serves on the boards of Hawaii Public Radio, Hale Makua Foundation, and Lahaina Restoration Foundation. His involvement was recognized with the Hawaii Community Services Council state-wide award for services to non-profits. He and his wife, Judy, whom he met in the Peace Corps, have been married for more than 40 years and have four children and four grandchildren.
	Born and raised on Maui, Doreen Napua Gomes retired from Hawaiian Telcom, Network Provisioning in 2005.  While gainfully employed, Doreen entered the University of Phoenix, graduating in 2007.  After her retirement from the telecommunications industry, Doreen later found employment with Kula Hospital, and Maui Memorial Medical Center.    She is now semi-retired, and currently employed by Palekana Permits of Honolulu as a Facilitator for Building Permits.  Currently, Doreen is Project Coordinator for the Waiohuli Development Community Center and Parksite located on ceded lands in Kula, Maui.  Appointed to the Maui Police Commission in 2005 by Mayor Alan Arakawa, Doreen served the final two years of her term as Chair.  She is Secretary to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui, and recently chaired their 2011 annual golf fundraising event.  In other community oriented organizations, Doreen is Secretary to the Hui No Ke Ola Pono, Inc., a member of the Kula Community Association, and presently Secretary to the Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc., and a member of the Queen Ka`ahumanu Society.    Her interests include golf, grant writing, walking, and most importantly spending quality time with family and friends.    ___________________________________________________________
	Born and raised on Maui, Wallette Garcia Pellegrino retired as an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Maui Community College Cooperative Education and Job Placement Office in 2008. She and her husband, Victor Pellegrino, are the co-owners of Noho`ana Farm in Waikapu (restoration of lo'i kalo) and Maui ArThoughts Company (book publishing). Pellegrino (M.A. in Counseling and Guidance from Marquette University) is currently a member of the  Native Hawaiian Education Council-Maui Island Council, Maui County General Plan Advisory Committee and the UHMC Preserving Our Recollections Committee. A descendant of Edward Bailey, she volunteers at the Bailey House (Maui Historical Society), updating its photo archives. In addition, she chairs the history committee of the Waikapu Community Association which is collecting and archiving the stories of old Waikapu and its residents.
	Randy Piltz of Waikapu is currently an Executive Assistant in the administration of Mayor Alan Arakawa. A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools (Kapalama) and the University of Dayton, he returned to Maui in the 1970’s to join his family’s successful business, Piltz Electric. In 2006, he joined Ledcor Construction as its mechanical and electrical coordinator.     Piltz’s service to the community included the State Land Use Commission (member from 2005; served as chair from 2009-2010); the Maui Planning Commission (member from 2000; chair from 2004-2005); Maui Contractors Association (member from 1974; Board member for 14 years); the St. Anthony School Board (chair for one year; member for 12 years); Waikapu Community Association (board member); and the Construction Industry Legislative Organization (board member for 5 years).
	John (Hau'oli) Tomoso was born and raised on Maui. His parents, Constantino Tomoso and Winona Alo Tomoso, were civil servants in local and state governments so he appreciates public service and the importance of culture and relationships in the family and community. A graduate of St. Anthony High School in 1971, Tomoso earned a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1975 and his M.S.W. from the School of Social Work at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1977. He was awarded a teaching and research fellowship in Public Administration at the University of Wyoming in Laramie in 1981, where he won the John P. Ellbogen Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for 1983. In 1994, John was the recipient of an Outstanding Hawaiian Educator Award by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.   He and Susan Brabeck, of St. Paul, Minnesota, married in 1977 and raised two children: John Richard Kananikapohaikealoha and Elizabeth Rose Kapualeilaniona'ali'i. Susan (M.Ed.) is a professional educator with the Hawai'i State Department of Education.   Tomoso has been in professional social work practice since 1976, in various settings and methods, including child and family welfare, child protection, mental health, family court, criminal justice, domestic violence, community development, and gerontology. He is licensed as a Social Worker in the State of Hawai'i and, since 1985 he has maintained a private practice in social work, concentrating in family strengthening, addictions/ co-dependency issues, community/ organizational development and employee assistance. Hau`oli is a 6th Degree Ali'i in the Royal Order of Kamehameha the First and since 2007 has been the appointed Kahuna Pule O Kahekili. Since 2003, he has written the monthly Kumunidad column in the Fil-Am Observer, a newspaper of general circulation in Maui County.   His service to the community has ranged from membership on the Hawaiian Homes Commission and Maui County Affirmative Action Advisory Council; board service to the Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hawaii Public Health Association, Aloha Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the National Association of Social Workers-Hawaii Chapter.   His leadership roles have included being appointed the Maui County Executive on Aging in 2000, and he was recognized by the National Association of Social Workers-Hawaii Chapter as the 2006 Social Worker of the Year and as a Fellow of the California-Hawaii Public Health Leadership Institute.   In June 2008, John was appointed the Executive Director of Hui No Ke Ola Pono, Inc., the Native Hawaiian Health Care System for Maui.
	Ronald (Ron) D. Vaught, a long-time Maui resident, graduated from Maunaolu College in 1960 and married talented musician and kumu hula, Alexa Keaunui, in 1961. Together, they have three children, Faith, Lisa, and Mark. Both Ron and Alexa contribute their time and talents to many community activities. Currently, he is a marketing and advertising consultant.   Vaught's community service has included the following: membership in the Kahului Rotary Club from 1969-2009 (past president from 1973-74); March of Dimes; President of the BSA Maui Council; and Maui County Fair Director. His professional experience has spanned several decades in radio broadcast management (1962-1994), building and putting the following stations "on the air"-KNUI, KAOI-FM, KHEI, KDLX-FM, KMVI-FM. Vaught also established the Maui Broadcasters Association. In recent years (1991-2004) he was the co-publisher of EVCom Publishing-Visitor Magazines.   With his beautiful speaking and singing voice, Vaught is sought after as an emcee for many occasions including the MNHCC Business Fest and Ko`i Award events. Besides being elected recently to the MNHCC Board of Directors, he is serving a second term on the Maui Police Commission.