TIM School's Honor Society wins international Chapter of Distinction award

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Tia L Ikeno, (808) 956-3617
Special Projects Coordinator, Travel Industry Management School
Posted: Jul 9, 2014

The UH Mānoa Eta Sigma Delta (ESD) student chapter, the International Hospitality Management Honor Society, joined two others in winning the honor of Chapter of Distinction for the 2013-14 academic year.  Officers of the 23-member club were President Jeremy Tomono, Vice President Kasey Kam, Secretary Kelsey Kitagawa, Treasurers Christina Ly and Diane Yang, and Historian Danielle Michaud.  Advisor Dr. Ingrid Lin will be accepting this award on Friday, August 1, 2014 at the Annual ICHRIE Summer Conference in San Diego, California.

A number of initiatives in community service, mentorship, and service to the School were launched this year. For community service, members volunteered for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk and the Color Run and participated in a Food Drive for the Hawai‘i Food Bank.  ESD also spearheaded the Travel Industry Management School (TIM) team for Relay for Life, which raised about $1,200 for the American Cancer Society.

This year mentorship programs were launched for Farrington High School students, TIM freshmen students and an industry leader program for all ESD active members.   During the past Spring semester, 20 members met with industry mentors. They were Pam Cabrera (Outrigger), Bridgette DeVore (Trump Hotel),  Robert Ishihara (Wyndham), Darryll Leiman (Mandara Spa), Phil Sammer (Ilima Hotel), Marilyn Verner, (Imperial Hawaiʻi Resort),  Herbert Yamamoto (Creations in Catering), Lee-Ann Choy (Pacific Rim Concepts), Daniel Chun (Alaska Air) and Shane Masutani (The Alley eatery).  The latter three are TIM alumni.

The club supported the TIM School through the year by hosting study groups and research workshops. Students also engaged the student body in extracurricular activities through the development of a TIM club newsletter and improving the TIM clubs’ social media presence. Finally, they installed recycling bins in George Hall.

The highlight of the year was attending the International Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Show in New York at the Javits Center last Fall.  The seven attendees were thrilled to meet TIM alumnus- David Kong, President & CEO of the Best Western International, who was on the CEO Summit Panel.  Finally, President Jeremy Tomono represented the UH at the inaugural student forum held by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Bournemouth, England last summer.