Trade Winds

Advertiser Staff

• LARRY SCHMAUS, general manager of the once-popular Waikiki Italian restaurant, Sergio's, formerly in the 'Ilima Hotel on Nohonani Street, will return in the same position at the restaurant's new location at Hilton Hawaiian Village. The restaurant is to open this week under new ownership in the resort's Rainbow Bazaar, overlooking the Hilton Lagoon. New owners, George and Wini Vanderman, of California and Hawai'i, have brought back the original management team of both Schmaus and executive chef John Stack. Locally, Schmaus is a veteran of La Ronde restaurant, Spats at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and Cascada. He was general manager at the old Sergio's from 1988 to 1996.

• ALLAN PALMER, former executive director of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, has been named executive director and chief executive officer of the Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific, scheduled to open Dec. 7, 2004, on Ford Island. The decorated Vietnam combat veteran's local experience includes senior management positions with the Hawai'i Army Museum Society, Aeronautical Radio Inc. and The Queen's Medical Center. The museum is planned for some of the Ford Island hangars and control tower that survived the 1941 Japanese attack and will feature aircraft and artifacts of the attack from military and private collections.

• The Kobayashi Group has named RANELLE HO project manager for the planning, design and development of a proposed Bishop Museum Hawai'i Exploration Center and Science Garden, once proposed for Kaka'ako, now planned on the museum's 17-acre Kalihi campus. She will oversee restoration of the existing museum planetarium, observatory and restaurant, and project management during construction phase. Ho continues as project manager for the Kobayashi Group of Napili Villas 184-unit townhouse/condo development on Maui. Her work has included Kapolei Middle and High schools, and the State Office Building in Kapolei.

• DEREK KURISU, executive vice president of the Big Island's KTA Super Stores and creator of the private label Mountain Apple brand of products for KTA, has been selected as the 2002 Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Hawai'i's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. The Big Island native is a product of both Hilo College, now University of Hawai'i at Hilo, and UH-Manoa.

• Several past board of directors of the state's largest credit union, Hawai'i State Federal Credit Union, are returning as officers of the seven-member board: chairwoman, BEVERLY LEE, owner of Classic Travel and a former police officer and state Department of Education administrator; vice chairwoman, AMY MOTOOKA, of the state Transportation Department; secretary, LOUISE AKAMINE, attorney; treasurer, ANDREW ENDO, retired Transportation Department, Airports Division, property manager; and directors, TIT MUN CHUN, former state Department of Transportation, highways division chief; PETER LEONG, former city director of finance, and retired federal credit unions head; and DAVID SHIMABUKURO, of the state Employees' Retirement System.

• Local writer JOCELYN FUJII has been named both the Hawai'i and the regional Small Business Association 2002 Small Business Journalist of the Year. As regional awardee (California, Nevada, Arizona and Guam), the Aloha Airlines' "Spirit of Aloha" in-flight magazine writer advances to SBA's national competition in Washington, D.C. Fujii also writes for American Automobile Association (AAA) Hawai'i's lifestyle and travel publication, "Hawaii Westways," and covers the Hawai'i arts and restaurant scene.

• CATHY MATSUDA has been promoted by City Bank to vice president and manager of the bank's Association of Apartment Owners Department, established to serve the growing number of homeowner and condominium associations seeking financing for common areas improvements. Matsuda joined the bank in 1997 as assistant vice president and corporate loan officer.

• Certified public accountant STANLEY TANAKA, formerly with the state Department of Budget and Finance, has joined Territorial Savings as vice president, research and development. Also: GEOFFREY BARICAUA, former McCully branch manager, has been named branch manager of the Territorial Waipahu branch, Waipahu Town Center.

• At Finance Factors, ALVIN IGE has been promoted from vice president and senior commercial loan officer, to vice president and Commercial Real Estate Department manager.

• Hawai'iUSA Federal Credit Union has promoted MICHAEL CAMAT, from vice president-information technology, to senior vice president-Technology Group; and CLYDE NAKAYAMA, formerly vice president-branch administration, to senior vice president-Membership Group, overseeing both operations and loan aspects of the credit union's nine branches.

• At Central Pacific Bank: JOYCE OKAMOTO, has been promoted from assistant vice president and manager, to vice president and manager for the Operations Services Division-Centralized Branch Operations; KENT MATSUMURA, a former City Bank assistant vice president, has been named Central Pacific assistant vice president, Credit Department, responsible for underwriting commercial loans; and HELEN RAMOS, has been promoted from financial service representative, main branch, to financial service officer. Also named at CPB is DAREN SUZUKI, financial consultant with the Financial Network Investment Corp., responsible for investment sales of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, IRAs, and selected life insurance, offered through the bank's financial investment program. Based in Mapunapuna, he will service Central Pacific branches in West 'Oahu and Kaua'i.

Announcements of promotions and job changes can be sent to: Trade Winds, Business Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802, or faxed to 525-6763. Photos may be included but must be identified on the back.