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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Anne Deschene's departure has BBB looking for chief
THE Better Business Bureau of Hawaii is recruiting for a new president and chief executive officer following the departure of longtime bureau chief Anne Deschene.
Bonnie Horibata, director of operations, has been named interim CEO. She is on vacation and was unavailable for comment.
"We really appreciate all that Anne did for the bureau," said board Chairman Mark Murakami.
Deschene told TheBuzz yesterday, "We had really gotten to what I call solid footing and it seemed like a good time for me to move on."
Murakami said under Deschene's leadership, membership increased dramatically and she was responsible for reinstating the local bureau's annual Torch Awards for ethics and integrity.
"During the down times of the economy, Anne really saw the bureau through," he said.
Deschene submitted her resignation in mid-January, but the bureau didn't release news of the departure and its search for a successor until Wednesday. Murakami said the departure came as a surprise and the board needed time to decide how to proceed.
He said Deschene was not pushed, but rather jumped, choosing to leave the job after more than 14 years.
At the time, Deschene prepared a farewell statement that never saw the light of day, until now.
Deschene wrote that she is "proud of the tremendous progress we have made" during her time there.
Membership grew from 1,200 to 3,000 companies in her last 12 months. Also, the bureau implemented a statewide, toll-free Senior Scamline and online complaint handling.
Before working for the BBB, Deschene headed the Blood Bank of Hawaii for nine years.
Earlier in her career the University of Hawaii and Harvard honors grad was a broadcaster and wore many hats, serving as operations manager for KSHO-FM 96.3 and the KSHO television station. She also was news director and an air personality at jazz-formatted KSHO-FM, now KRTR-FM.
"What I loved about radio was doing what you loved to do and (her voice changing to a whisper) somebody paid you!"
Deschene wants to end her career doing something she loves and is taking some time off to sift through options to find out what that is.
Murakami is accepting resumes at his office in care of Carlsmith Ball LLP, 318 Kapolei Building, 1001 Kamokila Blvd., Kapolei, HI 96707.
Dennison returns
Dan Dennison has accepted the news director position at KHNL/KFVE and will be returning to Hawaii a little more than a year after leaving the same position at cross-town rival KHON.
"I think it's kind of unique and a rare position to be in, where you can come back into a market where you've been a market leader and you can apply some of what you did there," he said.
He'll also try "a lot of things that may not work at a market leader, take some risks, experiment and do things that get attention and hopefully improve the state of electronic journalism."
The station he is leaving, KSBY in San Luis Obispo, Calif., was once owned the company that is now Montecito Broadcast Group LLC. Montecito is the new owner of his former employer, KHON.
"I think with the passion he has for news, his knowledge of the marketplace and his ability to mentor ... and strategize, we expect big things in short order," said KHNL/KFVE's vice president and general manager, John Fink.
Dennison's last day at KSBY is March 31. He starts his new assignment April 17.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com