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Isle Chamber of
Commerce reaches out
to California

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By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii is setting up a new kind of branch office in Southern California to connect with former island residents who have moved there in search of work.

The new arm, called the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in California, will begin operations out of Irvine on Jan. 1.

The office will be headed by Stacy Hasegawa Sato, a Hawaii businesswoman who is relocating to California this weekend to start a company, HawaiiJobForce.com. The new company, a partnership with the nonprofit Hawaii Technology Trade Association, promises to find jobs in Hawaii for the state's expatriates.

Sato founded the local employment company CareerGiant.com last year and formerly served as Hawaii operations manager of Altres Staffing.

As a contracted representative of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, her job now includes finding former residents and helping them meet.

She also will sell chamber memberships. Those who sign up with the California branch will get the full benefits of their Hawaii counterparts, including group insurance rates and invitations to conferences, she said.

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in California's first event, a business networking mixer, is scheduled for Feb. 9 in Redondo Beach, Sato said.

This is the Hawaii group's first attempt to link up with expatriates, said Jack Carreiro, executive vice president. The chamber has received many calls from former residents who want to know about the state's business climate and where to find work, he said.

Since 1990, Hawaii has reportedly lost more than 100,000 residents to the mainland, many of them looking for more jobs and better wages.

More information about the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in California can be found on the Internet at www.cochawaiicalifornia.com.