[Hawaii Inc.]

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Bennette Evangelista, left, Constance Lau, Lily Yao and Donna Tanoue were honored by the Girl Scouts as Women of Distinction.

New jobs

>> Award-winning Chef Rey Dasalla has been named executive chef for the Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel and Trellisses Restaurant. He has more than 25 years in the hotel and restaurant industry, most recently as executive chef for John Dominis Restaurant.

>> Hilo Hattie has hired Kevin Matsuoka as director of sales for the Asia division. He most recently worked for Castle Resorts & Hotels and Outrigger Guam Resort.

>> Bank of Hawaii has added seven residential loan officers to serve at loan centers statewide: Brandi Corpus, Kapolei; Kathy Hasebe, West Oahu; Michael Medina, Kona; Gloria Yee Menor, West Oahu; Ann Sakamoto, Maui; Scott Sumi, Kapolei; and Tara Conklin, Kauai.

>> Tiki's Grill & Bar has named Aaron Tangonan marketing, sales and public relations coordinator. He has more than eight years of sales experience, most recently as a Hilton Grand Vacations Club sales gallery associate.

>> City Bank has hired John P. Bennet as vice president and loan officer. He is responsible for the bank's commercial real estate financing. He was previously JB Capital president and Bank of America commercial real estate vice president.

>> Spotlight Hawaii Publishing has added several new staffers: Office Manager Charlotte Bickford, Production Manager Ruben Ablog, Big Island Gold Account Executive Ron Sabo, All Islands Distribution Sales Director Elton Murata, and Big Island Distribution Director Gordon MacGregor. Spotlight Hawaii publishes the visitor magazines Oahu Gold, Maui Gold, Kauai Gold and Big Island Gold.

Promotions

>> Nextel Partners Inc. has promoted Keith Okazaki to regional marketing manager and Ken Furukawa to area marketing manager. Okazaki will guide marketing operations for Nextel Partners' west, midwest and southwest markets, as well as part of the northeast market. He was most recently area marketing manager. Furukawa will develop and implement strategic marketing programs for the Nextel west area, which includes Hawaii and Idaho. He was previously responsible for managing the company's public relations. Nextel provides integrated digital wireless communications services.

>> Bank of Hawaii has promoted three new residential loan officers to serve at loan service centers statewide: Wil Chang, East Oahu; David Ellis, West Oahu; and Merilee Hendrickson, Downtown. Chang joined the bank in June 2000 as as business banking officer. Ellis has been with the bank for more than 18 years and most recently served as a Main Branch sales manager. Hendrickson served as a Mortgage Banking Division product manager and has been with the bank for more than six years.

On the board

>> The Hawaii Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has elected Horst G. Brandes as president for 2002-03. He is a University of Hawaii civil engineering professor. The Society's Hawaii chapter was founded in 1937.

>> Ken Zeri has been named to Hospice Hawaii's board of directors. He has been with the organization for seven years and has served as the corporate compliance officer. Zeri has more than 14 years of hospice experience.

>> Island Air President Neil Takekawa has been elected president of SKAL Hawaii. Other elected officers are: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Regional Director of Communications David Uchiyama, vice president; Travel Sales Ltd. President Renee Cochran, secretary; and Chalet Kilauea Collection Principal Member Brian Crawford, treasurer. Board members are: Deems Narimatsu, John Cushnie, James Palank, Mike Kobayashi, Ron Adams, Tom Costello, Paul Carey and Daniel Gleason. SKAL International is a professional organization of tourism leaders around the world and promotes global tourism and friendship.

Recognition

>> The Girl Scouts of Hawaii honored four local bank executives as their 2002 Women of Distinction. Bennette Evangelista is senior vice president of Central Pacific Bank; Connie Lau is president and chief executive officer of American Savings Bank, Donna Tanoue is vice chairwoman of the Bank of Hawaii and Lily Yao is vice chairwoman of First Hawaiian Bank. One more banker, Bankoh CEO Michael O'Neill, was named a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts at a recent ceremony after proving that he was at least 18 years of age by showing his driver's license to Girl Scout Marissa Lee. Males need to be at least 18 years old to be a Girl Scout. This year, for the first time, Girl Scouts of the USA honored 10 women across the country National Women of Distinction. Hawaii's Gladys Brandt, a former University of Hawaii regent and Kamehameha schools principal, was one of the women honored.