Aloha fellow members of the IEHA-HI Chapter:

I hope I am successful in reaching out to the entire IEHA HI Chapter membership with this message.
If I may have missed anyone, I trust some of you will get the word out to those people.

The reason for this email is to again invite all of you to our regularly scheduled general membership meeting (Wednesday, March 14, 2012 – 10am) at Washington Place, located at 320 Beretania Street, AND to inform you that we are currently working on arranging for bus transportation to and from Washington Place for those of you who work or reside in Waikiki.

The cost is not free BUT due to limited metered street parking in the area of Washington Place, those of you arriving in your own personal vehicles will have little choice but to park in a public parking lot, which could be 3-4 city blocks away AND cost you anywhere from $10-$15.

So, what we were inspired to do is offer bus transportation for all IEHA members and their invited guests from The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center to Washington Place, and back. The 57-passenger motor coach would leave Royal Hawaiian SC at 9:30am and get you to Washington Place prior to 10:00am. The bus would then arrive back at approx. 1:45pm, pick you up and safely return you back to RHSC shortly thereafter. The cost for this service is $10.00 per person, however there’s a catch – and the catch is we need at least 45-50 of you to commit in order for it to be feasible. So, what I’m asking is for anyone who wants to ride the bus (owned and operated by Polynesian Adventure/Grayline HI) to please reply here no later than February 29th. Again, we must have at least 45-50 people committed for this to work.

I think this is a wonderful alternative to having to deal with traffic, spend gas, lose your parking spot when you get back to the job and avoid having to pay a premium for Downtown parking, so please let me know.

Mahalo,
Derrick De Mello
ALSCO
2771 Wai Wai Loop
Honolulu, HI 96819
Ph. 808-834-7580
Fx. 808-834-7586
visit our website at www.alsco.com

Board member and veteran IEHA member Ivy Kwok was recently featured in the February issue of Executive Housekeeping Today. The article, “From Ni Hao to Aloha: Ivy Kwok, Executive Housekeeper, Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach, Hawaii,” written by EHT Editor Laura M. DiGiulio, spotlights Ivy’s amazing life and career as one of Hawaii’s foremost executive housekeepers.

Click here to read the article. (Please allow some time for the PDF to download completely.)

Due to time constraints and a lot of other information shared at the January meeting, I failed to present the attached education information that some of you may want to take advantage of.

1) The EFF Standards for Training
2) The Get Motivated Seminar
3) LCC Upcoming Training
4) California Law for Hotels.

Please note on page 6 of the attachment information shared today by way of email from Nannette Akau on a California law that was passed. Interesting information and trend that may one day impact Hawaii. Both information on fitted sheets and of stooping, bending and squatting when cleaning is not surprising to me. Some Hawaii properties have already moved toward fitted sheets and micro-fiber cleaning technology. A related Clean Talk article is written in the January/February 2012 Hawaii Hospitality Magazine.

Have a GREAT rest of the week and weekend.

Rose

On Dec. 3, Gov. Neil Abercrombie issued an official commendation of the Hawaii Chapter for its adoption of Washington Place as a community service cleaning project. The commendation was presented at a volunteer appreciation luncheon hosted by the governor at Washington Place.

Gary Nushida is the head of the community service committee and will be coordinating clean-up dates for 2012.

Washington Place volunteers include:
Pauline Galera
Glorita Soriano
Gary Nushida
Ivy Kwok
Yu Ming Feng
Carol Ly
Cindy Castillo
Romeo Cabilis
Susie Coloma
Karina Villarroel
Rodrigo Villarroel
Anna Lau
Erlinda Cabarroguis
Juanita Dusich
Carlton Yanaga
Myles Yamamoto
Elsa Felix
Natalie Plunkett
Resel Appat
Gimena Badua
Pacita Ramilo
Ginta Ykelap
Norma Lorenzo
Tai Kuna
Rose Galera
Derrick De Mello

Mahalo to all volunteers!

To view photos from this event, please click here.

Title: Director of Housekeeping

Location: Southwest – Arizona

Property Description: Well-established, prestigious resort of 500+ rooms and suites, fine restaurants, extensive meeting facilities, and a wide array of available activities including golf, tennis and a world-class Spa.

Organization: Part of an International Collection of Four-Star, Luxury Hotels and Resorts.

Compensation: Base salary range of $70-80k plus Incentive-Bonus and competitive benefits program.

Requires: Minimum of two years as Executive Housekeeper or Director of Housekeeping of comparable Luxury Class 4 Star/5 Star Hotel or Resort. Successful candidate should possess a stable work history with progressive responsibility. Strong communicative and organizational skills are a must. Ability to maintain the highest of standards is essential.

Special Note: This is truly an Exceptional Opportunity, to be part of one of our industry’s most dynamic and growing organizations. Enjoy this beautiful environment while progressing your career in a positive professional culture with exceptional standards.

Contact: All resumes and inquiries will be held in the strictest of confidence. We are grateful for your personal interest or assistance in helping us to identify a qualified candidate for this excellent opportunity. Thank you for your assistance.

Very sincerely,
Sewell B. Pappas
Managing Director
Alpha Resource Group
Alpha10@gte.net
Office: (972) 527-1616
Fax: (972) 527-4244
“1986-2011 Serving the Finest Hotels and Resorts Worldwide For More Than 25 Years”

The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art is currently seeking a Historic Housekeeper.

The Historic Housekeeper is part of the Collections Team which is comprised of 3 staff members — the Collections Manager, Collections Technician and Historic Housekeeper. All three positions ensure the safety and proper care of Shangri La’s collection of Islamic Art.

Please click here for more information.

Patty Momilani Kawaoka, 55, passed away October 22, 2011 at Kuakini Medical Center. Born in Honolulu on August 4, 1956, she was the Director of Housekeeping at the Miramar Hotel and was formerly employed at the Continental Surf and Kuhio Village Resort.

She is survived by husband, Warren Masao Kawaoka; mother, Margaret Yahiku; brothers, Stanley and Glenn Yahiku; sister, Penny Yahiku Banks; 2 grandnieces and 2 grandnephews.

Visitation from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at Borthwick Mortuary-Maunakea Chapel; evening service at 6:30 p.m. Visitation again at the mortuary from 9-11 a.m. Thursday, November 10, 2011; service 11 a.m. Burial 1 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery. Casual attire requested.

Arrangements under the direction of Borthwick Mortuary, Honolulu, HI.

Patty, who was a caring and dedicated member and friend of IEHA Hawaii Chapter, will be sorely missed by many. At our December 7th Chapter meeting a traditional IEHA White Rose Ceremony will be held in memory of Patty.

Looking for proof of membership?
It is as simple as visiting ieha.org and logging in and heading to your personal profile. Membership cards with proof of educational status are now available online to print. IEHA no longer mails membership cards to new or renewing members. (Exception: For members that do not have internet or e-mail access, please contact IEHA for assistance.)

What else is new online?
Finally, you can renew your membership! Behind the scenes, countless hours, days, weeks, months and yes, even years, have been spent by the IEHA staff and our webmaster Paul Rathey to complete a customized record system. This will allow YOU, our members, to have access to many more features and opportunities for the future. We encourage everyone to log in and check that his or her information is correct. Computers are near perfect, but we need YOUR help in making sure your information is up-to-date.

Don’t know what your username or password is?
Visit the following link and have it sent to your primary e-mail address on file: http://www.ieha.org/forgotpass.php

What can we do for YOU?
Call us and let us know. Our staff is always looking for ways to help our members succeed. Before you recreate the wheel, we might already know someone or have a tool that will save you valuable time and money. Give us a call at 1-800-200-6342.

Non-renewal assistance.
Please review your current non-renewal reports and help us with our retention. Make phone calls, send e-mails and tell your fellow members WHY you joined and WHY you continue to renew your membership. Let’s grow IEHA together!

Thank you!

We would like to give special thanks to our Bosses’ Night photographer, Lionel Seals, who beautifully captured this year’s event. The photos are now available to view, download, print or share.

If you would like to view the slideshow, click here.

Helpful tips:

• When viewing the gallery, click on any image for a larger view.
• When viewing individual images, you can use your left or right arrows to view the previous or next image. Alternatively, you can click the large arrows on the left and right of each image.
• If you wish to download an image to your computer, you can right click on the image to save it. Or you can select “Download” from the menu immediately above the photo.
• To view the image larger, you can click on the magnifying glass.

If you need assistance, please e-mail elaine@hawaii-ieha.org.

On Sept. 14, the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA), Hawaii chapter, voted to adopt Washington Place as an ongoing community service cleaning project. This unique opportunity arose recently due to state budget cuts. Washington Place, a national historic landmark that was once the residence of Queen Liliuokalani and past Hawaii governors, presently only has funding for one housekeeper.

“This is where we can offer to voluntarily do our part to service our state of Hawaii,” says Rose Galera, president of the IEHA Hawaii chapter. “It will be an excellent project in which we, as top cleaning professionals in the industry, can give back to our Hawaii.”

The first cleanup led by IEHA will take place Oct. 9. The association has already secured additional donations from Universal Cleaners and Drycare Hawaii for professional window cleaning and carpet cleaning services

“On behalf of the Governor, I wanted to thank everyone for providing our staff with an opportunity to raise the level of professionalism within the Queen’s home,” says Cameron K. Heen, director of Washington Place. “I spoke with [the governor] yesterday and, once we have the cleaning dates in place, he would like to take the time to come and thank each of you personally for adopting Washington Place.”