“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
~ Mae West
Sept. 8 Luncheon
Expanding the Queen’s Vision to West O’ahu
Susan R. Murray
Queen’s Health System Senior VP,
West Oahu Region & Chief Operating Officer
Susan Murray will share her personal journey from a career in retail, through the opening of the new hospital. Her varied career path led to a clinic coordinator position at Straub, over 20 years ago, and she never looked back. She found her calling in the health care field, and earned her MBA in Health Service Management from the University of Dallas in Texas. After positions on the mainland, she returned to Hawaii with Kaiser for ten years before joining Queen’s.
Dr. Irminne Van Dyken
Queen’s Medical Center West Oahu Physicians’ Center
Dr. Van Dyken is a surgeon with special interest in oncoplastic breast surgery and is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Ednoscopic Surgeons. In recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Van Dyken will share her knowledge of this important women’s health issue. Dr. Van Dyken was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Montana, and completed her medical degree at University of North Dakota School of Medicine.
SEPTEMBER 8 LUNCHEON
Pacific Club 1451 Queen Emma St
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
RSVP due by noon on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at OrgOfWomenLeaders@gmail.com
Check payable to OWL for $45 for each guest.
℅ Cynthia Takenaka
516 Kawaihae St. #E
Honolulu, HI 96825-1240
Summer is over for some of our members, marked with back to school for our keiki and the upcoming Labor Day festivities, which usually means fall is upon us.
This fall season, OWL has several exciting opportunities to network and recognize your OWL sisters. OWL is:
currently accepting applications for the Outstanding Woman Leader of the Year Award in the public and private sector to be announced at our annual luncheon in November. Deadline to submit nomination is September 30th.
once again partnering with Hawaii Business Magazine on the 7th Annual Wahine Forum, which will take place on Thursday, October 23rd. I encourage all OWL members to attend this conference, which has grown to become one of Hawaii’s top leadership and career development events for women. OWL members will receive a special discount. For more information and to register, please go to: wahine.hawaiibusiness.com.
planning a fabulous Fall Pau Hana on October 8th at the Outrigger Canoe Club – an excellent opportunity to network with your OWL sisters.
Looking forward to seeing you at our next luncheon on September 8th! Aloha, Kathy
What We Heard
July 14
Dr. Elizabeth Elliott
Update on Women's Health
by Judy Bishop
Due to unfortunate circumstances, our scheduled speaker Ms. Kelly King, was not able to make the meeting. OWL Board Member, Dr. Elizabeth Elliott, graciously stepped in to present on the state of women's health.
Dr. Elizabeth Elliott practices comprehensive medicine as a primary care physician and naturopath specializing in women’s health.
Her Goals Are:
Helping Women to understand how their bodies work
Showing how successful women can help empower and educate other women
As Dr. Elliott worked with underserved populations, she observed that all women share the same health issues for the most part, regardless of diversity and socioeconomic status. She learned of many women’s “deepest, darkest secrets,” and how the spiritual, mental, and emotional would affect the physical and vice versa. She believes that every woman can change her own internal stories and thus change her physical condition.
When providing a diagnosis, she always starts with the most obvious physical ailment first, and then goes deeper. She observed that the stories we tell ourselves, can strongly affect our health. We can mitigate physical symptoms by calming our mental state. In addition, we should not underestimate the value of having a supportive community.
Integrative Medicine: Dr. Elliott was trained as a primary care Naturopathic Physician, and completed a two year residency in women's health. She believes that in the future, most all health systems will be moving in that direction. More physicians, especially oncologists, are open to integrative medicine.
Dr. Elliott sees Three Levels of Physicians:
Those who can see potential disease before it happens, and then step in early to possibly prevent it
Those who can diagnose well
Those who can’t even help with basic illness, pain, etc.
She believes that medicine should adapt to life’s natural phases. Our bodies will send signals about their needs and changes when it is time to focus on self-care.
Dr. Elliott went on to discuss the adrenal gland, the master adapters, which make sex hormones and stress hormones. The adrenals don’t know the difference in physical, emotional, or mental stress. Adrenals often cannot pick up the slack when ovaries shut down, and they especially cannot, if they are overworked. The production of stress hormone is the number one thing that adrenals do in the body.
We usually live our everyday lives in a state of Fight/Flight versus Rest/Digest. Staying in this mode is damaging to our bodies, so she recommends that we schedule rest/digest time, like yoga. Adrenals like schedules, to allow your body to repair/replenish itself. There is help available from nature for adrenals, namely an herb, called Rodiola.
The thyroid, the adrenals, and the ovaries are the trifecta: often if one changes, the others do, too. She suggests a hormone friendly diet, and appropriate herbs, acupuncture, yoga, and massage, even forming your own care team!
Regarding hormone replacement therapy, Dr. Elliott recommended bioidentical’s, if natural and not synthetic, and said that oral estrogens are more problematic than patches because they must first be processed thru our livers.
SAVE THE DATE
OWL ANNUAL MEETING
November 10, 2014
featuring speaker
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard U.S. House of Representatives
Halekulani Hotel
Member Profile
Robin Kennedy-Oshio
Robin Kennedy – Oshio is the Multi Media Manager for Marcoa Publishing Inc., a civilian contractor working with over 140 bases across the country. Robin works directly out of Camp Smith with all of the Public Affairs Officers, MWR Chiefs, and others to create the 29 year standing publication. Her main responsibility is to align civilian businesses who want to market to the military and their families in an official capacity. The publication also has a Joint Command website at Himiltary.com as well as a phone application found at mybaseguide. She has worked as a civilian contractor for the last 11 years and prior to that was in television and radio sales.
Before coming to Hawaii, she lived in Guam for four years, and Reno for seven, where she had both her children. Her daughter Katherine, 22, just graduated from The University of Colorado, Boulder and has moved to Denver. Her son Jake is at The University of Colorado in Denver. Robin is originally from New York.
In her spare time, she is a Wellness Coach, sharing how to live a healthier life in areas of physical, environmental and financial wellness.
She is also the President of the “Friends of CASA” Hawaii , a non-profit organization that recruits and retains volunteers Island wide to be the voice for sexually and physically abused children in court. Robin also takes cases. She hopes to move the board forward to do fundraising.
She is happily married to Wade Oshio (pictured with her above). He works with her at PACOM.
Member Achievements
Julie Arigo, general manager of Waikiki Parc Hotel, led the successful launch of the Women in Lodging and Tourism-Hawaii professional group at the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association's May meeting. Serving as chapter chair, Julie said that they were expecting to enroll 100 members, and were surprised when 251 members signed up. The new group provides a network for women hospitality professionals for education and mentorship.
Sarah Richards, has retired from the Hawaii Theatre after serving as President for 25 years. She oversaw the restoration of the Theater as well as its capital campaign that raised over $32 million. We wish her a happy retirement!
Myra Brandt, listed in the Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 100 Realtors issue.
Stacia Murray, past president of OWL, completed the Frankfurt Ironman World Championship on July 6, 2014. This was her 2nd Ironman race. She says that there will be more Ironman races in her future, just not in 2015!
Some of the interesting facts of the race include:
Distance is a total of 140.60 miles. 2.4mi swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run (Marathon)
Out of the 3,000 athletes competing, only 283 were women
There were 60 Nations represented
1,394 athletes were German
The oldest athlete to compete in the race was born in 1939
500,000 spectators cheered on the course
The cut off time to complete the race is was 15 hours. A non-World Championship race cut off time is 17 hours
OWL Observations ~ What I Now Know
By Jan Kaeo
I know a gentleman in Hawaii, 100 years old this month, who still goes to the office daily - his team refuses to let him retire because of the experience and the leadership he provides. It's a prime example of leading across generations. What he lacks in "number of hours worked" is easily made up in wisdom and mentoring of the newer, younger team members.
A young lady, now 88 years old, asked me if I needed help again in my office - she is the most productive executive assistant I have ever known, and I value her wisdom, her connections, and her fortitude. With four generations in the workforce, we can be leading a team that spans 16 to 75 and it's not easy - but it's very rewarding to know that at any age, you (still) can make a difference!
I don’t know about you, but I want to be like them…wise, productive, relevant and making a difference. Everyday.
Jan Kaeo is principal, owner, trainer, Dale Carnegie Training Hawaii & Guam
Live Your Dreams Award
The Soroptimist International Hawaii chapter is now accepting applications for the Live Your Dreams Award (formerly known as the Womens Opportunity Award), the signature project of Soroptimist International of the Americas. Soroptimist International of Honolulu is one of nearly 1,400 clubs that make up Soroptimist International of the Americas, a volunteer organization for women committed to improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.
The most challenging aspect of this program is getting applications into the hands of eligible women. Please find attached an emailable Soroptimist Live Your Dream Awards application and two emailable reference forms. Please forward these materials to any women you know who strive to attain higher education in the hopes of better supporting themselves and their families. We have included our club’s contact information in the materials so that applicants may submit the applications directly to us. We hope that you can take a moment out of your busy day to help a deserving woman in your community by forwarding her this information. Thank you for your time and support. If you should have any questions or require assistance in helping an applicant complete the application, please do not hesitate to contact Julie Arigo at (808) 295-6536 or by email at Julie.arigo@waikikiparc.com.
Here’s one story on how the Live Your Dreams Award can help:
Michelle, 32, is a single-mother of two children. Michelle got pregnant during her senior year of high school and never fulfilled her plans to attend college. Two years ago, she lost her job at a local bank when the branch was forced to close. Because she had no formal training, certifications or degrees, getting a new job wasn’t easy. Michelle had to work two low-paying jobs just to have enough money for the essentials. She knew that there was only one thing she could do to change her life—go to college.
Luckily, Michelle was one of more than a thousand women who received a Soroptimist Live Your Dream Award last year. The Soroptimist Live Your Dream Awards are cash awards given to motivated women who are the primary financial supporters of their families. The recipients of the awards seek to improve their lives by gaining additional skills, training or education, but do not have the resources to do so. These cash awards are meant to offset any costs associated with the recipient’s efforts to attain higher education, including tuition, books, supplies, child care or transportation costs.
OWL Book Community
The OWL Book Community is moving to a pau hana time slot of Tuesday nights from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Hawaii Yacht Club, behind the Ilikai Hotel in the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. Tuesdays at HYC is pizza and salad night.
Not So Amazing Valley
The OWL book community held a meeting at Hawaii Yacht Club on July 8 to discuss Amy Tan's Valley of Amazement. The OWL Book community was joined by other reading enthusiasts that overheard our discussions and we had a lively conversation about Amy Tan's books and the previous book by 2013 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature Alice Munro. Ms. Munro won the prize for her mastery of the short story. The short-story collection selected by the OWL Book Community to read was Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage from 2001.
As can be expected, it was well written with vivid descriptions, interesting storylines, and strong characters, mostly female. A guest to the meeting remembered an opening line from a story in the collection she had read years ago, it had made such an impression. The Munro book was well received. Most gave it 4 out of 5 stars just because each sentence and paragraph was filled with imagery that often required reading sections more than once to get the complete picture.
Amy Tan's Valley of Amazement had high expectations as most had read the Joy Luck Club that was published in 1989. Expectations were not met. It wasn't a bad book, just not the tight writing we had experienced in the Munro book. The story line starts out exciting and the historical fiction aspect of the book is interesting but everyone agreed that it dragged. Some even felt that it was predictable. We rated this a 3 out 5 stars.
I have high hopes for the next selection to be discussed on August 26, at 5:30 at the Hawaii Yacht Club. Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elisabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World. by Matthew Goodman. Thanks!
Oh, and the pizza, salad and cocktails were great!
-Pam
AUGUST 26 BOOK SELECTION
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elisabeth Bislan's
History-Making Race Around the World
by Matthew Goodman
Published in 2013, the story chronicles the real-life tale of two women who head out in opposite directions to try and beat the Jules Verne record of circumnavigating the globe in less than eighty days. No spoiler alerts here on who won.
OCTOBER 28 BOOK SELECTION
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
by Barbara Kingsolver
The book revolves around the concept of improving the family's diet by eating only foods that her family was able to grow themselves or obtain locally (save for grains and olive oil). Kingsolver, along with her husband and daughters, start a farm in Virginia where they grow and can different varieties of tomatoes, learn about rooster husbandry, make cheese, and adjust to eating foods only when they are locally in season. The book contrasts this with the ecological costs of growing food in factory farms, transporting it thousands of miles, and adding chemical preservatives so it will not spoil. (2007)
SAVE THE DATE:
Wahine Forum
Friday, October 23 Hilton Hawaiian Village
Plan to attend Hawaii Business Magazine’s annual conference promoting leadership and career development for women. OWL will be partnering once again, by hosting a booth at this event.
Registration will open Tuesday, September 2nd. All OWL members will receive a discounted ticket rate of $170 using the promotion access code OWL-WF14. Please mark your calendars and visit wahine.hawaiibusiness.com on Tuesday, September 2nd to register for the conference.
NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS
2014 OWL OUTSTANDING WOMAN LEADER AWARD
We are now accepting nominations for the 2014 OWL Outstanding Woman Leader of the Year. In keeping with OWL's original purpose of bringing together the public and private sectors, we would like to present awardees in both the public and private sector.
Criteria to be honored include excellent leadership in one’s profession, in community service, and as a role model for other women. The OWL Woman of the Year should be an OWL member in good standing for the calendar year in which the award is given.
Please download the nomination form at www.owlhawaii.org and email to President Kathy by Tuesday, September 30, 2104.
Co-recipients, Ina Chang, president, Aloha Data, and Julie Arigo, general manager, Waikiki PARC Hotel shared recognition as the 2013 OWL Woman Leader of the Year, Private Sector.
Pamela Martin was recognized as the 2013 OWL Woman Leader of the Year, Public Sector.
FALL PAU HANA
Wednesday, October 8
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Outrigger Canoe Club
RSVP to Cynthia by Saturday, Sept. 27, $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Payment will be accepted at the Sept. 8 meeting.
One of the highlights of our year is the annual Pau Hana. Enjoy cocktails and delicious pupu in the company of friends. You won't want to miss this delightful evening!
OWL Mission Statement
The mission of OWL is to develop a network of contacts among women in decision- making positions to promote effectiveness on the job and professional advancement.
The goals and objectives of OWL shall be to establish a network of contacts between the public and private sectors; to establish a professional and interpersonal support system for women professionals; to offer informational opportunities for women in management; to provide career-related ideas and information; and to share job and career advancement opportunities.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We love to hear from you! Because we know your time is valuable, OWL President Kathy Perkins will be reading the member announcements along with her welcome message. Please email your news to Kathy at kathyp@hawaiiantel.net.
You may also share your achievements or any newsworthy items with your OWL sisters through our newsletter. Email your news along with a photo to Kristi Bates at kb8s808@gmail.com.
REMINDER
As a courtesy to our speakers, guests and OWL members, please keep side conversations to a minimum during the speaker presentation.
