The President's Remarks on Awards Night

Posted Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:28 by john

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2ND BUSINESS AWARDS NIGHT

29 AUGUST 2009 1800HRS EQUATOR RESTAURANT

Good evening and welcome to this the 2nd Annual Business Awards Night. Special welcome to -     The Hon Governor Togiola and First Lady Maryann Tulafono Mr. Nik Pula & Mrs. Lydia Faleafine-Nomura Members of the GAO team Members of the business community ladies and gentlemen We are about to enter a very critical time in our economy as the effects of the closure of COS will start to make an impact on all of us in the business community and in the ASG. The impact is only a month away and I am sure that there are many people here who have never felt the effects of an economic downturn and what it will mean to their business and livelihood.

I am not convinced that the business community is fully prepared to handle the downturn as there seems to be a prevailing sentiment that somehow everything will be alright and as if by magic either Uncle Sam will come to the rescue or some other piece of magic will occur and all will be well again. I do not subscribe to either of these sentiments and I urge the business community to heed some of the helpful business hints that have been promoted by the chamber in the newspaper and on TV put out to try and assist businesses in tough economic times. The hints are in the form of thought starters that we should all follow.  We all get very complacent in the good times and we forget how we should be managing in the tough times to ensure that our businesses survive and we come out at the end in much better shape to capitalize on the good times when they eventually return. I urge you all to take a very close look at your business and ask yourselves all the questions that the business hints refer to in terms of control of costs, reduction in inventories, stronger cash flow.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help, talk to the directors of the chamber about assistance, none of us know all the answers but help is out there if you need it. As a business community we have the skills necessary to tackle the tough times but we must do this together with the government. We see plenty of criticisms but seldom do we see them tempered with constructive suggestions. At times there has been an uneasy relationship between the public and the private sectors but it is time to consolidate and strengthen public/private partnership arrangements and for both sides to be more inclusive and engaging. Let us forget past differences and work together at this critical time for the betterment of the economy. Almost two years ago the governor established the economic advisory council.  This council has given the private sector a real opportunity to provide sound commercial input into ways in which new investment and developments should be planned and changes to policy reform implemented to assist with these developments. Some of the recommendations are now been acted upon. We have seen recent efforts by the ASG to attract new business and to try and minimize some of the effects of an anticipated downturn.  I referred to some of the initiatives during a presentation to the recent visit by a delegation from Manukau City council from nz  and the NZPBC both of who incidentally rated their visit here as most informative and offering more opportunities for trade and investment than they imagined would be available. We were judged by the delegation to be the highlight of their pacific tour and new business opportunities are now being followed up . Some of the initiatives that I referred to were -        Washington visit -        Visit by the GAO -        Fiber optic cable connection -        A call center -        American Samoa Visitors Bureau -        Comprehensive tourism master plan -        Yacht marina -        The possibility of a new fishing company -        Technology park -        Ag & fisheries development -        New produce market -        Regional ship repair and service hub at our shipyard -        Development of alternative energy Does it look as though nothing is happening and nobody is doing anything? Let’s be positive, take your lead from your chamber. We have not sat back and watched the world go past us.  We are forever looking at new and innovative ways of adding value and creating new business opportunities to stimulate our economy. We continue to arrange monthly meetings for members with interesting and informative topics even though these meetings are generally poorly supported. We continue to engage with regional chambers and business groups to share ideas. We continue to provide constructive comments and be supportive of issues that affect the business community. We continue to encourage and support Samoan run small businesses. Our membership continues to grow. Our finances are good but could be improved.

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Our Annual General Meeting, at which we elect new officers, will be held at the beginning of December and I would like to maintain the trend that we have been able to follow in the past two years in voting for individuals that contribute and create a better balance between Samoan and non-Samoans on the board and to encourage more of our ladies in business to put their names forward for board positions. Tonight is our second business awards night which recognizes the achievements and efforts of individuals and businesses in our community. Again the selections have not been easy as the caliber of nominations continues to reach new highs each year. I would like to extend special thanks to Joey Cummings, as the chairman of the organizing committee, and to his team for arranging this event, and to the ASCC Ukulele Ensemble for providing the music. And I want to express my very special thanks to our major sponsors for making the evening possible and for supporting the Chamber:

  • Aeto Insurance
  • ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank    Congratulations on your 30th anniversary.
  • Bank Of Hawaii
  • Bluesky Communications
  • Continental Construction Corp.
  • Nivea
  • Panamex Pacific
  • Tautai Car Rentals
  • Tautua Mo Oe
  • South Seas Broadcasting

I also extend my special thanks:

  • To the board of the chamber for all their efforts and input.
  • To the press and news radio  particularly Fili and Monica who  report on the chamber’s affairs each week and to the TV stations for their promotion and coverage of the chamber’s activities
  • To the management and staff of the Equator Restaurant

The business awards night continues to be an important feature on the business calendar and I am sure that it will remain so for many years to come Thank you all for attending and I hope you enjoy the evening. Closing remarks:

  • The selection of winners and runners up was an outstanding group of people.  There are many more deserving businesses out there and we will be recognizing them in future years.  The selection process is very difficult and we hope you agree that we have made the correct choices.
  • There is no question about the abundance of talent out there.  By recognizing a few of these talented people we hope it will encourage others to strive to be the best they can be.
  • The winners are all worthy of their recognition.  Many of them have been doing outstanding work in and for the community for many years.
  • Thanks again to the Governor and First Lady for taking the time to join us.  The remarks by the Governor were excellent and inspiring.
  • To all our guests, friends and chamber members;  Remember to support your chamber because the chamber means business.

We look forward to doing it all again next year.   Thank you and good night.

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