2011 Hawaii Individual Vice President Lori Unemori
Aloha, my name is Lori Unemori. This year I will be serving the Hawaii Jaycees as your Individual Development Vice President. Some of my goals are to bring out more participants for competitions such as Speak Up and Write Up, work alongside the chapter Individual Development Vice Presidents, start a Leadership Training program, and have an Individual College with many different trainings. I am super excited to be serving on the state board for the FIRST time and cannot wait to work with the chapters. Let me share with you how I got started in the Jaycees.
In 2004, my friend, Michele Itsuno, invited me to a GMM for Honolulu Chinese Jaycees. Chapter president, Yvette Lee, approached me about an awesome project opportunity called International Youth Art Exchange. I was interested in helping and learning what is entailed in doing such a big project. In the late 2006, a new chapter called Community Organization of Leaders approached me. I joined because most of the members were my close friends.
Who knew that 2 years later I would have the greatest achievement in my Jaycee career… becoming chapter president. I was extremely shy but my heart yearned dearly to become a leader. Becoming chapter president in 2009 was a challenge and a learning experience both personally and spiritually.
The Jaycees gives you great opportunities to experience failure but through learning to pick yourself back up and try again. I’ve gained so much knowledge and friendships that I can never see myself in another organization. I would like our community to see the different sides of our organization and get excited about what the Hawaii Jaycees do and can provide for young leaders.
Each chapter has a specific “flavor” that they bring to the community and I would love to see more of that. I want people between the ages of 18-41, to know that the Jaycees has something to offer them. As I close, I just want to express my excitement of serving you this year. I hope that I can get to know each and everyone one of you. Happy New Year!
