HCCNC board welcomes Susan Haramoto

The HCCNC board of directors welcomes Susan Haramoto to the board, where she will be helping us focus on our membership recruitment and retention. Susan is Program Manager with Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank (http://www.svb.com), which she joined in 1999 first as Assistant to the Chairman, then as Alliance Manager for eSource. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Susan was Membership Director of the Hawaii Hotel Association, a statewide trade organization , responsible for all aspects of membership development. Susan grew up in Kaneohe and is a Castle High graduate.

New board member to focus on membership

As the newest addition to the HCCNC board of directors, Susan Haramoto brings to the organization her expertise as the membership director of the Hawaii Hotel Association (HHA). Now an organization with a membership of over 700 members consisting of hotels, hotel management companies, hotel owners, and visitor industry related companies- HHA is a major industry player in the state.

Susan will help HCCNC focus on our valuable individual and business members. “This is a young organization with a lot of promise,” she said. “With all of the connections we have, and the terrific accomplishments of its leaders, HCCNC can go to a new level with the help of our membership.”

Her first initiative will be to form a membership committee composed mostly of members who are not on the board. This will further help engage a broader cross-section of participants in HCCNC planning.

“The objective of the membership is simple, yet challenging: retain our current members by adding value to their association with the chamber, while we grow our member base, especially with small businesses,” she said.

“Our membership is our sales force,” said Susan. “They are our best ambassadors to promote our vision to the community.”

Susan would also like to help with the newsletter, which “is the only form of communication with 90 percent of our members.” She envisions a small business feature and a column that features promotions and job changes among our members.

“But I can’t do this alone,” she said. “I’m inviting members to join our membership committee so that we can turn these ideas into reality.” Members can e-mail Susan at joinHCCNC@aol.com.

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