Hawaii celebrates 85th birthday of travel industry management legend
The University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Travel Industry Management (TIM) and TIM International, the TIM alumni association, will honor the 85th birthday of Chuck Yim Gee, emeritus dean and an industry giant, at an August 25 Sustainable Tourism Forum and August 24 fundraising dinner.
“Chuck has mentored and influenced hundreds of TIM alumni,” said Clyde Min, TIM International vice president and a Honolulu-based hotelier consultant. “He is the longest serving TIM dean, took TIM global by attracting international students and extending our educational outreach, and shaped tourism policies and education/training priorities.”
Forum on tourism sustainability
There will be two panel discussions at the public forum, set for 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, August 25, in George Hall room 227 on the UH Manoa campus.
Panelists in the first forum on sustainable tourism are Daniel Spencer, TIM professor; Laura Lesar, TIM assistant professor; Noe Pegarodo, associate vice president and senior project designer at the WATG Honolulu architectural design firm; and Camilo Mora, associate professor in the UH Manoa geography department. Panel moderator will be Juanita Liu, professor emerita and former interim dean of the TIM school.
Panelists in the second forum on current topics in tourism are Lenna Shulga, TIM assistant professor; Frank Haas, president of Marketing Management Inc.; and Nori Tarui, an associate professor in the UH Manoa economics department. Panel moderator will be Jennifer Chun, director of research of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Chef Colin Chung, a 1968 TIM graduate, will give a special presentation on his award-winning book, Kana Vinaka: Contemporary Island Cuisine.
There will be tours of TIM facilities, including the Chuck Yim Gee Technology Center, Sunset Reference Center, Professional Programs Seminar Room, Graduate Student and Visiting Researcher Workroom and TIM School Alumni Hall of Honor.
For more info on this event, contact TIM Dean Tom Bingham at (808) 956-7166 or [email protected]
Fundraising dinner
The TIM School will also hold a fundraising dinner to honor Gee’s 85th birthday on Friday, August 24, at the Pomaikai Ballrooms in Iwilei.
Cocktails and a culinary tasting reception run by students start at 5:30 p.m., with a red carpet greeting at 6 p.m. and dinner/entertainment commencing at 6:30 p.m.
Proceeds will create the C. Yim Gee Sustainable Tourism Research Fund in TIM. The vision for the research fund is to encourage TIM faculty and students to explore sustainable tourism as it affects Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region.
Individual tickets start at $185, with theme-sponsored tables of 10 starting at $2,000. Reserve tickets or tables here.
For more info, contact Lee-Ann Choy at (808) 864-9812 or [email protected]
More about Chuck Gee
Gee, a UH regent from 2009-2015, is considered a legend in travel industry management. He was named to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gallery of Legends in 2014 for establishing an important human legacy for the worldwide travel industry through education, training and research. PATA bestowed this extraordinary honor on Gee at its 63rd Annual General Assembly in Zhuhai, China, on May 18, 2014.
Gee served as dean of the TIM school from 1976 until his retirement in 1999. He received numerous awards, including the Award of Excellence for Tourism Education from the National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China, PATA’s Presidential Award and Grand Award for Individual Educational Accomplishment, Academy of Tourism Organizations’ NOAH Award and Travel Industry Association’s America Hall of Leaders Award.
PATA, whose birthplace was in Hawaii in 1951, serves as the leading voice and authority of travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
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