A trampoline, he explained, is made up of three parts: rigid tubing, a flexible mat, and the springs that connect the two. Effective leaders use a combination of structure and flexibility to achieve their vision. As with a trampoline, the higher a leader propels people towards the leader’s vision, the more effective the leader is. The leader’s task is to manage the tension between structure and flexibility.

He told us that there are three main ways that this tension manifests itself. First, leaders should pursue polarities—that is, two opposite ideas, like the Chinese philosophy of yin/yang, that are equally valid. Second, leaders should work to deepen discernment. Like Solomon’s polarities, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. There is a time for flexibility, and a time for structure. Leadership without flexibility is just pain, and leadership without structure doesn’t go anywhere. The question is not which is better, but when is it better to focus on one or the other. Finally, leaders should spot the connections between structure and flexibility. In his view, the connections are made up of the environment, the communication, and the culture of an organization. As with a trampoline, if one spring is damaged, the others are overstretched, and are at risk of failure.   Good leaders should be aware of those things, and be able to make adjustments to the environment, communication, and culture of their organization, to keep it healthy.

I was born in the Philippines, left home at 17 after high school, to pursue a nursing education in Chicago. I married my 1^st real American boyfriend 2 years later on August 16, 1969.  Jim’s sister, nursing school classmate, invited me to dinner at Mom and Dad Hoban’s home, and it was there that I met Jim while he was visiting his parents.  Jim asked his Mom, “If I feed her…can I keep her?” This year, we celebrate 51 years of marriage, 26 years of working in the same business/office space and 10 years of having fun together as a Sunsetter Rotarian.  We also celebrate 10 years as Grandparents to  7; the youngest born on September 20th.  No secret to many—we both enjoy family, church, travel and good humor. (Yes- the ice cream too!)

My parents, business owners, engrained the importance of college education, owning your own business and giving back to the less fortunate.  The latter was an expectation, as I was educated in an all-girls private Catholic school run by the Maryknoll Sisters, a missionary order based in New York.  In high school, I tagged along with the nuns to deliver food, clothes and taught English and Math to children in a poverty-stricken neighborhood.  I almost thought of becoming a missionary Maryknoll Sister.

After high school and nursing school, leaving the cold winters in Chicago, Jim and I with our 3 year old son, moved to Hawaii in December 1973.  The Queens Medical Center offered me a job as soon as we arrived, where I worked for 21 years as Staff Nurse, Manager and Educator.

In 1986, I started the first Grandparents’ Class in Hawaii, long before I became a grandma.  Bob Krauss, newspaper writer, interviewed me and commented “ How gutsy of you-What do you know about grand-parenting?”  Contrary to his comment, it was one of the most popular classes in Hawaii with a waiting list of 3 months!  I was a self-employed Lamaze ( Childbirth) Instructor and my students encouraged their parents to attend Grandparents Classes, sometimes concurrently while they were attending my Lamaze classes.

Two years prior to completing graduate school (business/organization management), Prime Care Services Hawaii, a licensed, Medicare-certified home healthcare agency, was established.  I left Queens in 1994 to start the business and Jim joined me shortly. I am President/ CEO of Prime Care with a loyal team, our Prime Care ohana, who have been with the company since we started in 1994.  Some of them I worked with at Queens.

Jim was a member of the RC of Pearlridge, where a fellow Rotarian and Banker, Roy Matsuo, helped us to get the business off the ground with a line of credit from the Bank of Hawaii. The trust and relationship Roy had in us was pivotal in getting our business off to a great start.  This is an excellent example of the value of networking in Rotary.

I was happy tagging along when Jim went to his club’s service projects and selling his fundraising tickets.  Then….I was introduced to Rotary International’s Group Study Program by Rotarian Marietta Bustamante. She was the Executive Director of the American Cancer Society and I was a President of ACS Board.  Marietta asked me to help her coordinate vocational visits and home stays for  the GSE Australia Team while in Hawaii.  A group from Hawaii, in return, would spend 3 weeks in Australia.  When my “hanai”daughter  (actually, my niece)  was accepted to join the GSE Team to Australia, I felt compelled to thank Rotary for the great gift of allowing young professionals to share their culture and vocation in another country. That was when I decided to join the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset in 2007. 

We are a Rotary Family.  Our son, Sean, was charter member and President (x2) of the Rotary Club of Pau Hana.  This year, he is Membership Chair of that club.  Jim is my Rotary partner —- we are joined at the hip!

Soon after becoming a Rotarian ( ~2 months) Ayman asked Jim and I to develop the D5000 Rotary Directory.  It was a great introduction to get to know  Rotarians from our District. That assignment led to several District positions as District Conference Chair (x4), Award Chair (x3) and this year as District Secretary.       

My best leadership position was leading our own club as President, while Jim and I  were also co-chairs of the District Conference.  That year, the board and our members accomplished several projects in our local and international communities and was recognized for the great work of our members.  I can still smell and feel the sweat off of Dan (plastic surgeon) digging dirt with bare hands and PDG Win off loading elephant dung from the back of his pick up truck to revitalize Jefferson Elementary’s garden.  25 of our members came on a Saturday morning to work!  I remember the excitement of our club members as the Club of the Year was awarded to the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset. 

I have learned that working with volunteers can be challenging, but the lessons learned and rewards are life-changing.  My most recent leadership position as volunteer was Board Chair of  HAH (Healthcare Association of Hawaii), an organization of all hospitals, long term care, homecare and hospice organizations. Three months after I was inducted as Board  Chair, the President of HAH accepted another position in the mainland.  On the HAH Board were CEO’s and Presidents of major healthcare  organizations.  It was a humbling and challenging position to lead the task of overseeing HAH’s administrative issues and leading the hiring of a new president, Hilton Raethel.  Today he is visible in the media covering COVID’s healthcare organization’s administrative issues.

Rotary has been a calling and I am honored to be part of the world of Rotarians who support education, peace and world health.  The Maryknoll Sisters and my parents, especially Mom, taught me to “ share and be part of the community.”   I believe that as a Rotarian, we are able to do just that and make a significant  difference in our communities…. Sharing our time, treasure and talent as gifts to the world.