FCCH History and Past Presidents

SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES

1954 - The Filipino Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) was established with 47 charter members and adopted the Philippine’s coat of arms with the initials FCC as its logo.

1961 - The Chamber was incorporated.

1962 - Held its first community event which was the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company tour. Sponsored a Trade Mission to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

1964 - Celebrated “Decade of Progress” with 88 members.

1963 - Seeing the need to address and resolve various issues impacting the Filipino Community on a national level called for the creation of a National Association of Filipino Community Council of America. On the same year, the Chamber established a scholarship fund and Chamber President Barney Menor lead the 1st Trade Mission to the Philippines.

1974 - Presented “Pasko sa Pilipinas – Christmas Yuletide” at McKinley High School.1975 Hawai’i Governor

George Ariyoshi led the 2nd Trade Mission to the Philippines.

1977 - Membership in the Chamber was extended to non-Filipinos.

1979 - Congressman Cecil Heftel led the 4th Trade Mission to the Philippines.1983 Elected Isabel Tagala as its 1st female President.

1985 - Together with the Japan Prince and Princess Hitachi planted trees at the National Cemetery of the Pacific.

1986 - Changed name to Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and amended the by-laws to elect a President and President-Elect for a term of one year.

1987 - Conducted “Training the Teacher” seminars with the Educational Testing Service.

1989 - The Filipino Entrepreneur of the Year awards was launched.

1991 - After 7 years hiatus, reinstated the Trade Mission. The Chamber also initiated various business seminars and workshops.

1992 - Reinstated its Scholarship Awards program. Under its leadership, the Filipino Community Center started.

1993 - Organized the 1st incoming trade mission from the Philippines with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce.

1994 - Hosted its 1st Legislative breakfast seminar. Received $25,000.00 grant from Bank of America to conduct seminars on Affordable Housing.The 1st joint meeting of the Philippines-Hawaii Business Council spearheaded by Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai’i and the Government of the State of Hawai’i was held in Manila, Philippines. Maui Chapter was established.

1995 - The 1st Scholarship Golf Tournament was launched (FORE!). Big Island Chapter was established. City & County of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris lead the 12th Trade Mission to the Philippines.

1996 - Updated its Mission Statement.

1997 - Received $20,000.00 grant from American Savings Bank and a $15,000.00 contribution from Equitable to conduct Women Entrepreneur symposium.

1998 - Received $20,000.00 grant from the City & County of Honolulu through the Child & Family Services to conduct Micro-Enterprise workshops.

1999 - Established an affiliate relationship with the Honolulu Filipino Junior Chamber of Commerce, launched the Young Filipino Entrepreneur of the Year awards, adopted a new logo, and hosted the Bicol Investment Trade Mission delegation co-sponsored by the Philippine Department of Tourism. Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono led the 16th Trade Mission to the Philippines.

2000 - Hosted the Trade Mission Delegation from Cagayan de Oro and established a Sister-Chamber relationship with the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce.

2002 - Initiated aggressive membership recruitment program and successful fundraising events. Awarded eight (8) college scholarships to deserving high school students. Promoted member businesses by conducting bi-monthly networking sessions and business mixers. Launched the First FCCH website.

2003 - Led the statewide summit of the Filipino Chambers of Maui, Big Island, Kona, and the Honolulu Filipino Chamber of Commerce.

2004- Became a member of the National Federation of Filipino American Association in America (NaFFAA), Region 12. For its exceptional contributions to progress and development in the Philippines was presented by presented by the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino Award.

2005 - Launched its website: www.fiipinochamber.org

2006 - Hawai’i Governor Linda Lingle led the 20th Trade Mission to the Philippines with various members of the Filipino Centennial Celebration Committee as delegates. Established the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii Foundation, a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization to handle its charitable and educational programs and events. In cooperation with the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission hosted the International Trade Expo in Honolulu, Hawaii.

2007 - Through the FCCH Foundation and in cooperation with the City & County of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann launched the 1st A Taste of Kalihi (ATOK) event.

2008 - Acquired 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status from the IRS. Relocated its office to 1125 North King Street.

2009 - City & County of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann led the 21st Trade Mission to the Philippines. Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) was signed to promote, strengthen and expand trade and business relations.

2010 - Created the Hawaii-Philippines Business Economic Council (HPBEC) to implement the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) and its affiliates to strengthen links between Hawaii and the Philippines.

2011 - City and County of Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle led the 22nd Trade Mission to the Philippines. Renewed sister-city relationship of the City & County of Honolulu with Baguio City signed by Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan. Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saint Louis University (SLU) Baguio City.

2012 - Hawai’i Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui and Philippine Consul General of Honolulu Julius Torres led the 23rd Trade Mission to the Philippines.

2013 - City & County of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Philippine Consul General of Honolulu Julius Torres led the 24th Trade Mission to the Philippines. The City & County of Honolulu renewed its sister-cities relationship with Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Baguio City and Manila and the friendship-city relationship with Candon, Ilocos Sur. 1st Annual Leadership Development Summit, and 1st Annual Gathering of the Hawaii Ethnic Chambers of Commerce.

2014 - Partnered with Hawaii Business Magazine in staging the 1st Hawaii Business Leadership Conference. Staged the 1st Annual Adobo Cooking contest during the 8th Annual A Taste of Kalihi. Partnered with the Rotary Club of Kapolei Sunset in supporting the Book 4 Kids Program.Hawai’i Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui and Philippine Consul General of Honolulu Gina Jamoralin led the 25th Trade Mission to the Philippines including County of Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho. Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Palawan Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Partnered with various Filipino organizations, Korean and Chinese chambers in staging various community events. Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Hawaii Korean Chamber and Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

2015 - Formed of the Quad Chamber alliance between the four biggest Ethnic Chambers of Commerce in Hawaii - the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and our Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Joint Trade Mission to the Philippines with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii led by Philippine Consul General Gina Jamoralin. Launched the redesigned website.

2016 - Mayor Bernard Carvalho of Kauai and Philippine Consul General Gina Jamoralin led the 26thTrade Mission to the Philippines. Installation Banquet turned out to be a record breaking year in terms of raising the necessary funding to support our projects and programs. Newsletter and Legislative Breakfast reinstated. Awarded $26,000 to 9 scholars.

BusinessWorkshop“TakingYour Business to the Next Level” held for New and Existing Business Owners covering 3 key areas – Strategy, Process and People. Organized RestaurantWeek joined by more than 50 restaurants from all over the Islands serving Adobo specials for that week and culminated with an Adobo Festival at the Philippine Consulate,in partnership with the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii.