No surprises at GVB election – board now awaits nominees
Given the drama of previous gatherings with the board and management of the Guam Visitors Bureau, the breakfast meeting and election on Jan. 7 at the RIHGA Royal Laguna Guam was a quiet affair.
Still, member attendees got the job done – which was to elect four board members – and did so by a swift show of hands.
GVB staff at the election at the RHIGA Royal Laguna Resort. Photo by Maureen N. Maratita.
Re-elected were George Chiu, current chairman and vice president of Tan Holdings; Joaquin P.L.G. Cook, president and CEO of the Bank of Guam; Jeffrey B. Jones, president and chief operating officer of Triple J Enterprises Inc.; and Ken Yanagisawa, president of P.H.R. Ken Micronesia Inc. and general manager of The Tsubaki Tower.
All but Yanagisawa were off island.
Four holdover members of the board are Peter P. “Sonny” Ada, president of Ada's Trust & Investment Inc.; Milton Morinaga, longtime tourism expert and consultant; Michael A. Sgro, general manager, Paradise Fitness; and Michelle Merfalen, paraeducator at the Guam Department of Education and youth director.
The board now awaits a further nominee from Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, and the 38th Guam Legislature. After that, the board can add one more director. mbj
Since 2023, residents of and travelers to Palau have had to learn how to do without a nicotine fix via e-cigarettes. The legal importation of e-cigarettes, or vapes, is now banned, and customs officers at the airport have been confiscating these products for about three years.
The Guam Visitors Bureau led a delegation of 12 local businesses to the 41st Seoul International Travel Fair from June 4 to June 7 at the COEX exhibition center to expand regional market share.
Guam recorded a substantial expansion in total employment with a net increase of 790 jobs in March 2026 compared to March 2025, propelled by strong gains within the private sector despite minor contractions in public payrolls.
