POI Aviation and TSL Foundation presented checks at the Delta Airlines Ticketing office on Saipan last November 10.  The checks served as payment for their participation in the Delta Airlines Tournament for Children’s Education.

POI Aviation was listed in the Full Hole Sponsorship while Tan Siu Lin Foundation was registered in the Par 3 Hole Scholarship in the fundraising options presented by the organizers.

The proceeds of the event will be used to benefit children’s education in the CNMI

The fundraising golf activity will be held on December 5 at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort Saipan.

Chairmen Tan Siu Lin is interested to contribute for the construction of a special shrine.  The shrine is meant for an old Japanese Buddha statue, which was discovered by the chairman himself on the premises of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

The said Japanese Buddha statue brings peace and protection for children.  It also helps sharpen the minds of children.

According to reports, the Buddha statue was created in the 1940’s.  It was destructed but was replaced in 1990.

The construction of the shrine will take about six to 12 months.  Chairman Tan Siu Lin expressed hopes that Japanese visitors and believers will continue to honor the Japanese Buddha statue once the shrine is finished.

The management of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan’s Chambre Bar recently turned over a check worth $516 to the Commonwealth Health Center Volunteers’ Association. This money came from the proceeds of the restaurant’s Healthy Lunch promo, a promo that was initiated in September as a means to help the Association to purchase a hyperbaric chamber.

The said promo involves the restaurant’s adjustment in the price of its lunch buffet from $5.99 to

$6.99. The $1 increase was set to be donated to the CHC Volunteers’ Association.  

The hyperbaric chamber is a sealed chamber in which a high-pressure environment is used primarily to treat decompression sickness, gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene resulting from infection by anaerobic bacteria, tissue injury arising from radiation therapy for cancer and wounds that are difficult to heal.

Asia Pacific Airlines (APA) recently started an open contract with Delta Airlines. The contract involves an overnight schedule maintenance check as well as an air worthiness release for Delta Airlines’ 767 aircrafts.

The said contract was a result of the efforts from APA’s Mx (Maintenance) Team, Operation and Accounting, which shares the same vision in providing safe and reliable services. Signing in attendance are the NW Mx Representatives, Robert Walker and Zar Atalig.

According to the executives of APA, their future plans involve expansions for their Mx Service.

The ground handling services that APA is doing for Delta Airlines is reflective of their mark in providing satisfactory aircraft maintenance.

John Hirsh, American Red Cross (ARC) – NMI Chapter’s Executive Director, recently received donations from the Tan Siu Lin Foundation.  The donations were personally presented by Tan Holdings founder and chairman, Dr. Tan Siu Lin.

The foundation gave out a $5,000 check and a $5,000 worth of in-kind donations to the ARC.

Among those in attendance during the presentation of donations were Tan Holdings President Jerry Tan and some ARC officials Teresa Kim, Lou Johnson, and Juan Lizama.

In a statement, Kim said that “The TSL Foundation has a long history of supporting non-profit organizations here in the Commonwealth; Red Cross is fortunate to have this generous corporate donation from Tan Holdings to help support Red Cross programs here in the NMI.”

The grantees of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation scholarship program were officially named during a special ceremony held at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan last Friday, October 16. Present during the ceremony was Tan Holdings President and Tan Siu Lin Foundation Vice-Chairman, Jerry Tan.

According to the foundation’s executives, the scholarship applicants were screened and deemed qualified for the scholarship program based on their grade point average, essays and participation in community involvement activities.

In a statement, Tan Siu Lin Foundation Manager Ed Arriola shared that investing in students is a sure way to build and retain local workforce on the island.

POI Aviation has received two medals from the 36^th Wing Andersen of the US Air Force.  The awards were given during a special appreciation and commendation event that POI Aviation was invited to.

The first award was presented to POI Aviation for “Shrinking the tyranny of distance”.  Meanwhile, another award was presented for the company’s “World class maintenance for air expeditionary forces”.

The said service was the safekeeping of tools and equipments that will be used to repair the Air Force’s F-22.  The storage of these ground equipments was necessary due to the possible damages that the Typhoon Choi-Wan might cause.

Tango Theatres is moving forward to provide its market with a more diversified selection of films while reflecting Guam’s cultural mix as well:  they recently premiered a South Korean film last October 1.

The film, entitled “Haeundae”, is a blockbuster about a tsunami that struck a South Korean beach resort.  It is one of the highest grossing films in Korean box office history.

Prior to the premiere of this South Korean hit, Tango Theatres already offers Filipino films to the movie-goers.  Further plans include screenings for Chinese and Japanese films with subtitles.

In a statement, Bojo Molina, Tango Theatres’ Marketing Director, clarified that the frequency of South Korean films is yet to be determined because they are still gauging the audiences’ response.

Through the promotions of Air China and Century Tours, the first Air China charter flight arrived on Guam last

October 3.

The said charter flight brought 250 visitors to Guam as China celebrates its 60th National Day.

Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan was eyed by the eighteen travel agents from Moscow and St. Petersburg as one of the possible tourist accommodations for Russians on Saipan.

The group visited Saipan, Tinian and Rota.  They arrived on September 19 and left on September 27. 

The participating tour agencies were comprised of magazine Y- Pokupau, Planeta Tour, SIBVEL Tour, “Star of Gabriel” Travel Agency, NEDA Tour Agency, RUEX Tour, Bashkortostan, Evrika-Soft Ltd. Publishing House, Aira-Tour Ltd., Lensey Travel Agency, Ruskkrim Tour Ltd., Tashly Diving Club, Shambhala Trave Moscow, Shambhala Tour Ltd., Capital Tour Ltd., Stekton-M VIP service, Koreana Tour Ltd., and World of Asia Travel Agency.

The residents of Alamagan and Agingan had destructed homes and livelihood when super typhoon Choi-Wan wreaked havoc on their islands.  Seeing the need to take a pro-active stance in helping these displaced residents, Tan Siu Lin Foundation launched a donation campaign that would provide aid to the displaced residents

The donation campaign was pushed through with the support of Tan Holdings President Jerry Tan.  It was through Tan’s directive that the information about the donation campaign was disseminated to various companies under the Tan Holdings group.

The response of the affiliate companies was immediate; food donations were soon provided to the victims of the calamity.

Super typhoon Choi-Wan spared Saipan from destruction but the Northern Islands of Alamagan and Agrigan suffered a different fate as both islands experienced widespread damage from the said calamity.

Saipan Grand Hotel lifeguard, Ryan Manglona, received an award for his exemplary service as a lifeguard when he saved the life of a young boy last August 21, 2009.

Manglona, who was on duty at the time that a young boy who was staying at the hotel drowned, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which helped revive the breathing of the said victim.  The safety precaution that Manglona administered to the young boy prior to the arrival of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) technicians proved to be vital to the survival of the boy.

After his heroic deed, Manglona was awarded with a certificate of recognition last September 9 at the office of Saipan Grand Hotel GM, Ed Cho.  Aside from the award, Manglona also received a cash prize which amounted to $100.

Meanwhile, the condition of the victim is reportedly quite stable after two days of hospitalization; after which he and his family already returned to Japan.

Tan Holdings President Jerry Tan, a keen supporter of environmental efforts in the CNMI, lauded the Tan Holdings team’s participation in the 24^th annual International Coastal Cleanup, which was held last September 19.

The team ardently participated in the said cleanup, with over 100 volunteers from the company who supported this worthwhile international initiative against ocean debris.

The International Coastal Cleanup is considered by many as the world’s largest volunteer effort to help protect our ocean and waterways. It was pioneered by Ocean Conservancy as a means to advocate for the preservation of the ocean waters against ocean debris.

Predicting that the industry will experience a boost if more members of the community will join the Marianas Tourism Education Council (MTEC), Saipan Grand Hotel GM Ed Cho encouraged those who want the tourism industry to flourish to join the organization.

By the standards set by MTEC, any person, business entity, association, organization or agency can become an MTEC member by volunteering to support the council’s activities or by making a monetary or in-kind contribution.

“Tourism is everybody’s business, and we are looking for new ways to partner with our community, especially our youth, in support of the industry,” says Cho.  He further stresses that the council welcomes anyone who wants to join in this important endeavor.

Cho is the president of MTEC, an association that aims to foster and improve community understanding of the visitor industry; to educate the general public, especially school students, about the value, social benefits and economic contribution made to the community by the tourism industry.

Tan Siu Lin Foundation decides to sponsor a comic event which will be staged at the Taga Hall of the Saipan World Resort on September 19.  The show will carry the title Kambal sa Tawa and will be graced by Vice Ganda and Ogie Diaz, two renowned television comedians in the Philippines.

According to reports, this marks the first time for Philippine standup comedians to perform on Saipan.

Part of the proceeds will benefit the Philippine-based children’s’ welfare program called Bantay Bata Foundation.

Other sponsors for Kambal sa Tawa includes IT&E, Bud Light and Magic 100FM

Henry Pun of Century Tours took charge of communicating with some confused Chinese who were caught in a fire incident on a large employee barracks in Koblerville, Saipan last August 16.

According to reports, the 25 Chinese victims of the fire were anxious because they do not understand other languages aside from their own.

Henry helped appease the Chinese victims by talking to them in their native language.  Henry did this through the directive of the American Red Cross.

After reporting to the American Red Cross, Henry shared that, “The workers were very happy that there was assistance for them and for my assistance as many of them were scared and didn’t quite understand what was available for them.”

Starting September 1 of this year, the lunch buffet of Chambre Bar at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan will be adjusted from $5.99 to $6.99 and the $1 increase would benefit a good cause – the Commonwealth health Center (CHC) Volunteers Association.

Annie Benavente, the association’s vice president, said this tie-up will boost their chances of buying a hyperbaric chamber for the hospital.

A hyperbaric chamber is instrumental in treating decompression sickness, gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene resulting from infection by anaerobic bacteria, tissue injury arising from radiation therapy for cancer, and wounds that are difficult to heal.

Through this partnership with Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, the CHC Volunteers’ is hoping to raise $400,000 for the said equipment.

Pursuant to its vision of upholding intellectual development among students who want to attain higher education but are restrained by financial limitations, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation recently announced a scholarship program for ten of the most deserving students from the Northern Marianas College (NMC).  The Foundation will provide $1,000 per scholarship recipient.

In a statement, Dr. Tan Siu Lin, Chairman and founder shared that:  “We realize the central role that the Northern Marianas College plays in the academic and personal development of students and, on a larger scale, the CNMI’s workforce; and we want to support that role by providing assistance to students who strive hard to excel academically, yet lack the financial means to continuously pursue quality education with the NMC.”

The initial selection for the recipients of the scholarship fund will be based on the students’ academic performance, community involvement activities, and letter of recommendation; after which the students’ written essay will be the final gauge for their eligibility to the TSL Foundation’s scholarship program as the foundation’s scholars.
The deadline for the submission of scholarship applications is on September 30, 2009.  Interested applicants may contact Ed Arriola at: ed_arriola@tanholdings.com or call 670-233-8080.