At the September Women in Business Roundtable luncheon held at Gaylord’s, Leticia Lee, Laura Wiley, Katie Beer, Betty Bell, Sharron Weber and Debbie Swain were honored for their excellent entrepreneur skills and role in the community here on Kaua‘i. “What
At the September Women in Business Roundtable luncheon held at Gaylord’s, Leticia Lee, Laura Wiley, Katie Beer, Betty Bell, Sharron Weber and Debbie Swain were honored for their excellent entrepreneur skills and role in the community here on Kaua‘i.
“What has driven me to develop leadership qualities is having had good leaders and mentors,” said Leticia Lee of Bank of Hawaii. “Leadership is about empowerment, moral influence, believing in people and addressing the human element first and foremost. All my mentors were great listeners and communicators: verbal, written and non-verbal. They showed me, and I believe that you can change the world one person at a time.”
In addition to Lee, the business roundtable also offered information about the remaining group of women.
Wiley has been a certified public accountant since the 1980s.
She has worked as an audit manager for Ernst and Whitney and as an independent contractor for a local CPA firm.
She began her own accounting practice five years ago.
“I deeply care for the well being of my clients. Life is stressful and filled with many challenges. I love working with people to increase their happiness and success.”
Katie Beer currently owns her own business, Kt Productions, producing local television commercials. Being self-employed, with no employees, her leadership experience comes from community service.
She has served as a board member for several Kaua‘i nonprofits, including the Kauai Humane Society, the Kauai Concert Association and GreenStar Kauai.
She is an active member of the Zonta Club of Kauai, being past president and past service chair.
Bell, a real estate broker, opened her own real estate firm in 1980 that specializes in Personalized Sales and Services (PSS).
In 2001, she sold the business to Century 21 All Islands, and served as broker for two years, and now finally as a broker salesperson traveling the world.
Weber is the owner and operator of Tire Warehouse. Weber opened the store in 1974.
In addition to her tire business, Weber earned five Hawai‘i state-champion surfing titles, and is a four-time world women’s surfing champion.
In addition, she is a board member of the American Cancer Society.
“My competitive nature has certainly been a key factor in my success,” said Weber. “By rarely accepting the status quo and challenging the norms, a better way of doing something can be found, whether in sports, business for the community or for the individual.”
Debbie Swain was also honored, and is the owner and operator of Catamaran Kahanu, a tour-boat business.
