The founding president of the only surviving Jaycee organization on the island said keeping that group healthy is important for the island. The Kauai Filipino American (Fil-Am) Jaycees celebrate their 25th anniversary with a banquet this Saturday, April 17, at
The founding president of the only surviving Jaycee organization on the island said keeping that group healthy is important for the island.
The Kauai Filipino American (Fil-Am) Jaycees celebrate their 25th anniversary with a banquet this Saturday, April 17, at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Po‘ipu.
“For us, it’s very important to have this organization,” said Oscar Portugal, 55, founding president of the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees and a surveyor in the county Department of Public Works.
“It’s the fastest acculturation on Kaua‘i,” he said, especially for newly arrived immigrants, whether they be Filipino or not.
Being surrounded by energetic, motivated young professionals can only be a good thing for other young people, he said.
The Jaycees welcome those ages 18 to 40, of any ethnic background, he continued.
Portugal’s Jaycee experience, first as a member of the Kauai Jaycees, then with the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees, helped him get skills that helped him acquire his land-surveyor’s license, and gave him leadership skills he leveraged into later becoming president of the Kauai Filipino Community Council, founding president of the Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce, and into statewide community-service leadership positions as well, he said.
He is now a member of the appointed, statewide Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects.
Other past presidents of the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees, who like Portugal are still active in the organization’s Presidents Club, also moved on to leadership positions in the Kauai Filipino Community Council, and are successful professionals on Kaua‘i, he commented.
“To me, the Jaycees opened up doors to other organizations,” he said.
The Kauai Filipino-American Jaycees was chartered on March 29, 1979, when many factors influenced the formation of what at that time was the fourth island Jaycees organization, he recalled.
Portugal joined the Kauai Jaycees in 1978, and was the club chaplain. He became chair of a project to assist new immigrants to the island, including conducting needs assessments of the new arrivals.
At that time, there were many young Filipino immigrants coming to Kaua‘i. He encouraged many of them to join Jaycees to acquire leadership skills and make new friends on the island.
“Jaycees was perfect at that time,” with the island’s only Filipino mayor, Eduardo E. Malapit, seated at that time. Malapit had been a member of the West Kauai Jaycees, and was supportive of the start of the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees, Portugal said.
Many of the newly arrived Filipino immigrants weren’t completely comfortable in Jaycee groups with members of other ethnicities, so, with around 30 people (not all Filipinos), the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees was born.
Eugene Jimenez, John Gandeza, Portugal and others were the founding fathers, Portugal recalled.
Back then, the $35 required to join Jaycees was a steep price for some, so Portugal solicited owners of businesses to donate money to offset the cost of membership for those who wished to join but didn’t have the financial means to do so.
From an initial membership of between 30 and 35, the club grew quickly to 50 members, all united in purposes that club members of today still embrace: leadership training, chapter management, and community service.
“Luckily, it was the right time,” he reiterated.
Portugal was there through many changes to the Jaycees, including attending the national convention in Atlanta in 1983 or 1984 when women fought successfully for the right to join the Jaycees.
Before, there were Jaycees, members of a male-only organization, and wives who were Jayceettes. Since the Jaycees were compelled to allow women to join as a result of a discrimination case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, there have been several outstanding female presidents of the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees, Portugal said.
“They were right,” that women should be allowed in the organization, he added. Leadership training should be made available to all people, not just men, he said.
At the time of the founding of the Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees, active also were the Kawaihau Jaycees (Kapa‘a area), West Kauai Jaycees (Westside) and Kauai Jaycees (Lihu‘e).
Slowly but surely, the other clubs died, Portugal thinks mainly because a priority wasn’t placed on recruiting new members.
The Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees also endured a period of dormancy, until former members, mainly former presidents, led a push to revive the club.
The Jaycees (standing for Junior Chamber of Commerce) was originally an organization for young entrepreneurs, and focused on leadership training, he said. Portugal sees the current Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees as the perfect training organization for the next generation of Filipino entrepreneurs.
The Saturday anniversary event at the Sheraton Po‘ipu will include dinner, live entertainment, a history of the organization, and guest speaker Mike Murakoshi, senior vice president and Kaua‘i regional manager for First Hawaiian Bank.
Murakoshi is a former president of the Hawaii Jaycees, the statewide organization.
For tickets and more information, please call Millie, 651-3381.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
