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
The Guam Visitors Bureau has committed $2 million to a comprehensive response plan designed to mitigate the impact of surging jet fuel prices, which have tripled fuel surcharges and led to a 20% reduction in airline seat capacity.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services confirmed two new laboratory-confirmed cases of Pertussis, bringing the total number of confirmed cases for 2026 to 13.
The Government of Guam and the Guam Economic Development Authority unveiled a $1.3 billion bond pipeline for the next five years during the InvestGuam Symposium 2026 in New York City.
Lockheed Martin Corp. of Moorestown, New Jersey, was awarded May 7 a “sole-source, hybrid, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification under the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Weapon Systems contract.”
