Delorese Gregoire and the winners at Winners' Camp.

She's a Winner!
For 20 Years, Delorese Gregoire Has Helped Mold Hawaii’s Future
Leaders Through Winners’ Camp and Hawaii Leadership Academy

By Malia Zimmerman, HawaiiReporter.com

Small Business Hawaii’s member Delorese Gregoire has dedicated the last 20 years of her life to what many parents dread - teenagers.

Since founding Winners’ Camp two decades ago, Gregoire has taken 12,000 teenagers and 600 support staff and molded them into leaders through her 7-day camps by helping them find and use their talents.

She also has helped coordinate similar events for corporations across the state whose executives feel they will benefit from such motivational retreats.

Before 2001, Winners’ Camp was located on the island of Kauai, but that year Gregoire convinced landowner Kamehameha Schools to let her move Winners’ Camp to a three-and-a-half property on the edge of Kamehame Ridge. Once a Nike Missile Site, the dilapidated facility had four main buildings covered with cracks, weeds, graffiti; the buildings had broken windows and no doors; and the surrounding area was consumed by brush, rubbish and old tires. But Gregoire saw only the great potential of the camp, which sits on the edge of an emerald mountain range overlooking a stunning view of the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. So she got to work, gathering volunteers from Small Business Hawaii, U.S. Military, Rotary, Elks, Winners’ Camp graduates and local churches who helped with the clean-up effort and donations. Today, the camp sparkles with all of the potential she envisioned 5 years ago.

“Not many people know how much Delorese really does to prepare for camps, getting donations so kids who cannot afford camp can attend, getting sponsors and volunteers to help with repairs, maintenance and yard work. She is literally on the phone 20 hours a day,” says Amanda Spofford, former student turned Winners' Camp administrative assistant.

Gregoire gave up her small business 20 years ago to focus full time on her family and running Winners’ Camp. She grew up in a series of abusive foster homes, and says she knows firsthand how important it is to enhance the lives of children, give them the tools they need to succeed and stay on the right path.

Kids who participate in Winners’ Camp learn to break through self-imposed limitations and learn goal setting, better study habits, memorization tips, visualization, creative thinking, quick note taking, self-management methods, team building and conflict resolution skills.

There are big plans for the future, says Gregoire, who wants to start a camp for kids ages 7 to 12 and expand the existing site. She is hoping to recruit many more volunteers to help with donations, maintenance or new projects at Winners' Camp. She is hoping to recruit donors who can contribute office paper and other office supplies and sponsor a child at Winners Camp as well as volunteers to help with maintenance and construction of some of the planned new maintenance projects. She also continues to look for ways to import a water tank since there is no water on the property and all water for the kids at the camp must be hauled from people’s homes or purchased.

To get involved or to sign up a child for Winners’ Camp and the Hawaii Leadership Academy, call (808) 923-8844 or (808) 306-8008, email success@winnerscamp.com or log onto http://www.winnerscamp.com. The next 2 camps will be from March 19 – 25 and from March 26 – April 1.

Representatives Harbin and Stevens
Sign "No New Tax" Pledge

By Richard O. Rowland, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii applauds the pro-taxpayer position of Representative Bev Harbin (D) of District 28 (Kakaako-Downtown) who was appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle on September 16, 2005 to replace Rep. Kenneth Hiraki who resigned.

Rep. Harbin demonstrated her dedication to the taxpayers of Hawaii by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge on January 26, 2006. By signing the Pledge, she commits “to oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

Grassroot Institute also congratulates the pro-taxpayer position of Representative Anne Stevens (R) of District 23 (Waikiki, Kaka ‘ako, Ala Moana) who was appointed by Governor Lingle on January 16, 2006 to replace Representative Galen Fox who resigned.

Representative Stevens demonstrated her dedication to the taxpayers of Hawaii by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge on January 27, 2006.

Representatives Harbin and Stevens join numerous lawmakers who are dedicated to serving the people of Hawaii in keeping government limited and focused on effective and reliable core government functions instead of concentrating on making government larger and more intrusive.

As of mid-February, over 1,200 state legislators nationwide have signed the Pledge. Six governors, including Gov. Lingle, have signed the pledge. Six Lieutenant Governors have also signed the pledge, but so far, Hawaii’s Lt. Gov. James Duke Aiona has refused, saying he wants to keep his options open.

Five Hawaii Senators of 25 have signed including Sens. Sam Slom (S-8), Gordon Trimble (S-12), David Ige (S-16), Bob Hogue (S-24) and Fred Hemmings (S-25).

Eleven Hawaii Representatives of 51 have signed including Bertha Kawakami (H-16), William Stonebraker (H-17), Barbara Marumoto (H-19), Anne Stevens (H-23), Corinne Ching (H-27), Bev Harbin (H-28), House Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan (H-32), Mark Moses (H-40), Kymberly Pine (H-43), Colleen Meyer (H-47) and Cynthia Thielen (H-50).

This program is part of a national project of Americans for Tax Reform in Washington. D.C. They offer the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to all sitting elected officials and candidates for public offices at the state and federal levels.

President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist says congratulations to Rep. Harbin and extends the invitation to sign the Pledge to all of your elected officials, in the hope that more will dedicate themselves to taxpayers, rather than tax—and spending.

Richard O. Rowland is president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a non-partisan, non-profit public policy institute focused on promoting the free-market, individual freedom and liberty. He can be reached via email at grassroot@hawaii.rr.com.The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii can be found at its Web site at http://www.grassrootinstitute.org.

March 2006 SB News Front Page

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Copyright 2006 Small Business Hawaii. Last update: February 28, 2006