 ASYMCA. Okay, it's an acronym. And we're going to ask you to tell us what it is on the final examination, which will be right after the show. But the first question, Laurie Moore, is you're the executive director. How do you pronounce ASYMCA? How do you pronounce that? We like to call it the armed services YMCA. It's funny how that works. Yeah, it works out well for us. And Randy Jung. Hi, Randy. Nice to see you. I hear the marketing director still. All right, market us. Okay, so this is our third experience together, and I still haven't met either of you in person, but I feel that I'm getting to know you anyway. And we have ranged right through COVID from 2020 to 21 to now 22. And I feel that we're old friends, even though we never met at all. How do you feel about that? Do you feel that we're old friends, Laurie? We are old friends. With the emphasis on old, right? That's my line. It's my line. It's so great to be with you again, Jay. Thanks for having us. And it's always a fun time with you. And yeah, we'll have to get together sometime in person. Yeah, I was on Zoom. Yeah, like that. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, last time we spoke, you would tell me about the history of the Y here in Hawaii. And we had a wonderful discussion about, you know, it's our origin in 1917. Am I right about that? And various facilities and those pictures with Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnein and Montgomery Cliff on Hotel Street during the war. Oh God, those are the days. And now it's different. It's more expanded. It's all over the place. And so I want to know, since the last time we met, how things have changed at Simka. At Simka. Hey, it's been a really busy year for us. This is our 105th year here on the island, which is just kind of crazy, longest serving non-profit for our military families. And, you know, we're coming out of COVID. People are beginning to get back out, do things with us. We're having more events, more special events. And, you know, continuing on with our regular programs that we've been doing all through COVID. You know, our early education programs, our food security programs, our summer camps. And we're just now able to do them in much larger numbers than we were there for quite some time. So it's awesome because we're able to, you know, expand those services and those programs to even more military families. So it's been a really good year in that regard. Randy, how much of what Maurice said you agree with? 100 percent, Jay. 100 percent. And that, I mean, really truly doesn't encompass all the military families that we've seen and been able to interact with and help this past year. And since we've talked to you, I mean, it's hundreds and thousands of families and people that we've been able to engage with and really help them and be there for them when they have moments of difficulty, as we all do. Yes. I want to drill down on all of that. Yes, yes, Larry. I was just going to tell you just yesterday we were back in person for the first time since 2019 with our celebrating the military family, which is our opportunity to honor one military family from each branch of service. And it's a very special day. And, you know, we managed to carry it on in 2020 and 2021. We did it virtually. We did very small events, you know, 10 people with masks. And yesterday we gathered almost 400 people together to honor these families. Yeah, it was a really great day. Really great day. That is fabulous. 400 people. I mean, if I started counting to 400, we'd use up the whole show counting to 400. That's how many people 400 people is. It looks different. We're wearing glasses the last time. Oh, yes. I still wear them the last time, but yeah, I thought I'd take the most out of this. I knew things had changed. Okay, well, let's break this down a little bit. So how do you measure, okay, the, you know, the, I guess the expansion of YMCA? What do you look at? Do you look at the number of members, the number of events, the number of service people, families, money you spend on them? How do you measure it? And how has it changed? So all of those things, Jay. So one of the things we track very carefully throughout the year is number of people served and how many times did we serve those folks. So looking at duplicated and unduplicated numbers, but also, you know, what was the amount per person given a certain program or an individual program? How much do we spend per person? And additionally, I think it's, you know, looking at some of our early education programs, we'll even do assessments at the beginning, mid-year, and end of the year to see how those kids have grown. So, you know, just depending on the program, we're really assessing, hey, are we doing a good job? Are we serving who we need to serve? How can we be better? What can we do different next time? It's like a school teacher thing, isn't it? What I mean is that, and I don't want to talk about your age, I'll talk about my age, at a certain point, you see these kids, I think you said kids, I'll say kids too, in the military, you know, they come through your system, okay, and next time you look, they're gone, and somebody else is there instead, because, you know, the military, all the services keep rotating people, so it's not the same crowd as it was a year or two or three ago. And so you look at them and say, gee, this is a new bunch, this is a new group, I have to, you know, start thinking about them as my new class of students. What it is, isn't it? Like that? Yeah, it very much is actually. And you know, that's actually probably one of our biggest challenges is because people do move off island every few years or so, it's always a challenge to get out the word to the new folks arriving on island, hey, this is available to you, we've got these great programs, these great services. And so Randy is very busy because it is you really give me the tip-off to talk to Randy now. Randy, you have to tell people, you have to make them all aware, because if they're not aware, they're not going to come around, and the whole thing, you know, is confined to itself. Right, Jay? I agree completely, and you know, they, some people, I've heard this number of times, they say that arm service in YMCA, Hawaii, is the best kept secret. And we don't want it to be a secret, but as you mentioned, Jay, you're right, because of the PPS season, we're always getting new families to meet and learn about and build that relationship with. And I think we're doing a pretty good job. The relationships and the word of mouth, they interact with us to see the range of things we do, not only preschool, but our marketplace where we provide food and other pantry and grocery items, our Ohana food drops, it's like a monthly community food distribution that we do at all three of our main locations. Slowly the word is getting out and more and more military families are hearing about us, and we can't wait to meet all of them. Yeah, what fun meeting new people and doing favors for them and spreading the goodwill, all that. If I want to have a case study with you guys, I like case studies. You did case studies, right? School case study. Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, you can do a case study on that. I arrived on these shores in 1965. I was just out of school. I was 23. I'm not telling you my age, but if you can do the math, you figure it out right now. Okay, so I was 23 years old, and I was alone on these shores. I'm nobody in Hawaii, nobody. And boy, that was a lonesome experience. People were friendly. They were very friendly in those days, but I was, I didn't have any network. I had no family, I'm married, all that. So if I arrived like that, you know, without a family, without any connections whatsoever, and I present myself, I see some, I see some distribution from you, Randy, you know, I become aware that there are whys around that will help me out. So I call you, write you, go on your website. I'm not sure what I would do. Can you tell me my experience, my case study? How would I connect, and what would you do for me, and how would you make me happier than I would have been? Well, you would be welcomed with open arms at all of our branches, including our joint base, Pearl Harbor Hilly Ranch, which recently, we have a new location. We've moved into more of the housing area, which worked great for us. We have a barracks right across the street, family housing, a few blocks down from here. So they see us. Our last distribution that we had, a bunch of single airmen right across the street came, came down and they were welcomed with open arms, walked away with head and armfuls of fresh fruits and veggies, another pantry that would hold them over for, you know, the next few weeks until the next paycheck or whatever it might be. And then we have their contact information. So from time to time, we would check in with them and, you know, they can walk by here. Every time they walk by us, we wave at them, say hi, see if they need anything additional, because we do have our marketplace with food pantry items here. And then, you know, we have our quarterly newsletter that goes out to just stay in touch and remind them, hey, if you need us, we're here for you. Okay, is there, is there a dance here? I keep thinking of, you know, the, what was it called, the USO, USO, remember the USO? Absolutely. And a dance and then they got Frank Sinatra records, right? I haven't done dances lately, at least for our single military, but, you know, we'll tell you two things. We're all about creating community and what does that look like? It's different for, you know, our different demographics. And sometimes for our young single military, it means holding a Mario Brothers, you know, competition. And they play video games and they take it down to the last two guys and we've got great prizes for them. And they love that. You know, and it's just getting them out, getting them meeting new people. And, and sometimes it does look like a dance, though. Sometimes it's a father-daughter dance. And we, you know, we bring the dads and the daughters together and they get to meet you folks that way. I think that's, that's kind of an important aspect of what we do. And that's just about creating community. And we do that throughout our program, no matter what program it is. Okay. Yeah. You keep mentioning family and a father-daughter and dependence, I guess. And that's one of the things I wanted to ask you about. I mean, so in my case study, I'm single, that's it. That's all, that's all you got. But in the case of a married service member, it's different. And so what do you do different for the married service member? Let me see. Randy, Randy, this is for you. What do you do for me as a young, really young, you know, I just got married. Not even sure I have government quarters yet. Maybe I do, maybe I don't. And I really need, I need support. I need community support. That is military community support. What do you do for me? We have so many of those families, Jay. And particularly for those families, our junior and listed families, we bring them in. We have programs for them. If they have children, we have something every month called Parents Night Out. So they can bring their children to us, we'll watch them, give them a yummy, fun dinner activities, a movie, while the parents will go out to do their own thing, hang out with some other junior and listed families in their neighborhood to get to know them a little bit better. And also we, so for instance, this just last month, we have an annual program called Operation Ride Home. And it's a program that's just for junior and listed. We work with Jack Daniels and American Airlines. And we send junior and listed folks that are stationed in Hawaii, we fly them home for the holidays. Because it can be difficult. You're not here to say you fly them home at your expense, are you? That is correct, Jay. Well, because. I appreciate it back when, yeah. Right, right. Well, it's not just us, Jay. It's because we have great partnerships with organizations like Jack Daniels and American Airlines that we're able to provide programs and services like this for junior and listed families. I mean, a lot of the families that we see tend to meet junior and listed because they're the ones getting adjusted and trying to find their way. And yeah, we're happy to help them. And then if they have a difficult situation, we have our standard programs and services. But once we get to know you, you come to us with any difficulties or little hiccups you're having. And we'll try to either connect you with an organization that will be able to provide direct services or find a way that we can provide it for you. Give me an example of a hiccup. Let's say that, so one friend since recently, they are junior and listed. So, you know, their pay scales a little, a little less than as you worked your way up the pay scale. And they had an emergency back at home where their MIMO got sick and she couldn't cover the expenses. And so they started sending money home, which left them kind of, you know, needing a little bit more support. And so they came and talked to us about that. We got them connected with different resources. And, you know, they're still making the best of their situation, but they're able to support their families and we're able to support them. That's great. You know, last time we spoke, Laurie, we spoke about how you do this. I mean, financially. Can you review that with us now and talk about how things might have changed? You get any big grants? You have, you know, grassroots contributions? I know you don't get any money from the military, am I right? But you do have the use of these properties on the basis. Talk about it. You're right. So the military provides the space for us to operate on each of the bases here. So we're at Wheeler, Schofield, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hickam, AMR, Tripler. We're also operating... I'm going to kind of write this down. Right? We're all over. So we're also at elementary school and after school programs as well. So we're very fortunate in that, you know, our partners see the value of the services and so they're willing to provide the space for those services and programs. So that's awesome. And obviously super helpful in a high rent area because we really wouldn't be able to do what we do with our limited budget. And so that's huge. But also we've got some... How do you get the budget? You stand on the street corner with a sandwich sign or what? We do. That's right. We've got individual donors who are wonderful and supportive of us. We have some corporations and we do have some foundations too, but you're exactly right. It's all fundraising here locally. And so it's our community here that bolsters these military families, bolsters the organization so that we can do the work we do. We can do it without our community. So this isn't a national fundraising. It's right here. Right here. It's right here and it stays right here. That's right. Isn't that incredible? It is incredible. It's truly amazing. But you know, our community I think really appreciates the sacrifice of our military and to some extent, you know, has some understanding of some of the challenges that they encounter and want to help support them through those. So we're very fortunate. Yeah. Well, I think we're all fortunate because, you know, from a number, let me articulate the ways I think we're all fortunate about that. Number one is we want the military to be integrated into our community. We want them to feel they have a good home here. And there have been times when maybe they didn't feel that way, but you guys helped them feel that way. And that gives everyone a benefit, them and everyone around them. The other thing is we want the military inherited here. We want the military to feel that this is a good strategic location to park troops and equipment and facilities. And you're part of that too. You are really telling DOD this is a good place for you to have your bases and so forth. And without that, maybe they wouldn't feel as good about it, you know, because some communities are not as friendly as you guys. And the third thing is, which I mentioned before the show, is that all indications are that I hate to use Barack Obama's term pivot, but I think we're going to be paying more attention in the years to come to Asia. And thus we'll have a greater military presence here in Hawaii. And it'll be a big base. And so you're important in growing, growing, I think it will grow, grow that base. Do you feel it? Do you feel you feel it happening? Absolutely. And, you know, you hear the military talk about the pivot to the Pacific and they do use that term. Yes. And so, you know, we see our job is very important, right? So we can help take care of families. We can help take care of single members while they're able to focus on their job, you know, and they're able to focus at the task at hand. And so our military can be ready for anything that, you know, may come our way. And I think it's important that we are able to support the families. They're able to support their military member. And, you know, everyone is, is whole. And our military can do what they need to do while the families are well taken care of. And that's especially so in situations where the member is deployed for long deployments. Which I'm sure that happens regularly. And so am I right about this, Randy? They come to you. The dependents come to you and say, look, my spouse is, you know, on a deployment, could you help me out on something? Does that happen? No doubt. Absolutely. All the time. Probably multiple times a week. Sometimes multiple times a day, Jay. Recently, you know, and the thing is that military spouses and families, they tend to say that it's inevitable the way things work out. When a family member goes on deployment, that's when things tend to happen, surprisingly and mysteriously. So there was a mother who came and she had said her husband had deployed the day before. She woke up to a washing machine that had a malfunction and had, there was just like, suns all over. This is a major crisis for most families. Well, she has two young children, less than five years old. So while she's trying to run around and get them, she needs to go to the hospital. And she's like, what do I do? This was at the time where when you went to an appointment, a lot of times you can't bring others. During COVID, especially, it was just the person, the patient that was seeing the scene. And so we have a program called Children's Waiting Room at Trippler Medical Center. Oh, great idea. Oh, I love that idea. Did you guys think of that? We did think of that, Jay. You know what's great, Jay, is we know that when it comes to mental and physical health for a military, there are two components that actually keep them from seeking help. And one is transportation, but the second is childcare. And if we're able to at least address one of these issues very effectively, we know we can help them get the physical and mental health care needed to see them through whatever they're experiencing. And so Children's Waiting Room is widely used at Trippler, and we'll take kids as young as six weeks and as old as 12. And that way, a parent can either focus their attention on themselves and their own health. Or somebody watches the kids. Right. Or maybe it's that of another child. It's one of the siblings. It's an important program. And our commanders tell us that because of that program, they believe that there's over 30% reduction in missed appointments. So pretty substantial. You know, a couple of years ago, I recall in one of our earlier discussions, you were helping the families in Redhill with water. Or not necessarily in Redhill, but near Redhill where the water was bad. And I wonder how where that came from. I mean, how did you come to that program and organize it? What you did in that program? And how long it lasted, whether you're still doing it? Laurie? Yes. Well, you know, that was very interesting because I'm not sure if you if you know, but about 90% of our staff are military spouses. And when they volunteer or pay? They are paid. When the water issue came to our attention, I believe that was on a Sunday night. And by 10 o'clock the next morning, our staff at both Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and AMR, who were also affected by the water issue, were providing food and water to anyone who needed it. And at that point, we didn't understand, you know, no one understood how long we were going to go through this, this problem and how long it was families were going to have to endure. But we we spring into action and it was our team that was actually affected by it that spring into action and began serving others. Yeah. So, you know, we love to our military spouses as employees fully understand, you know, what other families are experiencing. And so our very adept at, you know, responding to those emerging needs as they're happening. And that was just one of those cases. And we kept providing food and water until, you know, that was readily provided later in the week. And at that point, the military did a great job of, you know, getting folks in temporary housing, getting food and water available to them. So we filled the gap for a period of time. That's one of the things I wanted to ask you about your military or military bases. Undoubtedly, you engage with the brass, right? And they know about you. They care about you. They support you. They give you am I right? That's true. And you know, we serve because they're willing to host us. And I think it's a very good partnership. We do fill in the gaps of services and provided that perhaps either the military can't or, you know, it's it's just better for a nonprofit to handle various things. And so, yes, we are supported. And I think we've got great partnerships. That was that was evident yesterday, as we celebrated military families, and we had representatives, you know, senior general and flag officers from the component commands. And and even our Indo pay comm commander attended in, you know, just wanting to honor the families. But we're very, very fortunate, I think, to have the support we have. And the military sees us as a valued partner. And we're great for that. You're not going to imagine how your members felt, you know, in a party of all that brass, all of, you know, three, four stars every way you look at something. Yeah, I have another case study, Randy. Can you handle another case study? Okay. I am I am one of those dependents that Lori was talking about. And I would like to, I would like to give more to the YMCA. I see what you guys are doing. I want to be there in your community. And also, I'd like to make, you know, a little money to as a as a paid staffer in the Y and one or the other of your facilities. How do I do that? What qualifications do I have to have? Where do I go? Who do we talk to? And what kind of job can I get being a staffer for a Simca? If you are a military spouse or anybody who is looking for a job supporting the military lifestyle and just just trying to find a way to support your nation in your own way. And you choose the armed services YMCA as your menu to do that. There are so many opportunities here, Jay. I feel like you're hiding out behind a corner or something. Like you just saw this happening. We had a military family up high and drop off donations. We have our holiday operation holiday joy campaign happening right now. So we've consistently have families, dependents, officers, so many people coming to drop off goodies for other military families who need that extra support during the holidays. But not only that, that's a volunteer position. If you want to pay a position, you could be a preschool teacher. You could be a care provider. I don't have to be. I don't have to be military spouse or anything. I can, I can just be outside the military, but I would like to help out and like to, you know, have a job like that. That sounds very attractive, I think. Absolutely. You could be somebody who was born and raised in Hawaii and you want to serve the nation through armed services YMCA. We welcome you. Please come. We need help. There's always a way to help, whether it be a paid position as staff or a volunteer. If you're willing and have the time to give, we will gladly, openly welcome you. And you're flexible about the hours. It's not like nine to five. There are some positions that are nine to five, but majority of our positions have more flexible hours than part-time hours. So depending on what you're looking for, there's either, if there's not currently, there's something that will come up that hopefully will fit for both of us. It'll be the right fit for both of us. Well, the second part of my, you know, my case study here is, suppose I'm not, I don't need a job, don't want a job, don't have the time, but I would like to support, you know, the ASYMCA. So how do I do that? Where do I go? Is there an easy path for me to follow to give some, especially, especially at Christmas time? We try to make it as easy as possible, Jay. So visit our website. So it's the acronym, A-S-Y-M-Z-A, and then H-I, for Hawaii.org. Go there. That is our website. And on the website, there are so many things we can do, including donate. You can give a monitoring donation. You can start that line of communication with us to donate your time, or you can donate during the holidays through Operation Holiday Joy. You'll see it on, when you go on our website, it's the food basket program for military families during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh, there's the website. Look at that. It just popped up. That's amazing how that works. You're a magic worker, Jay. Thank you for doing that. That's why we love you so much. Okay, so I want to go further on that, Lauria. You know, we'll just talk about Christmas. It seems to me that the very focal, you know, high interest time for you guys would be Thanksgiving and Christmas, because that's the time when we, like it or not, would be care most about our community. And I bet you five that if I go on that website, I'm going to find, what is it, Operation Holiday Joy? Did I get that right? I'm going to find some stuff about Christmas. What am I going to find about Christmas, Lauria? So, you know, Randy mentioned the Holiday Joy baskets. We would do those at Thanksgiving. We also do those at Christmas. And the idea is to provide a wonderful Christmas meal for families that maybe are, you know, just undergoing extra stress during the time. And so, you know, it's a gift card for a roast or a ham or a turkey and all the fixed things. And so, they don't have to be concerned with, you know, trying to figure out how am I going to be able to afford this when I'm going through such a challenging time. So that's an option. As well as during that same time for Christmas, we will take in-kind donations of toys. And those will be given as well to perhaps some families that are also getting a Christmas meal, a holiday meal. And if someone is really interested, we still have a couple single service members that by their stories really need to go home. And we've got a couple that we're just waiting to find the right funding for. So, if there's someone that wants to help us send, you know, a 19-year-old home who's got a very compelling reason to return, we'd be very happy to accept those donations, and we will ensure that they get home for the holidays. You're touching me, honestly. Yeah, no, it's really special, very special. And then, you know, Jay, we're going to do some fun things too. So, we will have Santa, we have a program called Santa Boots, and we've chosen one family, actually excuse me, we have four different families that we work with, the Santa Boots group, and we will spoil them with Christmas gifts. Again, these families have some very compelling reasons for us to jump in and assist them at Christmas. And so, there will be four families that are the recipients of Santa Boots. And that's a national organization that we partner with at the holidays. So, that's an opportunity. And then, we're going to just do some real fun things like, you know, cookies with Santa for the kids in the neighborhood at each of our locations. So, you know, just some fun holiday things as well. So, we're excited. It'll be a wonderful time. So, Randy, I know you've been with Simka. Don't try to pronounce it, okay? For at least three years, I know that, okay? And I want to know why, and I want to know how long you plan to stay. And I want to know if this is something that you consider a career and why. So, tell me about where all of this fits in your preferences, your life, and the way you see your participation in the world. I feel so fortunate to have landed at OnService this Wednesday. I think it's because I am a local girl. I grew up actually in Red Hill and around a lot of military kids. So, they were my best friends. They were always leaving and getting new friends. And maybe that's the reason why, but I always felt like I wanted to somehow give back. My parents are immigrants, and they tell me their stories about, you know, the immigration story of how they got to the United States and especially Hawaii. And I'm grateful. So, this is my way of giving back. I love it. Absolutely. It's a career, and I'll be here as long as the organization and board will have me. I am again touched. So, Lori, the same question to you. And tell me why you're there and how long you plan to be there and what you get out of it. Thank you. So, first, let me just say, Randy, please don't go anywhere. We're very blessed to have you. And we have such a great team. And Jay, you know, I, my husband retired from the military 12 years ago. And we've been on the island 22 years at this point. You must have been a very young child. You must have been a very young child. Yeah. He was a child bride. Yeah. Our oldest son, who's 27. No, no, no. Yeah. It wasn't that much of a child bride. He is serving in the Marine Corps. He's stationed on the mainland. This is Hawaii very much. But, you know, for me, this is how I get to continue to serve. It's important to me to support our military. I'm so grateful for what our military does for us. And I have an understanding because I live the life, what families kind of sacrifice and endure at times. And so it's, for me, it's a real privilege to continue serving in this way. And I have no plans to go anywhere. I have this incredible board of directors that serve our community through the Armed Services YMCA. We have an incredible staff. We have fantastic relationships. And we love what we do. And we know that what we do is life changing. And I can't ask for anything better than that. So I'll be here for a while. I hope that's the plan. Okay. Well, in a way, it's kind of an expression of patriotism. As it is for me to talk to you, I get such a thrill to talk to you. And so next year, can we make a date next year around the same time, November? Let's do it. Let's do it. It's becoming an annual event. We're very grateful. Thank you for having us. And we are grateful to you in every way. Thank you, Laurie. Thank you, Randy. Aloha. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktecawaii.com. Mahalo.