Zalsos elected new president of Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce

KAHULUI- Energetic.  Vibrant.  Committed.  These are the three words that describe Sharon Zalsos, the newly elected president of the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce, according to her mentor, Teresita Bustamente Noble, a pillar in the Maui Filipino business community.

 

            Noble, who will serve as Vice President, will be joined on the Board of Directors by Melen Agcolicol (Secretary), Lydia Dela Cruz (Treasurer), Elizabeth Ayson (Immediate Past President) and Directors C.J. Ancheta, Lucio Calina, Jr., Jeana Gamboa, Brian Moto, Lawrence Pascua, William Ruidas, Alvin Santander, and Felix Santiago.

            “I’m and excited and looking forward to working with the new Board of Directors to promote business, which is the mission of the organization.  We will need the support of our members, the business community, and the people of Maui to continue to move forward,” said Zalsos.

            Zalsos is currently employed as a Departmental Personnel with the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management.  Since 2009, she has also worked as an Executive Travel Consultant  with  Noble Travel.

            A graduate of Maui High School (where she became the first female high school wrestler), Zalsos was also the 1997 Miss Maui Filipina.  More importantly, she is a proud veteran, having served honorably in the United States Air Force as a Senior Airman from 1998 to 2002.  During her time of service, she won the Personnel Manager of the Year in 2001 while she was stationed at  McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington.

            Zalsos claims her entrepreneurial skills began when she was two years old when she sold her grandmother’s donuts in Makati.  She expanded her skills at four, when she sold her Mom’s famous candy bars.  By the time Zalsos turned 21, she started her own independent business for health and beauty products.  In 2002, she started a  commercial and residential cleaning business in Olympia, Washington.

            In 2006, Zalsos, returned to Maui and secured employment with the County of Maui the following year.  Interested in the promotion of business, Zalsos joined the Maui Filipino Chamber and started to develop relationships with other businesses.  Zalsos also began working with the Miss Maui Filipina Pageant as a volunteer chaperone and one of the contestant coordinators. 

            Zalsos sees 2012 as a turning point for the chamber. 

           “Last year, under the leadership of Elizabeth Ayson, the Chamber started to refocus on its Mission by emphasizing the promotion of business.  We also created a Foundation and held the First Annual Maui Fil-Am Heritage Festival.  I know the incoming Board of Directors is focused on maintaining the momentum that was established last year.  We will have a few new events, such as the Scholarship Golf Tournament on March 17, and improve our educational seminars, increase our membership benefits, and make it more valuable to be a member of the Maui Filipino Chamber.  After all, the Chamber is about promoting business”