App receives Best Travel award
Photo courtesy of United Airlines
The United Airlines mobile app was voted the Best Travel App in the 25th annual and 2021 Webby Awards. The app was recently redesigned, debuted in October and was one of five nominees in the Travel App and Software category. It was named the “People’s Voice” winner. The redesigned app is more accessible for visually impaired customers, has more intuitive navigation and faster processing. United plans to continue enhancing the app to make it easier for people to navigate their travel experience, the airline said.
Museum to feature items from Challenger Deep descent
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior
Nicole Yamase donated items to the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum. She is the first Pacific Islander to descend March 11 to the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench. Challenger Deep is the deepest known ocean point. The museum accepted the items in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage month in May. Items donated include a polystyrene cup with “Micronesia,” “United We Stand,” and the names of the Micronesian Islands. Aside from the cup, Yamase donated an autographed flag of the Federated States of Micronesia, and badges from her mission.
Museum celebrates Micronesia
Photo courtesy of The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu recently hosted its Celebrate Micronesia Festival 2021, an annual event the museum has hosted since 2018. Hundreds of islanders gathered at the festival to celebrate. The festival was a hybrid event and featured virtual online discussions as well as in-person programs.
Nissan Guam bags awards
For the second time, Nissan Motor Corp. in Guam took first place for employee engagement and enablement in a 2020 global employee survey of employees at dealerships throughout the Nissan group. Approximately 105,000 employees were anonymously surveyed, and Nissan Guam’s scores exceeded all others by about 25% in 30 different categories.
In other Nisssan news, Nissan Rent A Car Guam received the 2021 Traveller Review Award from booking.com, a digital travel company. More than a million accommodation and transport partners were recognized, according to booking.com
Airline achieves safety certification
Photo courtesy of Korean Air
Korean Air has been certified as a five-star, COVID-safe airline by Skytrax, an international air transport rating organization. Since 2020, Skytrax has been conducting COVID-19 safety ratings for various airlines through an audit that evaluates safety and hygiene protocols during the pandemic. The five-star rating is the highest level of achievement and is due to Korean Air’s “Care First” program, which was introduced in August 2020. The Care First program on the Korean Air website communicates activities important for passenger health, such as in-flight cleanliness, touchless check-in, passenger temperature checks, social distancing, and enhanced hygiene protocols for in-flight meals.
Korean Air was also named a five-star airline in Skytrax’s “World Airline Star Rating,” due to the quality of the and service.
Korean Air carries Picasso works for art exhibit
Photo courtesy of Korean Air
On April 23, Korean Air completed a mission to deliver 110 works of Pablo Picasso from Paris to Seoul. The mission began on April 16 and took place over four flights. The airline transported 22 tons of oil paintings, sculptures, and ceramics by Picasso. The art collection is estimated to be worth trillions. Korean Air assured that each work was inspected, and they attempted to minimize ground transport as much as possible. The airline also closely monitored the operation using a cloud-based enterprise collaboration system that allowed them to share real-time cargo information between the departure and arrival airports.
The artworks were on display at the Seoul Arts Center for three months to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Picasso’s birth.
UOG student wins award for documentary
Photo courtesy of University of Guam
Keanno Fausto, a communication alumnus from the University of Guam, won a national award for his documentary about local transgender women. His micro-documentary, “Haven,” took third place at the 2021 Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts. The festival is an internationally judged exhibition of faculty and student work. The 2021 festival featured more than 1,300 entries from more than 250 universities. Fausto is the first UOG student to win a Broadcast Education Association award in the documentary category. The documentary features Lasia Casil, Guam’s first openly transgender senatorial candidate and the founder of Guam Pride, an LGBTQ+ rights activist organization. Casil is the director of the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority.
Palau ranks among top dives
Photo courtesy of Dive Magazine
Palau currently ranks among the Top 10 scuba diving destinations on the Dive Travel Awards 20201 Leaderboard. The rankings are being determined on the DIVE Magazine website. Interested participants can rank their top three scuba diving destinations, dive centers/resorts, and liveaboards. The rankings list will be updated periodically. Palau also currently ranks at number nine out of the Top 10 destinations in the world.
West Care Pacific accredited
WestCare Pacific Islands was recently awarded a three-year accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, an internationally-recognized industry leader in accreditation. The commission said, “The CEO and her leadership team are courageous, emotionally intelligent, forward-thinking, and driven by the organization’s strong vision, business mission, and strategic plan. … The workforce culture fostered by leadership is characterized by flexibility, patience, mutual support, a compassionate approach to service delivery, and the ability of staff members to laugh and have fun while working. These all validate the link between happiness and productivity.”
WestCare Pacific Islands is also the first accredited non-profit outpatient mental health counseling and substance use treatment program for adults due to its new program, Uplift counseling services.
Registry recognized for progress
The Palau International Ship Registry has been recognized for its digital services and growth over the last three years, and has been included in the 2021 Pairs MoU Grey List. The registry’s technology and human resources has seen it record some of the lowest detention figures for its fleet in the last 12 months.
World War II memoir released
Photo courtesy of Guamology Inc.
Guamology Inc. announced the upcoming release of a new book, Coming of Age in War-Torn Guam, the WWII Memoirs of Justo Torre Leon Guerrero. The book shares the World War II experiences of 91-year-old Tun Justo, and how they impacted his life. The book contains a preface by Nicole Calvo, author of The Ragdoll and the Marine, a forward by Shannon Murphy, editor emeritus of Guampedia.com, and an introduction by his daughter, Jillette Leon-Guerrero. The book is illustrated with original artwork by Judy Selk Flores, who spent time with Tun Justo revisiting locations and memories he describes. Guam artists Ric Castro and Odyessa San Nicolas also contributed. Ron and Mary Castro were responsible for the book’s design and layout. Guamology Inc. started a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough funds to donate 200 copies to local schools.
