WATG celebrates its 70th Anniversary in style…back where it all began

WATG celebrated its 70th anniversary on November 13th at The Royal Hawaiian, WATG’s first hospitality project by founder Pete Wimberly in 1945.

As soon as guests stepped into the foyer of the Royal Hawaiian, they could feel the excitement–something special was happening.

The tone of the party was established when they were photographed, “red carpet style” as they entered the party to the courtyard. In all, 250 guests joined our celebration.

The program began with a traditional Hawaiian blessing by Kahu Brutus La Benz and a few words by founder Greg Tong, delivered by Chuck Gee, Dean Emiritus of the University of Hawaii’s School of Travel Industry Management.

The evening was filled with friends, family, clients, industry colleagues, and local business partners that came together on the hotel’s ocean lawn. Executive Chef Colin Hazama, of the Royal Hawaiian, created a wonderful menu for the evening and Taimane Gardner dazzled guests with her amazing ukulele performance. Even a little rain couldn’t dampen the celebration as the majority of guests stayed and continued to enjoy everyone’s company.

Many “thank you” sentiments to all guests attending, as well as, many existing and new relationships were cultivated that evening. Next steps for Honolulu are to continue the local outreach and strengthen both the business and community ties for another 70 years!