John Jefferis

Born in 1949, John attended PAMC/PSC from the summer of 1967 until graduation in May 1971 when he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. An ROTC scholarship student, he majored in speech with a minor in psychology believing that would help him “speak and think” no matter what the particular discipline he pursued in the Army and beyond.

Having completed his lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor training at the PAMC pool during the spring of ’67, John was offered the job of running the college swimming pool that summer and the subsequent year; he even did some substitute swimming instruction for his boss, Otis Sanders.

During his sophomore year, John worked with coaches Oscar Williams and Jack Begley as statistician for the football, baseball, and basketball teams and covered athletic events as sports editor for the Collegian newspaper, writing a column “From This End of the Bench.” In his junior and senior years John once again joined Otis Sanders, but this time in the Public Relations department spreading the good news about PSC through the Collegian, and other media, including a few exciting trips to the farm shows of the Amarillo-based TV stations.

During his college career, John was an active member of the Methodist Church and the Wesley Foundation. He became resident manager of the Methodist Student Center when it opened in March 1969. He was also on the student senate and was President of the Student Association his senior year. John was selected for Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities that year.

Recognized in 1971 as a Distinguished Military Graduate, John went on to a successful and colorful career in the U.S. Army. Initial assignments involved infantry and personnel positions, and in 1978 he returned to school and earned a master’s degree in hotel & food service management at Florida International University. His military career took an interesting twist as he became a business consultant for Army club operations throughout the Far East and Europe. John ran club operations in Thailand and Germany before a three-year tour as general manager of the Armed Forces Recreation Center in Garmisch, Germany.

In 1989 John was transferred to the Dragon Hill Lodge, an Armed Forces Recreation Center in Seoul, Korea, to assist in its opening as the military liaison officer. He was appointed as the general manager upon his retirement as a lieutenant colonel in May 1991. In February, 1994, John moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, to become the general manager of the 817 room Hale Koa Hotel. He currently oversees the recreational use and maintenance of the 72-acre Fort DeRussy Armed Forces Recreation Center on which the hotel is sited and 1/3 of a mile of Waikiki Beach which fronts the hotel(web site www.halekoa.com).

The American Hotel & Motel Association designated John as a Certified Hotel Administrator in 1994. He is active in the local business community as a member of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Waikiki Improvement Association and Hawaii Hotel Association.

In 1975 John married Myong Suk Kim of Pusan, Korea. He and his wife are the proud parents of two: Kenneth now resides in San Diego, Calif., and Jennifer is a senior at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. A son-in-law, Kevin Murata, joined the family in March of this year. Jennifer resides just 25 minutes from the John’s and Kim’s home.

For entertainment and exercise, John and Kim usually enjoy a few rounds of golf every month on one of the beautiful courses on Oahu.