Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book also titled Beyond the Lines and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness. Today's special guest is the president of the Automotive Body and Painting Association of Hawaii and president of his very successful Unibody Autotech Collision business. He is Michael Chong and today we are going Beyond Auto Repair. Mike. Rusty. Great to see you. Thank you. Thanks for having me on the show today. I'm so excited to be here and you know just to share with you. Well you know I had no idea that you played tennis in high school. I know. I mean all these years that we've known each other and I didn't bring it up but I did. I've been playing tennis since 6th grade all the way through senior year in high school. And what schools did you go to? My middle school was Stevenson Intermediate. That's where we started tennis and then moved over to Roosevelt High School. So did you go to states? I did go to states and interesting enough you know we played doubles one time and my doubles partner and I we happened to beat a seeded team and got seeded top five. Nice. We decided to go on our singles level so we never played again and we kept our seed for a couple of years so that was pretty interesting. Good. Yeah. So Mike what college did you go to? University of Hawaii. And what did you study over there? Engineering. Oh. Okay. Okay. Now I want to ask you Michael about your mom. I know that she's had a great influence on you. What's the biggest thing that you've learned from your mom? Mom? Coming from an Asian background you know just working hard. My parents bust her butts just just provide for us growing up and the trust that she's laid upon me at a young age just makes me who I am today because of the fact that you know do the right thing all the time and you know put the effort and hard work into it. And Michael tell me about your dad. My dad growing up like any other Asian family you know dad was the rock hammer you know we've gone into many many disagreements but it was dad. And he proved to me that you know you have to strive for excellence and you have to put in 100% with everything you do. Nice. And that's what I look upon for my dad. Michael I want to ask you what is the first job that you ever had in your life? First job that I had was Burger King. Really? And it wasn't I didn't even get to what we call it flipping burgers or making the sandwiches. It was like cleaning the brass pipes. Not even getting to cash here you know it was all the good work for it. Unfortunately you know fortunate or unfortunate it lasted two weeks because of the fact that my family wanted me to concentrate on on school and said you know I don't think that's going to help you with your studies. So your dad started Chong's Auto Service? Yeah Chong's Auto Body back in the day I want to say back in the 70s. When we immigrated into Hawaii due to the fact that my aunt married military. Mom was pregnant with me and wanted to get the family into the United States via through Hawaii. At that time you know dad English not being in second language needed to start living and instead of looking for a job my aunt introduced him to a few auto repair shops owners at the time learned to trade and within a couple years opened up his own first car garage. So did you work with him in the business? In the business growing up as a kid as a boy you know being around cars I wanted to be there but it wasn't a work it was it was it was going through summer you know summer summer vacation, sanding cars, messing with motors and and and just being a being a boy but not necessarily thinking that I'm learning the trade we're getting into the trade yeah and at the same time because it felt like a dirty business I always told you know my family and everyone else I'm not doing this it's too much work it's too much work it's tough work it's tough work yes all right so now you're the president of Unibody Auto Tech Collision what how did that company start and how did it evolve from your dad's business well from dad through college he needed help because of the fact that it was getting a coming to be a competitive market so going to school helping him out from there realizing the successes that he needs we needed to really look into it as a as a business and during that time graduating in the 90s as an engineer we were a dime a dozen couldn't get a job so dad offered the same salary as an engineer come help me out which I think he kind of planned out which worked out pretty good got involved helped him out started growing as dad and son mumping heads and and and almost to the point that we've got into some fistfights just with disagreements but you know just two boys in the family yeah but at the same time he's still dad so throughout that process as we grew and evolved we both talked about okay what is the evolution of this business and where do we go and Chong's auto I mean we could have kept the name but I looked at it where maybe a bigger picture find out what's efficient and what works and that's where you need body auto tech was created back in early 2000s wow nice yeah so Michael so many people know you and so many people respect you as a successful leader why is your business successful why is my business successful I mean it's about people you know you really gotta invest the time and and and money into your people they're the ones that's that will grow your organization and run it because of the fact as a matter of fact today with my unibody staff gives me the time and and privilege to you know show like this they basically run with it and I just invest more time with them yeah you empower them I empower them yes so how do you see the auto industry evolving right now wow auto auto industry is evolving every minute yeah we we I don't want to say we joke around with it but we kind of tend to say to their our clients imagine a smartphone on wheels you know how we we get a new iPhone the new iPhone just came out right every year for the cars again you got new models coming out every year but throughout the process more technology is getting into it self-driving yeah they've got safety systems that's just evolving every day so a learning process or learning curve for us in our industry is tremendous and we need to research every day all the differences that come out I know that you owned surrender bar before yes that's how I met you yes that's how we met so I want to know Michael what was the best parts of owning a bar best parts of owning a bar actually is just meeting the people yeah you know in my in my business in regards to the auto industry you meet people you may see them come back but you know statistics is every seven and a half years the bar business I get to meet all walks of life every day they come in and my strive was you know just just understanding and and being genuine with people made me a better person and made me understand especially the culture in Hawaii it's not just friends but long-lasting relationships friends that I can call upon anytime and then you got guests that come you know whether it's out of Ireland whether it's another state or another country coming you to visit you at the bar and just having a conversation and stories like how we're talking today you learn you learn tremendous things about people and that's what I loved about it and you would schedule a lot of business meetings over there and that was that was a catch you know because of the fact that I felt doing a lot of business meetings elsewhere an opportunity came up and people were saying you know you're crazy what are you gonna open a bar and restaurant do you know anything about it well you do some research and you got to take risk and and go for it but at the same time scheduling my meetings there and I think there was a few that you see in some of the wine tastings and the the food tastings we did and yeah it was a learning process as we went and it made me a better person and a better leader today well I had a great time every time I would go so good time yes it was so Michael what what did you learn about that experience from owning a bar owning a bar again it's the people the bar business having great people is is really challenging and it comes down to the point that I think the competition with bars are so stiff that people can people meaning your employees or your staff or your team and move move so quickly yeah so how do you keep them how do you entice them to stay with you and a lot of it a lot of it was me getting the respect out of my staff that in turn have them stay and when they stay it built the success of the bar and then I took that more into my other businesses that hey maybe I'm not spending enough time with my my staff yeah I make an effort to make sure that I understand what what everyone's going through personally and find out what their goals and their success lies in them personally then in turn they share that with our business or or our business model or our organization all about empathy it is yeah it is definitely caring about your people's well-being and and their personal goals yes yes you're absolutely right now you're the president of the automotive body and painting Association of Hawaii tell me about that organization the automotive body and painting Association of Hawaii in short we call it APA yep it's in it's an organization believe it or not was established in 1959 so it's a learning process for me I got elected president this year and we're body shop members across the entire state and we look at how can we elevate our industry and how do we share knowledge educate and and make sure that we are on the cutting edge of doing our repairs the biggest thing that we're looking at today is educating the consumer and when I say educating the consumer it's like you know when was the last time you got into an accident you remember it's probably a long time or maybe never and most people don't get into an accident statistics go back it's an average about seven and a half years so when you do get to an accident what do I do what are your questions where do I go this is where the apple comes into play or the organization comes it's like we want to educate the consumer and gain trust with the consumer so that they understand when they do choose a shop and especially if it's a member shop that you know they can they can make sure that the cars get prepared properly and Michael it sounds like you know the members of your organization I mean yeah you guys they're they're all competitors but it's really you don't have the mindset of being competitors you have the mindset of actually helping everybody in your industry so that like a high tide raises all boats absolutely in our industry you got to look at it where we are competitors but how do we make us make ourselves better right you know when when we look at and we try to strive the best that we can be like you said you know in in a harbor when we raise that tide all the bolts rise at the same time same with the shops that we work with because we may not look at working on the same car all the time and we may have different trials and tribulations that we we encounter that information is so valuable that we can share one another within member shops so that we can not or actually avoid that second mistake yeah and maybe learn from one another from there and it's a win-win for everyone yeah I can see that clearly yeah and you guys also you did a big donation to the Hawaii food bank yes we did tell me about that so we have our annual golf tournament and this year it was a huge success we raised $10,000 initially from the from the golf tournament funds itself but at the same time within two weeks we've not two weeks we had eight member shops and associate members which means car dealerships as well so we've got surf go and Nissan Toyota surf go and Nissan of participate we actually receive a thousand pounds of food wow plus another 2800 and some change so with this program through the association hold of 12,000 and some change plus a thousand pounds of food it was a great event I mean it's a feel-good thing too because we learned more about the food bank through this process and this at the same time hopefully we can show the community that that we as an association care about the community and we want to we want to do good that's absolutely fantastic I love that and you have a huge passion about child safety seats definitely definitely there's so much that I've learned about child safety seats in regards to how they're installed on in vehicles believe it or not 90% of the time it's installed improperly only because of the fact that especially in Hawaii we're in a rush and Hawaii you've got mom and dad who's got you know different jobs they drive differently and then they're shuffling their kids back and forth and and when they're moving the child seat back and forth we're not taking the time install them properly not not only with that but if they get into a collision people the consumers don't realize some of these child seats even though that we don't see damage physical damage to the seat it may need to be replaced then there's the other aspect of there's recalls as well as expiration dates did you know that child seats have an expiration date no I didn't either until I started researching and playing with this so as an organization early next year first quarter we're looking at building a large event and it's free to the community we don't have the date yet but we're focusing about March of 2020 to do a child safety inspection program but hopefully we can get more and more community members or just just people to understand that we ought to take a second look on how we're installing our child sounds good Michael we're going to take a quick break and when we come back we're going to continue going beyond auto repair sounds good you are watching beyond the lines on think tech Hawaii with my special guest Michael Chong we will be back in a quick minute Aloha I'm Mellie James host of let's mona up Tuesdays every other Tuesday from 11 to 11 30 this show is meant to dive into stories of local product entrepreneurs and how they're growing their companies from right here in Hawaii I'm so thrilled to have our show kicked off and so please join us on Tuesdays at 11 o'clock as we talk to local entrepreneurs and hear their stories Hello everyone and welcome to the think tech Hawaii studio my name is Andrew landing I'm the host of three Matters Hawaii we air here every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Hawaii time trying to bring you issues about security that you may not know issues that can protect your family take yourself take our community protect our our companies the folks we work with please join us and I hope you can maybe get a little different perspective on how to live a little safer Aloha Welcome back to beyond the lines on think tech Hawaii today's special guest is a great leader and president of the automotive body and painting Association of Hawaii is Michael Chong and today we are going beyond auto repair Michael I know you read my book beyond the lines I want to know your thoughts about it you know you've created this book that's easy to read and down to the point I've given it to my managers given it to special people that I feel that it's going to benefit them and I always go back and share the four P's people purpose process performance and it's so true I mean over the years as we go through either leadership seminars classes or the books that we read sometimes they're a little more complicated but I like how you put it as a four P's it's it's simple to remember as well as the fact that simple to understand and I'm going to use that if you don't mind continuously people I deal with but it's it's an awesome book I think you did a great job thank you I feel great about I love it I love it and then this way it's easier for me to utilize a tool like your book and pass it on this way you know instead of coming always from me I think some of the people I talk to think I talk too much for one and at the same time they think I know too much but this way you know I can pass on something else to them yeah you can blame it on me yeah Michael what kind of leader are you what kind of leader am I I guess looking inside out I feel like I'm a compassionate I like to go back and say you know be the compassionate samurai yeah be compassionate but sturdy outside in maybe some people might think I'm a little more aggressive but at the same time I think you know I've learned the concept of listening first you know and I feel like I listen very well and with that develops a good character that I feel I gained the respect and trust my peers or whichever organization or group that I lead and I feel I feel confident with that and I like how the response comes to it how do you keep improving yourself as a leader keep improving always keep an open mind never know never state that I know everything I always want to understand new new things I hate reading that's why your book is easy to read I like listening to audiobooks yeah anytime there's a pause in a day that kind of suits me and he kind of go back and forth through it but at the same time again we just need to learn over and over again I'm hungry for new information what people can share and I digest that and see what works and you gotta take risk and try it and if it doesn't work learn from it and move forward right that's why you're successful Michael thank you now who you know I always say that the the greatest leaders build other great leaders who's who has had a big influence on you as a mentor as a mentor honestly and and I look back over and over again I met a lot of great people a lot of great leaders out there but I always fall back in the biggest mentor and biggest leader that I see my father yeah only because I look back in and understand if I was put an issue bringing a brand new family newborn into a foreign country not knowing the language and not understanding and back then there was no Google right so you go in and you're gonna open up your business and you're gonna strive in and continue to work blood sweat and tears and be successful I looked into that history and that's what drives me today to be that better leader not just for my father for my family and now my whole Ohana as you can say is my my unibody family and their families yeah so you know I look in the fact that I want to see how I can grow everyone that comes around me and then today you know having the respect and honor of being elected president of the Association now I've got 70 plus body shops throughout the the state and they're my new Ohana my new family how do I extend my leadership and my experience to those out there and then I'm not better than anyone out there but I think I do well by transcending that information whatever experience I get towards the people that I look up to totally agree Michael what's the what are some of the biggest adversities or challenges that you faced in your life biggest adversities I want to say one was you know the decision of taking over that taking over his business the fear was is this going to be successful am I going to be successful is just the right you know right right reasons and so forth and the second one is going through divorce you know I it draws a lot of negative energy into your life that you kind of lose purpose you lose that focus and I still had the responsibility of my repair business and my team there but how can you say you were never there you were there physically but you were not there so those are probably the two biggest adversities that I would say in life I can see that now you know some of the greatest leaders I mean it takes a lot of courage on their part to do the right thing to make the right decisions do you have an example of time where it took courage on your part to make a tough decision my toughest decision and and it kind of goes back to that adversity of an experienced right in life was it kind of hurts still thinking about it but today you know back back I wouldn't I want to say a few years I had to hire my sister whoa so she was part of the organization it was just how do you do that yeah especially the fact that you got to go back and I don't know if the word is explain or or share that information to your parents to my father and mother they're looking at me like what kind of person are you well what are you doing but I had to keep strong and and and look at the big picture and the big picture was it just wasn't same passion it wasn't the purpose that my sister was was there or she didn't see the purpose that I needed her kind of trend her own her own ways and and aside from that I think growing up she had to grow up being in my shadows yeah so I know it's tough for her as well but you know with that being heartfelt challenging courageous today I can say honestly I have a better relationship with my sister and she actually works for another shop today and and it's a win-win because now she can develop her leadership skills and she's helping with her experiences develop that shop and and share share you know her experiences and at the same time develop her growth as well and then aside from that our family dynamics is a lot stronger so I'm hoping I'm thinking but I'm hoping that she sees that and and and you know the conversations we have today after today she might be shocked that I brought this up but maybe maybe we'll have another conversation for that but you know I love her dearly and I'm super proud of what she's doing at the other shop by the same time I'm super proud of how you know she's keeping our family strong at home yeah sounds like it just wasn't the right fit and she needed to you know pursue a different passion and maybe she didn't see it at the time but you sooner or later when you look back yeah they can see that that was it was tough on you obviously tough on her but but look at how it all works out definitely and it's interesting you say that because I think now they look at the fact that wow it was a tough decision for me now yeah but back then it was kind of like you know I'm the bad guy and you know what are you doing are you willing to like throw this away you're destroying the family but it took years but you know today the dynamic is so much better and being that's coming from a strong Asian family my dad will never admit it yeah mom will never admit it but you know I think I think reading between the lines between the line between the line I feel I feel like that they're proud of the fact that I made that courageous decision because it's so much better today yeah for sure yeah Michael what you know we've received words of wisdom and some great advice over the years but what what's one piece of advice that really sticks with you one piece of advice that really sticks with me I want to say is you know you're gonna hear so many people tell you different things you're gonna read so many things eventually I look back and I really feel my gut and I don't know what you call it intuition instinct instinct but I think the gut is what's telling you that that's the risk you want to take and for me I made a lot of mistakes but at the same time with those mistakes and those risks I've learned more so it's almost like I want to go out there and make the mistake and then it's almost like going back to the whole idea of why'd you open a bar you know why'd you open surrender bar and grill it's like I don't want to go in there and make a mistake and I go back and say you know what if I didn't do that the character I have today about understanding people maybe I might not have it or maybe I'll gain it later on in life but I got it today and it's making me more successful with everything else that I you know touch touch in hand or endeavor so it's it's it's the gut that you got to go through make sense yeah Michael before we finish the show I want to ask you one more question what gives you fulfillment what gives me fulfillment you know it's got to be my family and at the same time I knew I just got married a year ago my wife's awesome down to the point that it the dynamic again you know talking to my about the divorce in the past but today my wife my family that that how do you say that culture fit so well yeah and the support that they give fulfillment fulfillment again for me is because of the fact that my family risked so much in their life put so much effort in their life I want to see what I can do to make their life continuing on most enjoyable that drives me everything awesome Michael wanna thank you for sharing your insights on the show today thank you thank you for having me this is awesome like I said very nervous at the beginning but you know got excited and I'm glad I could share with you share with the audience and hopefully this will develop a better leadership skill for me moving forward and you know I hope to come back for your show yeah that'd be great definitely thanks Michael appreciate that and thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii for more information please visit Rusty kibori.com and my book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble I hope that Michael and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs aloha


Hi, my name is Hamna Imran. I'm entered a national student from Pakistan. I'm doing a master's in gender studies here at SOWAS. I have loved my experience being here and the class rep as well and I think this whole experience with the cohort as well as with the lectures has been amazing. The course itself makes you really like critically think about your positionality in the classroom and how you see others in the classroom and your identity as well as to where you come from. And it focuses on different regions so I think this bits and bobs for everyone and you can kind of relate to it. All the different modules that we have are structured in a very amazing way that whatever the module is supposed to be about it covers all the different aspects of it and the way the weeks are also structured. It's amazing that reading lists are very diverse which really make you think about the politics of knowledge production as well and how we're studying. Who's producing all this different knowledge and who's reading it and really as to how you see genders really changes my outlook on the way I see the world. Hi, I'm Mariangela. I'm attending the postgrad in gender studies and law here at SOWAS and I would like to talk about my experience here. Studying gender studies in law here at SOWAS give you the opportunity to connect with all the different regions in which these issues are developed. At the same time you can create a real human connection between your colleagues but also between the staff with the staff. At the same time you have the opportunity to explore all the readings that you are dealing with in the different classes and different course with tutorials which are kind of a different way of understanding and a different way to learning all the issues we are focused in. Another important part of our experience is how we are connected between students but also with the structures and also with the staff of our university. It's not a hierarchical one and everybody are going to improve themselves, both the students and the staff. It's the best way to improve your knowledge about this. Hi, my name is Shavina Vignas-Wokomar and I'm a home student and I'm studying gender studies. What I'd say about the course is it's super challenging and I have really enjoyed it every aspect so far. The modules are really well thought out and put together by our gender studies staff members. The staff themselves, the lecturers are really knowledgeable and really approachable and they're really helping us through this journey of really challenging kind of power structures. Both kind of patriarchal but also kind of imperialistic and colonial legacies that also exist within the context of gender studies. The gender studies cohort themselves, I think we're really supportive and really diverse group bringing really different perspectives to the table. Tutorials are something I really enjoy where we can really share our own perspectives and build on each other's experiences. And so I would say join gender studies, I think it's the best course and especially at SOAS it's great.


I am a proud dark angel. Okay, piako studio. Tukai beche. Hi, I'm such a fan. Oh, thank you, such a sweet fan. You look so nice. Thank you. I want to be you in my grow-up. Minwa, my DJ, Kixli. What's up, Mr. DJ, keeping it locked and fresh as always. I need a job for that. I need a job for that. I need a job for that. DJ, DJ, Kixli. El. You will not sleep. You will not sleep. You will not sleep. You will not sleep. Our topic of the day is what's the craziest thing you have ever done for love? I think I've done a couple of crazy things. Tell me one.  I think one of the craziest things is I walk for over three hours. Where were you going? Where? Nikuwa ni me toka... Nikuwa ni me toka... Nikuwa ni me toka pangida junction niki temda, niki buka ni bia paka shotkat skufika karibuna bunda. Yes, that's the kind of woman I am when I love and go hard. But since if I knew your talent that's when I was growing up. I had enough... Stamina. No, nonsense going on in my head. It's crazy. There's a season for everything. There is, it's growth. I mean, such ambition and such focus is what has brought me to where I am today with everything else in life.  That's it. I hope to not record. Nata nasimu, it's okay, we'll edit later. We'll record later. You see, to me, same, we'll record later. All right. So, your new song, Chinjiana. Yes. The song has such a vibe. When I played and it's in the right situation it's been not just two weeks, but just wait for me to explain. It makes me feel some type of way. Kibbedrumboli. Is that the kind of idea you wanted? Well, to be honest, a lot of people didn't expect that. I love this. First of all, when he born dark, when he was a baby mama, I was like, nani kwa mama piawa chijia. Let that there. Uta kwa stand by the dush. I was like, just because I'm a young mom doesn't end, okay, my kids are not small anymore, but at the end of the day, just because my mom doesn't mean my life has ended there. In fact, it's begun. All right. So, it's to motivate the younger people to understand that stuff doesn't change as you grow older.  And then piawa, nani kwa mbiawa ze piawa unapata grandmada ko badoana chijia na nitu wa uju. Nitu wa uju. Nitu wa uju. Take any, then you will. Why should their life stop? Everybody is allowed to have fun and romance. Chijia na is just a fun song of just enjoying yourself. It's Katiana too. Okay, lowkey, this is on Saturday is my grandmother's birthday. So, she's turning 81. So, I'm imagining and everyone looks at each other. Okay, we're all here because of someone's pompo. Just one. They may finally see what it is.  I'm going to ring you. We would not be in the picture. It's the truth. It's the truth. Yes, okay. Moving on swiftly, are we expecting more of that? Of course, in fact, there's a lot coming your way before December. Chijia na yu kuatu the kibiriti mewasha.     I mean listen, I love what's going on in the 254 right now especially with the younger generation kids that are coming out with new music You do? Of course, because listen, one thing, what to, even if you look at the days of Kina Arita, frankly, the songs were raunchy. It's just we didn't know. Kina Pisa, Gunera, Marash. We didn't need their songs were raunchy but just in their sense. So now, what's happening with this new generation music is it's just, I guess the internet does good and bad. So in this sense, it's a bit too. There's no more TMI the way it used to be. So it's now come to a point where I step in as a parent and say, we, when we were kids, our parents had to accept some things to happen but they guided us. So we should not forget that as we grow and new things come out in the industry. We must remember to also be there and reflect to be friends with our children to know what they're doing so we can guide them. Because you will try and tell them no. But to a child no means yes, no means rebellious, and no means gojauta, and by the time that has happened, so it's a very sensitive situation right now where we as parents have to be there for kids, especially in today's day in the world where so much is happening, we need to do several jobs because life has just become too damn expensive. But at the end of the day, we have to remember to say, this is one thing that the headmaster says whenever we go for the parents' teachers.  When you go to school, what does your mom like? Or what does your daughter like? Muna patalam nasana. I think she likes pink and you'd be like, no mom, actually my favorite color is green and you'd be like, what? I've never seen you anything green. Exactly, you get. So we have to sit and just communicate more with our children so we can bring them up to be the best that they can be in this generation because there's a lot of stories of my slave queens, my slave kings, but you said that of the day, everything falls into place together. So we must all match up and stand up together to make sure that the younger generation are also okay because we don't know if a lot of them are suffering through their own things and we neglect them so we just have to be more emotionally there because see me squeezing at the start kuna games, kuna YouTube, kula kila kitu. Pia parents wanna say, hey, kula, kula kula TV, nani kusimu ni amaze. Nasi wong waki. Would you go as far as suggesting or think of a collaboration na kina iyang blood? Of course. Why not? Our job as first of all, we're not old and we're not the old artists. We're still in the game but I believe that there's different trends, different seasons. If you do remember the time, if you watch, for example, we hand that very well. Na kina kusimu ni amaze. They're still in the industry. They've taken breaks, yes. But whenever they come in, it's like rampa pa palm like they never left. They never left. But there was a time where she did trance. There was an episode of trance in the industry. Then it went to IMB. Then came this new sound of hip hop and trap. But it's all seasonal and one thing you don't understand it's like the fashion industry. It's a circle. It's like it rotates. So today it acquire IMB. Keshua it acquire trance. The next time it will be EDP. Then it will be trap. Then it just rotates. It's just the same way tukuna ma skinny jeans utapata ma hips. So I think in what are they called? Spice girls. And I thought I would never see it again from childhood.  But they would be with a new swag. No, no, no. And I was like okay, so I'm so mad. So I thought the day things change and they just upgrade. Just the same way with life and the system. So the music industry it's just that there's no more TMI because check your phone. Check the internet. You can Google anything. So I don't say that there's anything wrong they're doing. It's a seasonal thing utapata pingina ethic next season wata kwa the biggest IMB artists would do it. I'm scared of my I'm scared of my Kulipa 2005 and then 30. Please to send the hook. To send the hook. To send two cans and I'm scared. And then I want to let you cook as a mister. So to achan ituna you're only dealing with them later. Let's just keep the good vibe and the good energy. Wata na my Keshua. Wata kwa wana to badai. Wai, meskia. Tapata na badai. So in a good way. Oh my gosh. Like it's okay. All right. We are wanting to wrap this up so we can hear your amazing track.  I think just everybody be real with yourself. Love yourself. I mean there's ups and downs in life. But don't be just off about it. Also never lose focus. To be anything you want to be you have to just have consistency. There are hard times. There are good times. But don't get lost. Just keep focused. Things will never be gold. But because it took me a long time to get to that. I keep coming for 2000 because you didn't know how to do it. You didn't know how bad it was but you know those are the times when I was like can we delete but Google doesn't delete nothing. Doesn't forget. But all I'm just saying is keep your focus and keep your consistency and you'll end up getting there. And remember the most important thing keep praying, have your faith. God is always there with you. If on dark you can find me on YouTube, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter. It's just the same. Y-V-O-O-N-E dark me D-A-R-C-Q. D-A-R-C-Q. And of course I'm wearing dark collection. This is my clothing line. So make sure you look for dark collection as well. We'll find it on Instagram. Mine are falling on everything. I spoke to Snapchat because see me make a dark save your app.


Initial impact assessments post Hurricane Elsa for the banana crop on the island revealed devastation to 80% of fields. It is expected to take farmers at least 8 months to begin yielding as usual again. Government officials have swiftly begun planning and securing finances to recover the impacted cash crop and the agricultural sector overall as soon as possible. Jesse Leos tells us more. The government of St. Lucia has begun to reprioritize allocations toward the agriculture sector in wake of Hurricane Elsa's passage. According to Portfolio Minister Hon. Ezekiel Joseph, the preliminary assessments for the sector overall value damages and losses at over $30 million. The hardest hit was the banana crop. The initial reports reveal that 75-80% of the island's banana fields covering 1,814 acres were negatively impacted. The preliminary figure that we're looking at is over $36 million and that's preliminary because we had to do a rapid response assessment on come Saturday morning to Saturday afternoon. So, at least we could have given the European Minister some indication as to the impact. Your meeting tomorrow, that's the Ministry meeting tomorrow with all the heads because following that assessment we went back on the ground to do a more comprehensive analysis as to the impact. The sector that was having the hit is agriculture. The banana industry, our planting farmers, the livestock industry has also hit and a lot of farmers lost their pen. Our greenhouse farmers got severely damaged. Our fisher folks also, some of them got impacted negatively. Based on demand for bananas, officials anticipate disappointment in the market as there was a recent request for increased exports. Financing to the tune of $4.5 million has already been identified to get the agriculture industry back on its feet post-Elsa. There is a demand for the bananas. Now with that hurricane I'm sure there will be a lot of disappointments both locally and of course at the UK level because the main fact that they will have an interest in wanting to see an increase in our weekly export and now with almost 85% of the sector being badly damaged it will take some time for us to recover. It's for us now to see how we can engage these individuals to hear from them what will be their position as far as the intention moving forward but it's going to definitely affect our farmers and that's why I believe there's need for us as quickly as possible since we had that $4.5 million for the banana industry already in place. It's for us to see how we can reparatorise what we are going to do and what our support is going to be but in the coming week we will be able to articulate in a more positive way the areas that we will be supporting our farmers not only about banana farmers but agricultural farmers in general. Given the extent of the damage to the banana crop on the island, export to the international market is not expected to recommence until February or March 2022. Meantime, an extensive chopping program is scheduled to begin as soon as possible. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse Leons reporting.


27 returns America's number one adventurer K7 form a United States secret agent who operated in 22 countries on land on sea and in the air Brings you a story of today We take you to secret agent K7's headquarters This is K7 speaking Send in agent Z for assignment Special agent Z reporting for duty Agent Z I have received information from certain friends in the intelligence service that a known spy Carl Frankenberg has been making regular trips between this city and the capital of another country He has been carefully searched every time he crossed the border yet. Nothing in criminating has been found Nevertheless, we are convinced that somehow he is carrying information I want you to investigate his activities keep me informed Two days later customs officials notified agent Z when the spy Carl Frankenberg again entered France After crossing the border Frankenberg went directly to the Paris hotel at which he always lived while in the city The next morning by arrangement with the hotel's manager a new switchboard operator reported for duty Hotel Paris. Good morning. Just a moment, please Hotel Paris. Good morning. I'll call him at once. Hold the line, please Hotel Paris. Good morning Z. Is that you? Hold the line All right, go ahead. There's no one around. Is everything all right Pat? Yes, notice that I was a new operator and inquired for the regular girl. I told him she was on a short vacation Frankenberg made any calls. No, he's still in his room. I'll call him at your notice and as he goes out Hold the line. I've got another call Hotel Paris. Good morning. Yes, Mr. Frankenberg. Yes, you expect a guest? Mr. Paul Wexberg, I'll send him up as soon as he comes. Thank you Hello Z Frankenberg just called from his room. He's expecting his guest whose name is Paul Wexberg He wants him sent to his rooms as soon as he arrives Pat, I'm coming to the hotel immediately. L6 will install the dictaphone later. Keep your eyes open until I get there A few minutes later, Agent Z arrived and seated himself in the lobby The spies' visitor, an old man, entered the hotel shortly after Z had taken his position The old man went immediately to the spies' rooms. As the two talked, Agent Z listened from outside the door I am not ready to talk with you yet. You'll have to see me tonight But, Mr. Frankenberg, what am I to tell my wife? She wants to know what the work is that I'm doing Tell her it's none of her business. But, she wants to know. She says I cannot do it anymore unless I tell her When I found you, you had no money. You were starving I'm paying you well. What more do you want? What can I tell my wife? Tell her that your work is confidential and that if you tell anyone, even her, what you are doing you'll lose your job Now, get out. Come back here tonight. But, I shall get out Yes, Mr. Frankenberg. I will be here a day See that you are The old man left the hotel. Agent Z followed him and found that he lived with his wife in a poorer section of Paris However, beyond that, he learned little. At lunchtime, Agent Z again talked with Pat I'll tell Paris Pat, this is Z. Has anything happened there? Frankenberg hasn't left his room, Z. However, someone else visited him. A man about 40 years old As I've already had a report on the second man, Pat, he was a messenger who delivered some secret papers The messenger has been questioned. We know where he got the papers and what's in them We can arrest Frankenberg and his whole organization. But, we're holding off until we know how Frankenberg operates That's all the information I have, Z Perhaps you'll pick up something more this afternoon. I'll call you again later in the afternoon Throughout the afternoon, Agent Z searched for the answer Somehow the spy, Frankenberg, was taking valuable information out of the country But how? Z was convinced that the old man held the key to the problem That night, Z la la la, Wabi, when the old man entered I would like to see, uh, Frankenberg He's expecting me Oh, yes, your name is? the professor Wigsburg. I want to sit down for a moment here. Frank and Berks line is busy.  But I usually want to go up at once. Yes, I know that we have orders to announce all guests tonight if you will just sit down for a moment. All right, I will wait. I will be sitting right over here. Oh, Professor Wicksburg, I heard you give your name at the desk. It's been a good many years since I've seen you. You hear me now, don't you? Yes, and yet it's funny, Professor. I remember your face and your name, and yet I can't recall where we met. It is quite possible that you never met me, my friend. And yet it is. People used to come up to me on the street thinking they knew me. None of them did. Well, how do you explain that? They saw me on the stage in the music hall.  No, no. I am Professor Wicksburg, the great memory expert. You remember, I used to add up long columns of figures all in my head. Of course, of course. Well, it's good to see you again. Thank you for remembering me. But go and expect it up still. Good bye. Goodbye, Professor. Did you find out anything, V? Yes, Pat. I think I know the answer. Wait, as soon as the old man is outside, we'll follow him. V. Yes, what is it? What did you see? I'm not sure. I think Frankenburg has been watching us. There was a man in that chair behind you, and when you turned toward me, he got up and ran up the stairs. I only saw him out of the corner of my eye. And if it was Frankenburg, he'll guess that I know his game. Come on. We've got to get upstairs, Pat. Pat was right. The spy, Frankenburg, had overheard the conversation between Agent Z and the old professor. A sixth sense told him he was in danger. He rushed upstairs and faced the old man. Who was the man you talked with in the lobby? I don't know his name. He was the man who remembered me.  I'll tell you who he was. He was a special agent. Special agent? I don't understand. You don't understand? Do you know what you've been doing for months? I have been working for you. You've been working as a spy? I have been a spy? What are you saying? All I did was memorize figures you gave me and then travel over into your country and recite them. You said it was part of a scientific experiment to see how much information the human brain could remember. Those figures you memorized were the number of troops under arms, the number of guns ready for anti-aircraft defense, the number of field pieces you've been spying against your own country for months now because you talked to your face that firing squad unless you'd do as I tell you. You have tricked me. You'll die.  But my wife, she is old. I am not a spy. Here, take this gun and do as I tell you. Take it. Now listen to me. You've carried every figure I ever gave you in your mind. You've never had the paper in your hand. They can't prove anything against you unless they capture me. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, I understand. If they don't capture you, I am safe. I can see I don't remember. That's it. The special agent you talked with will be here in a minute. When he comes, I want you to hold him up with this gun. Keep him here until I get away. Then you'll be safe. He's here already.  Open up the dragon bird. Remember, keep him covered with the gun until I get away. No, I can't do it. If I have betrayed my beloved France, you are to blame.   I have been a fool, but I am not one now. Open this door, I'll shoot him out of here. Wait, wait, Mr. Special Agent. First, I must do something for my country. First, I must do something for my country. Oh, Frankenberg, I have never killed a man before. Don't. Don't. Wait. In Case 7, aspire college information as the number of men under arms, the number of field pieces, fighting planes and other statistics out of the country by the simple method of having a former vaudeville memory expert memorize the figures and leave the country with them. The expert was an old man. When he learned how he had been used, he shot the spy. The case is closed. Some spies who work against peace are clever, but often their cleverness is their undoing. The advice which France gives her soldiers is worth remembering. Be silent, be on your guard. The ears of the enemy are listening to you. Listen for my next story. This is Case 7 speaking.