W.A.V.E. Club’s Håfa Adai Pledge Ceremony sets 2019 record with more than 1,000 members

(Monday, February 4, 2019) — The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) welcomed more than 1,000 W.A.V.E. (Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically) Club members at the Tourism Education Council’s (TEC) Islan Ideas Youth Expo held at the Pacific Islands Club’s Pacific Pavilion on January 30 and 31. W.A.V.E. Club members, representing 19 middle and high schools from Guam and Saipan, set a record as the largest Håfa Adai Pledge signing for 2019.

Pilar Laguaña, GVB Director of Global Marketing, opened the ceremony on January 30 with great excitement stating, “We need to really care for our tourism industry. Each of you has the power to be the best you can be and contribute to making Guam a better place to visit and a better place for all of us to live.”

GVB Public Information Officer Josh Tyquiengco led the students in reading their pledges, “I pledge to protect our culture, I pledge to share the Håfa Adai Spirit, and I pledge to protect our natural resources.”

GVB shared the importance of the tourism industry for Guam and proudly welcomed the students to the program with an official signing ceremony. Many of the W.A.V.E Club members are returning participants from the 2018 conference, and many were refreshing their commitments.

The Håfa Adai Pledge Kids Program and the TEC W.A.V.E. Club share a common goal of helping the youth understand their individual power in initiating change, preserving Guam’s unique culture, and to make Guam a better place to live, work, and visit.

GVB thanks its industry and community partners Tourism Education Council Board Chair Donna Muña Quinata, Board Chair Kevin Delgado, Board Chair Maridel Perez, and TEC Executive Director Heidi Ballendorf for making this event possible.