Vital Statistics

ALEXANDER A. SABLAN
President
Saipan Shipping Company, Inc.
Marketing/Administration Manager

Alex Sablan has been an active member of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce for the past 10 years and is an official member representative for approximately 15 years.

Sablan was a three-time chair of the Business Person of the Quarter/Year selection committee, an active member of the Small Business Committee for two years and, for a brief stint, sat on the Maritime Committee. Sablan was the Chamber Representative for the regional Exclusive Economic Zone forum with Guam delegates and has served as chair of both the Government Relations and Economic Development Committee and the Events Committee.

Sablan is currently serving as a chair or board member of the following organizations: president, Saipan Youth Football League; member, Commonwealth Cancer Association; member, Guam Chamber of Commerce Maritime Affairs Committee; 2002 – present – board of director for the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands; member, Strategic Economic Development Council; 2002 – present, advisory board for the CNMI Public Radio KRNM 88/89.1 FM; 2002 – 2003, past chair for the Past President Council of the Rotary Club of Saipan; 2000 – 2002, president for the Association of Seaport Tenants and Operators of Saipan Inc.; and 1999 – 2003, board member of the CNMI Contractors Association.

He also previously served as the CNMI representative to the American Cancer Society Guam/CNMI Presence Unit Board of Directors; chair, 2000 American Cancer Society Relay for Life Event; president, Saipan Rotary Club, 1999 – 2000; board member, Rotary Club, 1997 – 2000; and member of the Kagman Komunidat Association.

For the past 15 years, Sablan has held management positions in the transportation industry on Saipan and Guam. He currently works at the Saipan Shipping Co. as its marketing/administration manager. Prior to this, he was an owner’s representative for a multi-diversified transportation company, heading Seabridge Micronesia as managing director; Pacific Air Inc., general sales agent for Northwest Airlines Passenger and Cargo Sales, as general manager-Saipan and Micronesia; and Saipan Crew Boats and Saipan Pilots, as general manager. Sablan has also been the general manager of Ambyth Shipping on Saipan.

Alex is married to Nora Mae Reyes Sablan and they have three children: Amanda (16), Kanani (15), and Sean (12).

JUAN T. GUERRERO
Vice-President
Juan T. Guerrero and Associates
President

Born in a U.S. Naval Hospital in Maturana Hill on Saipan, Juan “Pan” T. Guerrero is the 6th child out of 12 children of Herman Reyes Guerrero and Maria Camacho Tenorio. As a business executive, he has held numerous professional experiences ranging from being the vice president and director of Saipan Hotel Corporation (Hafadai Beach Hotel); president of Mita Travel/American Express Representative; president of GTS Ent.; president of Juan T. Guerrero and Associates; president/general manager of Herman’s Modern Bakery Inc.; president/CEO of Paras Ent.; president of GTS Security; president of GT Investment Inc.; partner of JTG Investment Inc.; director of Marianas General Corp.; director and secretary of Pacifica Insurance Underwriters; director of Micronesian Insurance Underwriters Inc.; president of Saipan Stevedore Company Inc.; maintenance of Campbell Soup Factory in Omaha Nebraska; secretary/treasurer of Rota Industrials; board of director for Rota Terminal and Transfer Company Inc.; held positions at J.C. Tenorio Ent.; and was even a clerk at the Capitol Hill Post Office.

In addition to his business background, he has held political positions. These include being a member of the House of Representatives for the 4th CNMI Legislature; member of the Senate for the 5th and 6th Commonwealth Legislature; president/director of the Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands; chairman for the Committee to elect Froilan C. Tenorio and Jesse C. Borja; overall chairman for the inauguration committee for the governor-elect Froilan C. Tenorio and Lt. Governor-elect Jesse C. Borja, overall chairman of the 50th anniversary of WWI Commemoration, and board member of CPA.

Guerrero has also been involved in civic and community services where he was the president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce; president of PTA for Saipan Community School; member of the Rotary Club; coordinator for the Boy Scouts of America; and is actively involved with the American Red Cross.

His awards include 2003 Guam’s Executive of the Year, 1991 Recipient of the Volunteer Fund Raiser of the Year Award, American Red Cross National Award; 2002 Recipient of the Volunteer Fund Raiser of the Year Award; Mountain Pacific Region Level II Winner, American Red Cross; 2001-2002 Recipient of the Saipan Rotary Club Citizen of the Year Award; 2002 Recipient Commendation Resolution by the I Liheslaturan Guahan (Guam 26th Legislature); and was the 2003 Recipient of the Outstanding DSHR Disaster Fund Raiser Volunteer Award, American Red Cross National Headquarters.

Guerrero is married to Roberta Kay Guerrero and is the parent of five children: Vince, Tracy Marie, Jolene Esther, John Daniel, and Michael Robert. He is currently a resident of Gualo Rai, Saipan.

MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
Treasurer
Deloitte and Touche
Managing Partner

Michael S. Johnson has been a resident of Saipan for the past 21 year and is no stranger to chamber activities and held the position of chamber treasurer for three consecutive terms in the early 1990s.

Johnson came to Saipan in 1982 after earning his master’s degree in Business Administration (emphasis in accounting) and bachelor’s degrees at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He is a certified public accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a member of the CNMI Society Public Accountants and past president of the CNMI Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants. Additionally, Johnson was selected by Bishop Tomas Camacho to serve on the financial advisory committee of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. He was recently selected by Gov. Juan N. Babauta to serve as the first chair of the CNMI Board of Accountancy.

Johnson is married to Betty Hamilton Johnson. They have three children, Kathleen, Sarah, and Andrew.

JAY B. JONES
Secretary
Triple J Saipan
General Manager

Jay B. Jones was born and raised on Guam. After graduating from Fr. Duenas High School, he attended Elon College in North Carolina where he graduated with a B.A. in Corporate Communications.

Upon returning to Guam with his wife Deane, Jones started in Triple J’s management training program, where he held various positions within the company. In 1993, Jay enrolled in the National Dealers Association Management Academy, an intensive year-long course that concentrates on modern automotive management. After graduating from the program, Jones was promoted to the position of Sales Manager, a position he held until 1997. Jones served as an officer of the Guam Automobile Dealers Association from 1996-1997.

In early 1997, Jones relocated here to Saipan, where he manages Triple J’s various operations and serves as general manager of Triple J Saipan, Inc.

Jones has served on the Board of Directors for the Saipan Rotary Club, Commonwealth Automobile Dealers Association, and the Marianas Racing Association. He currently serves as an officer of the CNMI Free Trade Zone Authority. He was selected as the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s 2001 Business Person of the Year.

Jay and Deane Jones have three children: Jacob (8), Jenna (5), and Jeremy (3).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

CHARLES V. CEPEDA
Pacific Trading Company
General and Sales Manager

Charles V. Cepeda has been with Pacific Trading Co. since 1996, with the exception of one year, as sales manager and currently as general manager. He also serves as chair for the Free Trade Zone Board, council member of Joeten-Kiyu Library Council, and member of the Saipan Rotary Club. He has served as a board member for American Red Cross CNMI Chapter, Finance Council member for San Antonio Parish Church, chair for DPS Law Enforcement Explorer Program, president of the Saipan Youth Football League, and board chair for the Commonwealth Football League.

At a very young age, Cepeda worked in the family business of M.S. Villagomez Enterprises, learning firsthand from his grandfather Manuel S. Villagomez, about retail and wholesale management. While attending college, he continued to hone his skills in retail management at Montgomery Wards and upon returning home in 1993, he worked for J.C. Tenorio Enterprises, Inc. as buyer/manager for Athlete’s Foot and Las Vegas Discount Golf and Tennis.

He was born on Feb. 1, 1968 and graduated high school on Saipan and went on to Chabot Community College in Hayward, California. Cepeda and his wife, Catherine Skilang Sablan, have one daughter, Cyji, who is attending Boise State University in Idaho.

JIM ARENOVSKI
Delta Management Corp. and Prime Group, Inc.
President

Jim Arenovski has lived in the Marianas since 1987. Originally from Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Arenovski holds a master’s degree in Administration from Georgia Southern University. In 1987, Arenovski came from ITT Sheraton in Savannah, Georgia and started his career in the Marianas with the Inter-Pacifica Group as special projects manager for Pacific Islands Club and then became the area manager for Domino’s Pizza on Guam in 1989.

Initially hired by Shell Guam in 1991 as a commercial area manager, Arenovski spent six years with Shell. He was promoted to the position of Saipan area manager and eventually became regional manager for Shell North Pacific, which includes Guam, Saipan, and Palau. In 1998, Arenovski, with two of his partners, formed Delta Management Corp., a management company, which currently operates seven Shell service stations. Delta Management also owns Prime Group, Inc., which is the authorized distributor of pre-paid products.

Arenovski currently serves as chair of the NMI Crime Stoppers and has been active in this program for over five years. He has also been a member of the chamber since 1998 and is an active member in the Education Committee.

Arenovski lives on Saipan with his wife Jill and two daughters, Amy and Nicole.

HARRY BLALOCK
KZMI/KCNM
General Manager

Harry Blalock has been involved in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce for the past eight years, previously as station manager for KSAI, and for the past three years as general manager for KZMI/KCNM radio stations.

Blalock attended college at LeTourneau in Longview, Texas majoring in Business Administration. He has been in the radio business for 23 years now, working at stations in Michigan and Saipan, and doing everything from hosting morning drive programs to Program Director and managing for the past eight years. One of the ways he stays involved in what is going on locally is through his weekly commentary, Food For Thought. He has also been involved in public relations and media consulting with former governors, politicians and private businesses.

Blalock is currently the president of the Saipan Rotary Club, and has previously served as secretary of the club as well. Blalock and his wife, Kelli, have two kids, Joshua and Sarah.

ROBERT B. HUDKINS
Hertz Rent A Car
Vice President/General Manager

Robert B. Hudkins has been living in the Marianas for over 20 yeas. He relocated from New York City, where he was stationed as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Hudkins graduated from the American University of Washington, D.C. in 1973 and spent 12 years with the FBI with his last assignment in Guam. From 1986-1991 he operated his own security consultant business in Guam, mainly providing services to the major airlines. In 1991 he permanently relocated to Saipan. He is the owner and president of Pacific Airport Services, which provides security and aircraft cleaning to the airlines. He is the owner of AFH, Inc. which operates as an agent for Shell Marianas inc. Hudkins also owns other businesses such as BFJ, Inc. Closest to the Pin Enterprises, and Hertz Rent a Car on Guam and Saipan.

Hudkins is married to Merle and they have four children, ages 3-10.

DAVID M. SABLAN SR.
Century Insurance Company, Ltd.
President

David M. Sablan Sr. started his career as a clerk in 1952 on Guam working in an automotive company and banking industry and worked his way up to the managerial level. He worked on Guam until 1965.

Sablan moved back to Saipan in 1965 where he continued to share his skills in the automotive industry and within those years he founded a tours and transportation firm in which he was also part-owner and president. Sablan retired in 1987 and established and managed an exporting company in California, USA.

In 1990, he moved back to Saipan to join former Gov. Lorenzo Guerrero’s administration as special assistant for Planning and Budgeting, and held the position until 1993.

Sablan joined a private company known as the Tan Holdings Corp. in 1993, where he presently holds several key executive positions in insurance, hotels, travel and tourism, logistics handling and wholesaling. He is president of Century Insurance Co. Ltd., Century Travel, and Century Tours; vice president of CTSI Logistics, Asia-Pacific Airlines, and Cosmos Distributing; and vice chairman of the board of directors of Asia Pacific Hotels Inc./Dai-ichi Hotel Saipan Beach/Century Hotel/Saipan Grand Hotel.

Other companies that Sablan has worked with include Central Valley Company, Atkins, Kroll Saipan/Microl Corp., Bank of Hawaii-Guam, Atkins Kroll-Guam, Tasi Tours and Transportation, and Pacific Micronesia Corp.

At the same time, Sablan currently holds various government positions and has been actively involved in several community groups and associations. He is most notably known as the chairman of the board of the Marianas Visitors Authority, where he has been a board member since 1976.

He is an honorary, double past president and senior active member of the Saipan Rotary Club; Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International; honorary member and triple past president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce; presidential appointee of President Ronald Reagan to the Commission on Federal Laws; state chair of the Employer Support for the National Guard and Reserve; chair, Fund-Raising Committee for Reconstruction of Kristo Rai Church; member of the board of directors, Make-A-Wish Foundation (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)