Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 00, Number 1, 1 June 1982 — Small Business Assistance Program [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Small Business Assistance Program

A LITTLE HELP and A LOT OF DETERMINATION A NEW BUSINESS Hilo's first and right now only therapeutic health facility opened officially on June 19th. lt's good news for those in the Hilo area and for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for having provided some assistance to its owner, Sheldon Spencer, a loeal boy of the Big Island. Located at the Polynesian Pacific Hotel on Banyan Drive, Spencer's HeaUh and Fitness Center, is a family operation that employs eight people. There are already 350 members involved in programs emphasising cardiovascular, weight reduction, sports conditions and betterment, and toning. The idea for the business seems more than a dream eome true for Mr. Spencer. He says he was always interested in fitness. He played sports through school and after returning home from his education on the mainland, he was incharge of recreation therapy in the corrections system. He said, "I always knew it (the Health Center) would happen. I really wanted to do it." The assistance he received from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was through the Small Business Assistance Program. lt wasn't in the form of monies, but in helping him "realize there were more things I should know of" like planning management, forecasts, marketing and so on. It was his commitment and determination to follow through and doing his homework that was the key. "There are funds out there (outside of OH A) and they ean be gotten, but you need to know how." Spencer's Heahh Center is planning to expand someday soon with perhaps a racquetball court. "A special thanks goes to Jimmy Moa, Pam Kekumano, and Barbara Yuen for all the help, beyond and above the eall of duty" added Spencer.