ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 -29
CELEBRATING THE LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS OF ROZITA VILLANUEVA LEE
WHEREAS, Rozita Villanueva was born on October 31, 1934 to Filipino immigrants in the Keawe Camp in Lahaina, Maui; and
WHEREAS, after December 7, 1941, her family moved to Honolulu and Rozita graduated in 1952 from Roosevelt High School, and attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Honolulu; and
WHEREAS, while attending the university, Rozita was appointed by Governor George Ariyoshi to the Commission on the Status of Women; and
WHEREAS, in 1979, Rozita Villanueva moved from Hawai‘i to Las Vegas, Nevada and married her longtime friend, the late Dr. Clifford C.H. Lee, and she attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and
WHEREAS, Rozita Lee became very active in the Las Vegas community and served as President of the Ilocano American Association of Nevada, National Vice President of the National Federation of Filipino Americans Associations, Board member of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Japanese American Citizens League, Ka Po‘e ‘Āina Hawai‘i Club (the initial Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club comprised of local military veterans stationed in Las Vegas), Asian Chamber of Commerce (founding Chairwoman), Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Nevada (Founding Board Advisor) and one of 12 founding charter members of the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club in 1989; and
WHEREAS, Rozita Lee also hosted a multi-ethnic cultural television show on the local PBS station called SPECTRUM; and
WHEREAS, this broadcast lasted from 1981 to 1983, and during this time, she was also teaching TV production and speech courses at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as well as being a wife and mother to three children; and
WHEREAS, from 1984 to 1989, Rozita Lee was the Vice President (Conference Coordinator) for the Nevada Economic Development Company coordinating many national Minority Business Conferences, and she helped to organize business conferences with civil rights leader, Dr. Bob Bailey specializing in minority owned small businesses; and
WHEREAS, in 1989 Rozita Lee was appointed as the Special Assistant to then Nevada Governor Bob Miller specializing in needs for the growing minorities in Clark County; and
WHEREAS, from 1991 to 2009, Rozita Lee was the owner and producer of “Drums of the Islands,” the longest running Polynesian show ever in Las Vegas, and her show was featured at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas as well as in North Dakota at the Dakota Magic Hotel, and the show presented the cultures of Hawai‘i and Polynesia through the art of songs, dances and cuisine; and
WHEREAS, in 1996, Rozita Lee was a Commissioner for the Clark County Asian American Commission; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Rozita Lee was the Chairwoman of the Southern Nevada Asian American Pacific Census Coalition; and
WHEREAS, from 2010 to 2014, Rozita Lee was appointed by President Barack Obama as a Commissioner for the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and
WHEREAS, today, Rozita Lee is still very active in the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Las Vegas and she serves on various advisory boards, is an Ordained Executive Pastor for her local church, Seek Jesus First Ministries, as well as being the family matriarch for her three children, 11 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welelu and the rising of La’au Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, celebrating the life accomplishments of Rozita Villanueva Lee; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club, Nā Lei Makalapua (Mainland Council), the Governors of the State of Hawai‘i and the State of Nevada, the Mayors of Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas, the Clark County Board of Commissioners, Chair of the Asian American Pacific Islanders National Committee, Chairman of the Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, Chair of the Clark County Asian American Pacific Islanders Community Commission, as well as the President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President
