[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16232]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO DAVID MANGARERO SABLAN

  (Mr. SABLAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to David 
Mangarero Sablan, who has served the Northern Mariana Islands with 
honor and distinction as a business leader, a community leader, and in 
numerous appointed positions for both the Commonwealth and the Federal 
Government.
  Mr. Sablan is of the generation born during Japanese times. But it 
was the coming of the Americans that coincided with his rise to 
leadership. At the age of 13, he was already chief telephone operator 
for the American military government, and by 30 in charge of Atkins 
Kroll company expansions throughout Micronesia, selling automobiles, 
insurance, and shipping services.
  In government service, David Sablan was designated by President 
Ronald Reagan to serve on the Northern Mariana Islands Commission on 
Federal Laws and by governors of our Commonwealth as head of the 
Planning and Budget Office.
  His commitment to the community is evidenced in his work with the 
Chamber, the Rotary, Make-a-Wish, and Boy Scouts of America.
  The Northern Mariana Islands salute David Mangarero Sablan.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to David Mangarero Sablan, 
who has served the Northern Mariana Islands with honor and distinction 
as a business leader, a community leader, and in numerous appointed 
positions for both the Commonwealth and United States governments.
  The son of Elias Parong and Carmen Mangarero Sablan, David was born 
in Garapan, Saipan on April 2, 1932, during the Japanese occupation of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. He attended the Japanese public 
elementary school from 1937 to 1944, when his life was disrupted by the 
invasion of American forces. David's family, along with much of the 
native Chamorro and Carolinian population of Saipan, fled to caves in 
the hills for protection from artillery bombardment and the battles 
being waged across the island. The family lived packed in a cave with 
50 other civilians for three weeks with only sugarcane to eat.
  Once the fighting ended in September 1944, the twelve-year-old David 
was hired to be a messenger for the Supply Department of the United 
States Naval Civil Affairs. Barely a year later the teenager became 
chief telephone operator for the military government. And the young 
David got back to school, attending the Navy Dependent School on Saipan 
until it closed in 1951, then moving to Guam to complete his education 
at George Washington High School.
  David's first private-sector employment was with the Atkins Kroll 
group in Guam, where he was hired as a traffic clerk in the steamship 
department in 1952. He subsequently worked in the company's 
merchandising department and automotive department, rising to be sales 
manager. In 1961, David was hired by Bank of Hawaii as a loan 
administrator and was eventually appointed assistant branch manager of 
the bank's Guam office.
  In 1965, Atkins Kroll offered David a challenge that would lead to 
his return home: establish an Atkins Kroll operations base in Saipan 
with jurisdictional responsibilities for the Micronesian market. David 
successfully established the company's Saipan office, later branded as 
Microl Corporation in Saipan, and led the company's growth through the 
acquisition of exclusive Toyota distribution rights for Saipan, Guam, 
and Micronesia, and the further diversification of the company's 
business to include insurance and shipping.
  David remained with Atkins Kroll/Microl Corporation until 1979, when 
he accepted a job as an economic consultant to the Commonwealth 
legislature. In 1982, the Commonwealth governor appointed him Special 
Assistant for Planning and Budget. Later that year, David was tapped 
once again to return to Microl Corporation, where he served as 
President and Chief Executive Officer until 1986, when he retired after 
a total of 31 years of service. Also in 1986, David was designated by 
President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Northern Mariana Islands 
Commission on Federal Laws.
  After leaving Atkins Kroll/Microl, David moved to Modesto, California 
and established his own trading company to serve the Micronesian 
market. In 1990, the newly-elected governor of the Commonwealth 
appointed David to head the Planning and Budget Office, where he served 
until 1993, when he was hired to run a subsidiary of Tan Holdings 
Corporation, one of the largest privately-owned companies in the Asia-
Pacific Region. David continues to represent Tan Holdings as the 
president of Century Insurance Company, Century Tours, and Century 
Travel; the vice-president of CTSI Logistics, Asia-Pacific Airlines, 
and Cosmos Distributing; and the vice-chairman of the board of Asia 
Pacific Hotels.
  Since 1968, David has also been a leader of the Commonwealth's 
tourism industry. He was a founder, president, and part owner of 
Pacific Micronesia Corporation, which owned the Saipan Beach Inter-
Continental Hotel; a founder, president, and part owner of Tasi Tours 
and Transportation; a board member of the Pacific Asia Travel 
Association, and a long-time board member of the Marianas Visitors 
Authority.
  David's commitment to the development of the regional economies and 
business communities is similarly extensive. He was a long-time member 
and director of the Guam Chamber of Commerce; a long-time member, 
three-time president, and current board member of the Saipan Chamber of 
Commerce; and a long-time member of the Commonwealth's Strategic 
Economic Development Council. David is also a former member of the 
Rotary Club of Guam, a former president of the Guam Chapter of the Navy 
League of the United States, a founder and current member of the Rotary 
Club of Saipan, a director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation for Guam and 
the Northern Mariana Islands, state chairman for Employer Support of 
the Guard and Reserve, and district chairman for the Boy Scouts of 
America.
  His deep commitment to the Commonwealth and Guam communities has been 
recognized repeatedly over the years. Mr. Sablan has been named the 
Saipan Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year, the Guam 
Business Executive of the Year, and the Rotary Club of Saipan Citizen 
of the Year.
  David and his wife of 27 years, Rita C. Sablan, are the parents of 
five children: David Jr., Victoria, Patricia, Stephen, and Deanna.

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