WHEREAS, the prosperity and well-being of our communities depend on the vision and entrepreneurial spirit of individuals working to benefit the greater good; and

WHEREAS, the goal of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association (HVCA) is to foster entrepreneurial development through education, exposure to excellent speakers, and networking with key members of Hawaii's business community; and

WHEREAS, each year at its Awards Gala, HVCA recognizes outstanding entrepreneurship in Hawaii to bring to light and celebrate with pride the many noteworthy achievements that our local businesses and driven entrepreneurs have attained over the past year; and

WHEREAS, STEPHEN BAKER has been awarded HVCA's 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for establishing Micronesia Registration Advisors, Inc., an outstanding example of a successful enterprise model that has created significant benefits for people across the Pacific; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, STEPHEN BAKER presented his idea for a new venture, Micronesia Registration Advisors, Inc., to offer captive insurance and corporate registry services in the Federated States of Micronesia; in true entrepreneurial form, Baker planned his startup, raised the first round of capital in 2006, and developed his business with additional rounds in 2008, 2010, and 2015; and

WHEREAS, his diligence yielded significant recurring income to the government of the Federated States of Micronesia, which has provided direct and indirect benefits to its citizens in the form of jobs and philanthropic funds to support community causes in the Federated States of Micronesia; STEPHEN BAKER has managed to create a sustainable and profitable enterprise that has generated significant shareholder value, which has in turn already gone toward valued reinvestments within Hawaii's community; and

WHEREAS, as a long-standing member of the Hawaii Angels, a Honolulu-based group of angel investors, STEPHEN BAKER has invigorated innovation in the state by personally funding a large number of Hawaii startups, and serves as trustee of Hawaii Pacific University; he was formerly a Citibank executive and telecom entrepreneur who accumulated over 20 years of professional experience in Asia; and

WHEREAS, HVCA's 2015 Deal of the Year Award has been awarded to TruTag Technologies, a company founded by orthopedic surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur DR. HANK C.K. WUH; and

WHEREAS, originally from Niu Valley in East Honolulu, DR. HANK C.K. WUH received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins, M.P.H. from Harvard, and M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; he is the founder of eight companies, including TruTag Technologies; and

WHEREAS, DR. HANK C.K. WUH has raised the bar for Hawaii technology companies through the invention of inert and edible silica microtags that can be incorporated into the actual fabrics of products without the need for labels or packaging; and

WHEREAS, TruTag was designed to enhance the safety and traceability of food and medicine, improve product tracing and logistics, help prevent counterfeiting and diversion, and assure product quality; and

WHEREAS, by developing technology and implementing it with a world-class manufacturing plant based in Hawaii, TruTag Technologies sets high standards for the state's technology industry by placing Hawaii on the global map of high value manufacturing and venture capital; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that this body hereby congratulates STEPHEN BAKER for being named the 2014 HVCA Entrepreneur of the Year, and DR. HANK C.K. WUH for being named the 2014 HVCA Deal of the Year, and expresses to them its appreciation for their devotion and commitment to improving the future of Hawaii and the Pacific through successful entrepreneurship.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Hawaii Venture Capital Association; 2014 Awardees

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	34
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII