PETER LAMY IS OFF TO SPEND THE WEEKEND IN PAGO PAGO

It was only a month ago when Pete flew down to Pago Pago and meet the first ship to arrive in port after the Tsunami to distribute ours and customers’ donations to the people of American Samoa. Pete arrived in town in his flip flops and T shirt straight off the plane and spent three days handing out new clothing, mingling and chatting with the local community. Although we did the best we could, when he saw the devastation and what Samoans had gone through, he wished we could have done more.

In the early hours of Saturday morning L.A. time, Peter is winging his way back to Pago Pago in the jump seat of Pacific Air Cargo’s 747 with a plane load of goods to further help with the relief efforts. The Director of Starkist in Samoa, Brett Butler, heard on the grapevine we had chartered the aircraft for an emergency commercial shipment back to States. This morning he made contact with Peter asking for help. Forty odd tons of relief goods had been sitting in Honolulu waiting for a “benefactor” to do the right thing and help out with the shipping. Peter and Tony Feist could not have felt more honored that Brett used his initiative to got hold of us. The aircraft will be making a tech stop in Honolulu and Peter will be on the tarmac making sure every carton of relief goods are on board before the engines are fired up for the leg to Pago Pago.

American Samoa as I have mentioned before is not even a blip on the horizon for the rest of the world, but for the CII team led by Peter and Tony, that tiny island territory is everything to us. I have been international freight for almost forty years and have visited both Samoa’s when we did little business to the islands of the South Pacific. I have always been in awe of the value system that prevails there. Never did I ever think years later our business to the Samoas would represent so much of what we do. The icing on the cake in all this is our day to day dealings with Samoans. You couldn’t ask for more friendly, gracious and giving people. We are constantly searching for things to do and accomplish that further strengthens our ties. To our Samoan friends, you are always in the heart and mind of this little company even though we are based in this huge metropolis called Los Angeles. Thank you Betty Ward, owner of Pacific Air Cargo, for being so supportive and allowing us to load these goodies in Honolulu. You have helped achieve a small something for us, but moreover a huge something for Samoa.

Tags: American Samoa, Betty Ward, Brett Butler, Pacific Air Cargo, Pago Pago, Peter Lamy, Starkist, Tony Feist