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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
Personal Peek
Shirley Ohta is a No-Frills Woman
By Lucy M. Pritchett
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Shirley Ohta, 62, CEO of Eagle Steel Products, Inc.
Clark Maritime Center
Who are you: A Japanese-Hawaiian woman. Both cultures play a big part in my
personality. The stoic and logical Japanese and the fun-loving and all family Hawaiian.
Sometimes they mesh, sometimes they conflict.
Born and raised:Maui.
Rude awakening: I was sent to Marymount College in Kansas at age 20. Everything was
different — the foods, the language. I didn’t want to go back but I did, and I graduated.
What next: I joined the Army. I was stationed in Alabama. The South in the Sixties wasn’t
very kind. I also spent a year in Vietnam and got out of the army as a captain after five-
and-a-half years.
And then… I visited a friend in Louisville and ended up moving here in 1971. I joined the
Army Reserves and met my business partner Chuck Moore. We have now been in
business 25 years.
In the reserves: Fifteen years. I retired as colonel.
Breaks her heart: Not having enough chocolate. Seriously, when one of our employees is
going through an illness or hard time. The death of an employee.
Book that influenced her: Turn-around: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan, by David
Magee and Wild Ride: The Rise and Fall of Calumet Farm Inc., America’s Premier Racing
Dynasty by Ann Hagedorn Auerbach.
Her own racing dynasty: I am in a racing syndicate with Chuck and others. We race under
Ohana Stable. The silks have a yellow pineapple on a background of purple with stripes
of pink, green, and silver on the sleeves.
Fascinates her about the world: How quickly it changes and how small it has gotten. I can
email family in seconds. When I was in college, I rarely called home because it was so
expensive. And it took five days to get a letter.
Naps: I don’t normally take one.
Least-liked chore: Cooking.
Doing in 1992: Working here and taking care of a sick friend.
Favorite movie: The Joy Luck Club.
Would be doing: I probably would still be on Maui. I didn’t want to leave there to go to
school. It seemed so small when I was growing up, now it is so big. I still own property
there though.
Restaurant: I love Oriental food. Osaka on Frankfort Avenue.
Car: A 1993 Toyota Celica white convertible with 100,000 miles.
Home décor: Traditional. Bland.
Organizational tool: I make lists in a notebook and use a paper calendar. But I love
gadgets — BlackBerry, PDA, notebook computer.
Favorite time of day: Evening.
Hours at work. Eight to nine hours a day.
Wears at home: Sweats.
Collects: Typewrit-ers and fountain pens.
Shops for clothes: Online at Land’s End.
Art form: Chinese art. Watercolors.
Must have every day: White rice and coffee.
Spiritual practice: I’m getting there. I am trying to meditate and listen to tapes. It’s hard
because it takes time, concentration, and focus.
Most proud of: That I have learned patience.
Makes her laugh: A good, clean joke.
Gourmet treat: Milk chocolate. Right now I like Hershey Nuggets.
Childhood dream: I wanted to be a pineapple picker. They got paid more money than the
workers inside. Pineapples are raised to ripen in the summer so high school students can
work.
Prized family possessions: A collection of poi pounders that belonged to my mother. Each
island has its own shape — some pounders are round, some have handles. And my mom’
s ukulele and her uli uli, a gourd instrument.
Retirement: When I qualify for Social Security.
A claim to fame: I played with catcher Johnny Bench in a golf scramble. He has the
biggest hands. Our team won.
Soapbox: The music of today. And the clothes — long hair and baggy pants.
People don’t know about her: I think I am an open book.
Favorite item in house: My brown recliner.
A treasure: A plaque of the Mainland made with shells from Hawaii. It was made by a
friend of my dad’s. So many of the shells aren’t available any more. The beaches have
changed so due to development.
Best advice: From my dad — Be who you are. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.
From mom — Love everybody.
Sports: Football. I have season tickets to the Cincinnati Bengals. I would like to go to a
game at each team’s stadium. So far I have been to Tennessee, Cincinnati, Green Bay,
and St. Louis.
Can’t get the knack of: This interview. Is it going to be serious or funny?
The world would be a better place...If we didn’t have war and we had better leaders and
we could trust our leaders.
Shirley Ohta is a No-Frills Woman
By Lucy M. Pritchett
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Shirley Ohta, 62, CEO of Eagle Steel Products, Inc.
Clark Maritime Center
Who are you: A Japanese-Hawaiian woman. Both cultures play a big part in my
personality. The stoic and logical Japanese and the fun-loving and all family Hawaiian.
Sometimes they mesh, sometimes they conflict.
Born and raised:Maui.
Rude awakening: I was sent to Marymount College in Kansas at age 20. Everything was
different — the foods, the language. I didn’t want to go back but I did, and I graduated.
What next: I joined the Army. I was stationed in Alabama. The South in the Sixties wasn’t
very kind. I also spent a year in Vietnam and got out of the army as a captain after five-
and-a-half years.
And then… I visited a friend in Louisville and ended up moving here in 1971. I joined the
Army Reserves and met my business partner Chuck Moore. We have now been in
business 25 years.
In the reserves: Fifteen years. I retired as colonel.
Breaks her heart: Not having enough chocolate. Seriously, when one of our employees is
going through an illness or hard time. The death of an employee.
Book that influenced her: Turn-around: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan, by David
Magee and Wild Ride: The Rise and Fall of Calumet Farm Inc., America’s Premier Racing
Dynasty by Ann Hagedorn Auerbach.
Her own racing dynasty: I am in a racing syndicate with Chuck and others. We race under
Ohana Stable. The silks have a yellow pineapple on a background of purple with stripes
of pink, green, and silver on the sleeves.
Fascinates her about the world: How quickly it changes and how small it has gotten. I can
email family in seconds. When I was in college, I rarely called home because it was so
expensive. And it took five days to get a letter.
Naps: I don’t normally take one.
Least-liked chore: Cooking.
Doing in 1992: Working here and taking care of a sick friend.
Favorite movie: The Joy Luck Club.
Would be doing: I probably would still be on Maui. I didn’t want to leave there to go to
school. It seemed so small when I was growing up, now it is so big. I still own property
there though.
Restaurant: I love Oriental food. Osaka on Frankfort Avenue.
Car: A 1993 Toyota Celica white convertible with 100,000 miles.
Home décor: Traditional. Bland.
Organizational tool: I make lists in a notebook and use a paper calendar. But I love
gadgets — BlackBerry, PDA, notebook computer.
Favorite time of day: Evening.
Hours at work. Eight to nine hours a day.
Wears at home: Sweats.
Collects: Typewrit-ers and fountain pens.
Shops for clothes: Online at Land’s End.
Art form: Chinese art. Watercolors.
Must have every day: White rice and coffee.
Spiritual practice: I’m getting there. I am trying to meditate and listen to tapes. It’s hard
because it takes time, concentration, and focus.
Most proud of: That I have learned patience.
Makes her laugh: A good, clean joke.
Gourmet treat: Milk chocolate. Right now I like Hershey Nuggets.
Childhood dream: I wanted to be a pineapple picker. They got paid more money than the
workers inside. Pineapples are raised to ripen in the summer so high school students can
work.
Prized family possessions: A collection of poi pounders that belonged to my mother. Each
island has its own shape — some pounders are round, some have handles. And my mom’
s ukulele and her uli uli, a gourd instrument.
Retirement: When I qualify for Social Security.
A claim to fame: I played with catcher Johnny Bench in a golf scramble. He has the
biggest hands. Our team won.
Soapbox: The music of today. And the clothes — long hair and baggy pants.
People don’t know about her: I think I am an open book.
Favorite item in house: My brown recliner.
A treasure: A plaque of the Mainland made with shells from Hawaii. It was made by a
friend of my dad’s. So many of the shells aren’t available any more. The beaches have
changed so due to development.
Best advice: From my dad — Be who you are. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.
From mom — Love everybody.
Sports: Football. I have season tickets to the Cincinnati Bengals. I would like to go to a
game at each team’s stadium. So far I have been to Tennessee, Cincinnati, Green Bay,
and St. Louis.
Can’t get the knack of: This interview. Is it going to be serious or funny?
The world would be a better place...If we didn’t have war and we had better leaders and
we could trust our leaders.