Although Lester W.B. Moore has a track record in strategic business development, having helped some companies' grow sales revenues by millions of dollars, his expertise in developing people is just as impressive.
He has brought his expertise to the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawaii's most popular paid visitor attraction, which was established by the Church in 1963. Brother Moore, 49, was appointed president of the center last October. He succeeded James P. Christensen, who served three years as the center's president before returning to Utah in 1991 to pursue other business interests.The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), on the north shore of the island of Oahu, has attracted more than 23 million visitors since 1963. The 42-acre attraction features authentic island recreations representing the cultures of Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga. Dances and music of Polynesia, stage shows, canoe rides, an IMAX theater and island foods help visitors get the feel and flavor of the South Pacific.
The center was established by the Church primarily to provide employment for Pacific islands students attending the Church College of Hawaii, now BYU-Hawaii. More than 26,000 students have paid their way through college by working at PCC. The center has contributed more than $105 million in donations and student wages.
The center has become a major showpiece not only of Polynesia, but also of the Church since many of its visitors get their first glimpse here of the Church and its beliefs.
Before coming to the cultural center, Brother Moore was president and chief operating officer of Deli Express, a Minnesota-based food service company he joined in 1983 as chief financial officer. During his tenure as president from 1987-1990, the company's annual sales revenues grew from $27 million to $52 million. Earlier, he was a general manager at Stewart Sandwiches in Salt Lake City, increasing revenues from $800,000 to $10 million during eight years.
Brother Moore, who had no previous ties with Polynesia, was selected as PCC president from a list of 30 candidates after a nationwide executive search. He did not apply for the position.
"I came to the center with no preconceptions and a new set of eyes," he said.
He also came with no acquaintances here. "I watched the eyes of the people in the theater when my name was announced as the center's new president. None had a glimmer of recognition," he reflected. "But I've never seen such a special people like the Polynesians in all my life. The unity, focus and inherent spirituality among our work force has wrought so many little miracles in the short time I've been here. I absolutely love these people and there's no where else in the world I'd rather be now than here in Hawaii."
To assure he would not be a stranger in the island paradise that would soon be his workplace and home, he read and studied extensively about Polynesia.
He felt his transition was complete when, shortly after he assumed his duties, he was bestowed the Hawaiian name Imua, which means "go forward." Additionally, he received a rare honor last month when Princess Salote Pilolevu Tuita, daughter of Tonga's King Tupou Taufa`ahau, bestowed him with the Tongan title name of Mafi Fakapotu, which points to a great and visionary leader who serves to protect his people at a distant outpost or vulnerable area.
"I'm told I have a Polynesian heart, blood and sensitivity for the people," said Brother Moore, his brown eyes sparkling with admiration, respect and love for his "adopted" kin. A native Utahn, born in 1942 in Bingham Canyon, he said he feels honored to have been accepted so readily at the center.
His success story had a humble beginning. When he was 2, his father, Lester I. Moore, was killed in an accident. His mother, Gladys Pumphrey Moore, took young Les and his older sister and younger brother to live with her parents until he was 9, at which time she married Johnny Brown. "He's a Greek Orthodox, and a wonderful man who is really honest and has great integrity. He taught us to work hard and be honest," Brother Moore said.
"After my father died, my mother, a beautician who had her own shop, worked to support us. My grandmother influenced my life quite a bit. She took us to Church and taught us, not just the gospel but also academics. When I got to the first grade, she had already taught me to about the sixth grade level."
Others he credits as having influenced his life was a Scoutmaster, Ray Ertmann. "To this day, he's my best friend," Brother Moore said. "He was a wonderful Scoutmaster. His house was always open to us. He said, `As long as the front porch light is on, you can come in and see me.' He left the light on all night every night.
"I had really wonderful bishops who looked after me; knowing I had no priesthood direction and needed someone to stay close."
Brother Moore married his high school sweetheart, Margene Sjoblom, on Aug. 3, 1963; they have six sons and a daughter.
"I worked full time and went to school full time through college," he said. "It was a struggle. When I look back, I realize my success in the gospel and perhaps life began two years after I married. Bishop Gerald Smith called me to home teach a family, asking me to bring the couple to a temple preparation class. I had not been to the temple myself and didn't have a testimony of its ordinances.
"But the bishop wisely said, `I feel you are the right man to help this family.' I brought the father and mother to class. During the second lesson, I can tell you exactly where I was sitting and exactly what Grif Kimball, the instructor, was wearing when I realized how important the gospel was in my life. I felt tremendous pain when I realized the hurt I had brought upon people. I immediately began the true repentance process. I cried all through the night. I made a commitment to my wife and Heavenly Father that from that day forth, I would do things the Lord's way." Brother and Sister Moore's marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple in 1966.
"I felt bad because I didn't go on a mission," Brother Moore reflected. "After I finished graduate school, I got a job in Illinois. At every appropriate opportunity, we talked to people about the gospel, which resulted in 18 baptisms in our four years in Illinois. I have had a strong desire to do missionary work ever since I attended those temple preparation classes. We have been blessed to have me serve in two mission presidencies."
It is almost with that same zeal Brother Moore embraces his assignment at the cultural center.
"One of our primary objectives here is to provide large numbers of people favorable contact with the Church by demonstrating and radiating the spirit of love and service that will uplift and bless the lives of all people who visit and work here," he noted.
He said Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve and chairman of the PCC board of directors described the center as one of the "jewels" of the Church.
"My mission is to continue to polish this special `jewel' so it will fulfill the Lord's purposes for our Polynesian saints - and provide a positive and powerful influence for good throughout the world," Brother Moore concluded. - Gerry Avant
