Visitor Aloha Society head started ‘Inspire You & Me’ TV show to spread joy

Jessica Lani Rich has provided inspiration to tourists in crisis for some 20 years through her work with the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii.

More recently, she also has been providing similar hope to the community through a TV show called “Inspire You &Me.” The program, broadcast at 8 p.m. Sundays on KWHE TV-14, features inspirational stories of local residents and nonprofit agencies. The show’s website is Inspireyouandme.tv.

“I have highlighted over 70 nonprofit agencies and several hundred other people who had inspirational stories. During COVID-19 there were a lot of negative things happening in the world; I wanted to focus on positive outcomes,” Rich said. “My interest in this project is that it balances the sadness I see every day with visitors in my job at VASH. I’m able to give back to our residents.”

VASH is one of the few programs in the country that works with visitors in crisis. Rich said its services are needed today more than ever as Hawaii tourism is rebounding while the biological risk of COVID-19 is still present.

Rich said VASH served 1,897 people in 818 separate cases in 2019. The numbers dropped some in 2020 due to drastic reductions in tourism. However, by 2021 VASH was back up to 676 cases and 1,739 visitors — and that’s without a recovery in international tourism.

For strength, Rich said she has always drawn on support from her husband of 32 years, Richard Texier, and from other family and friends. It was the death of longtime VASH volunteer Bill “The Golden Voice” Baist in 2016 that inspired her to create “Inspire You &Me.”

Baist, like Rich, had a professional radio and media background.

“When I was doing his eulogy, I asked myself what haven’t I done yet,” Rich recalled. “I realized that I wanted to produce a TV show to make people happy. I hope by having joy in my life. Joy balances the pain.”

Rich said that at VASH she routinely works with people in trauma, who are possibly having the worst day of their life. The years she spent as news director at KUMU radio weren’t much different.

“The opposite of that is interviewing people who are happy and inspiring. I wanted to leave people with an important message that no matter what happens to you, you can become resilient.”

Rich said she was also inspired by American radio personality Don Sherwood, who used to sign off his show at KROW in California with “Out of the mud grows the lotus.”

“The mud in my work is the suffering and pain in the visitors; the lotus is that they come back,” she said. “I see people in their darkest hour, but from my work, I know that it will pass.”

Rich said she’s learned a great deal from “Inspire You &Me” guests such as former hotel general manager Scott Sagum, who suffered a stroke at age 41 and drew on his experience as an Ironman triathlete to recover.

“He told me, ‘Every single day you can determine what kind of day you will have — that day is really up to your attitude,’” she said.

She also recalled the courage of guest and former KHON2 anchor Olena Heu, who gracefully discussed her decision to have a bilateral simple prophylactic mastectomy to protect her from a genetic predisposition to breast cancer.

“Inspire You &Me” guests such as Bryan Feleciano, who is in stage 4 cancer after an eight-year battle with the disease, have reinforced Rich’s belief in resiliency.

Feleciano said he met Rich while volunteering for VASH and was honored to be on her show.

“Jessica feels like an endless pit of love,” he said.

When Rich approached him to be on the show, Feleciano said he was happy to share the insight he has gleaned from battling cancer.

“Before I was diagnosed, I wanted to rule the world. I thought I wanted to be a billionaire or a millionaire. Now, time is more valuable to me than property,” he said.

Feleciano said he now enjoys the simple things in life, as well as spending time with his wife, Yawen Hsiao, and their son, 4-year-old Ethan Lee.

“The nights are long but the years are short. Try to enjoy it as much as you can,” he said. “Right now my health is stable. It’s more than I can ask for. When I first got diagnosed, they told me I had two years. I’m thankful and I’m grateful.”

Samson the hospital facility dog that cheers coronavirus-weary health care workers reminded Rich of the importance of joy.

Kristen Collat, manager of clinical programs at The Queen’s Medical Center and Samson’s handler, told Rich during an appearance on “Inspire You &Me” that Samson was originally tasked with detecting COVID-19 through scent but preferred to work with people in a more social environment. He came to Queen’s through a partnership with Assistance Dogs of Hawaii and is trained to meet and greet staff and provide comfort during their most stressful times.

“When he comes into a department the energy changes and everyone lights up,” she said.

Collat told the story of one doctor who saw Samson and stopped to pet the dog, saying, “This is what I need to go back.”

In another instance, Collat said she brought Samson to comfort the emergency department after a devastating event.

Rich said she also learned about the healing power of love from VASH clients like Kevin and Dawn Kenny. Dawn Kenny recovered after a kidney stone caused a life- threatening infection that resulted in 32 days of hospitalization and 10 days of rehabilitation during her vacation.

Kevin Kenny said the couple were on their way to Hawaii island to celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary when she got sick on the plane. A short time after arriving, Dawn had to be flown to Oahu for treatment at Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, where she went into cardiac arrest twice and then suffered a lung clot and renal failure.

Rich helped connect Kevin Kenny to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which extended him a kamaaina rate to help with mounting expenses. A taxi from Charley’s was provided to get him back and forth to the hospital, with driver Phat Mai providing friendship as well as transportation.

“Jessica is an angel on earth,” Kenny said. “She cares deeply about people. She uses her connections to help. I remember she said, ‘Good attracts good.’”

When Dawn was finally well enough to leave, a double line of Hilton Hawaiian Village staff gathered to clap for her and to share in the joy of her recovery and return home.

She was moved to tears as she recounted that day.

“It was very emotional to see all of these people that I didn’t know standing there clapping for us,” Dawn said. “Knowing there was someone like Jessica to help Kevin made it easier for me to heal.”

Rich said other guests, such as Jesse Lopez, CEO of the Aloha Council Boy Scouts of America, have emphasized the importance of giving, which blesses the giver sometimes more than the recipient.

Lopez shared that about 1,000 volunteers for the Aloha Council serve about 3,000 youths. Together they donate about 100,000 hours of service to the community each year, with projects ranging from food drives to cemetery cleanups. In August, Boy Scout David King, 12, made news when he helped rescue a couple and their 100-pound dog Smokey on the Waimano Trail.

“We are in the youth development business to help shape the future leaders of Hawaii. Jessica’s show has allowed us to highlight some of these characteristics,” Lopez said. “Her show is very heartfelt and compassionate. It’s very important for our community.”