11 Jul The most influential person at AMP

Mr. Abram Togawa – the most influential person I’ve met at my time as an intern at my park.

When I interview Mr. Togawa, this is what he wanted to share.
Mr. Abram Togawa has been working for the National Park Service for 10 years under the maintenance department. His favorite thing about American Memorial Park, where he has been working at for the last decade is how our park is next to the beaches of Saipan. Micro beach has always been one of his favorite spots since he was a kid in middle school and throughout high school. His daily routine at the park starts at 5:30AM, making his rounds around the park, ensuring the grounds are pristine. He follows through by gearing up to work heavy machinery to maintain all of the parks grounds, checking electrical circuits, touring VIPS around the park (on some days), and engaging with contractors to ensure the park’s projects’ runs smoothly. During all this, Mr. Abram also ensures the safety of his team through regular check ups and making sure that they use the proper PPE before they get ready to do field work. The maintenance crew takes lunch together at 11:00AM. He always makes sure that everyone is fed, hydrated and well rested before going back out in the field.

Mr. Abram is always trying to learn new skillsets. He is always trying to find better, more efficient ways to do the work he does, so he can pass it on to the rest of the maintenance crew. He says being curious about everything makes it easier to learn and is his “trick” to making sure that things run smoothly on his end in the maintenance department.

Because he is one of the longest standing employees at American Memorial Park, Mr. Abram has garnered a vast knowledge of the park grounds, federal buildings and facilities, historically significant sites, and memorials. His curiosity has led to him retaining relevant information that other park divisions have to reach out to him for. This alone makes Mr. Abram a solid member of the American Memorial Park team.

I was also able to get testimonies from other program’s interns’ who have been working closely with Mr. Abram. David Quitugua, a KUPU member, had been working with Mr. Abram for 3 summers/3 years straight. David had this to say about Mr. Togawa: “Abram has been through many life experiences and he’s garnered wisdom to pass down to us younger workers at the park. He instilled in us good work ethics and values by setting a good example. He’s the first one in the office everyday. He proves that at his age if he could do all the things he does, we can do it too. He’s a very patient person. He taught us that you can’t come to work to like or dislike anybody; be professional and stay focus on your goals. He always talks to me to look for better opportunities for myself here at the park”.
John Paul Castro, KUPU member, has worked with Mr. Togawa for over a year: “I see Mr. Abram as my mentor. I think he is a very interesting individual. The one piece of advice he has given to me is “the only way to get the monkey off your back is to do your job.” He is a genuine person who is very straight forward. He doesn’t think about himself. He always thinks about everybody else.“ is what John Paul had to say.
Pete Duenas, NPS maintenance staff who has been working for NPS for 9 months, vouched that Mr. Togawa “is a very knowledgeable individual who has been here at the park for a while so he knows his way around. He gives a lot of great advice to our younger staff and he gets along with everyone fairly well. He is very generous and humble“.
Mrs. Renee Manibusan Castro, Lead Ranger (Interp. Division), has worked with Mr. Abram for 7 years already.
“Mr. Abram is definitely a character. He has a tough exterior but he’s really kind and thoughtful. He always checks in with me to see how I’m doing. He makes an efforts to bring me fruits that I’m craving or give me advice on life. Working with Mr. Abram is one of the highlights of my life”.

I believe Mr. Abram makes an impact on all of us that have had the opportunity to work with him at American Memorial Park. His actions to consistently make sure that each staff and intern is ready for the day is very considerate. In my opinion, Mr. Abraham is a kind man and is also very humble.