Leslie-Ann Yokouchi’s motto for her real estate business, Windermere Valley Isle Properties, runs: “If home is where the heart is, then community is where you’ll find our souls.” Leslie credits her father, Pundy, for instilling in her the importance of taking action, contributing to a strong community, and giving back. “The Maui Arts and Cultural Center was my Dad’s principal legacy to the community,” says Leslie, “but he was involved in so many non-profit agencies one way or another.” Leslie is continuing that tradition.
Leslie entered the real estate business in 1979, and in 1997, she opened her own agency, Aina Maui Properties. Last year, her company joined the national Windermere group. “At heart, we’re still a local company with core values that are based on our ’ohana,” says Yokouchi. With every transaction, her “citizen agents” make a donation to the company Foundation. In turn, the Foundation distributes funds to local non-profit agencies dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families. During the 2010 Holiday season, the Foundation provided meals to several Maui families through a program of Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO). Yokouchi plans an annual fundraising event to grow the Foundation’s work. Leslie’s agents are also asked to donate a Community Service Day; last year, agents took time out to beautify the surroundings of the Kaunoa Senior Center in Spreckelsville.
Leslie also devotes some of her time to behind-the-scenes work on boards of Maui non-profit organizations, including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which focuses on spay and neuter program education, and with the Maui Memorial Medical Center (MMMC) Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for healthcare services. The Foundation has been instrumental in securing a new cardiac unit at MMMC. Leslie is a long-time Board Member of Seabury Hall and is a committed advocate of the role education plays in preparing citizens who will play a productive role in our community. “Giving something back to the community often involves time, not just money,” observes Yokouchi.
