Tourism chairman caught the right flight.(Brief Article)

Roy Tokujo didn't know it at the time but his career in the hospitality industry began 40 years ago on a plane ride from California to Hawaii.

On the five-hour flight, Tokujo, 20 years old at the time, shared with the man sitting next to him his decision to quit pursuing a career in nuclear physics and instead look for a job that would allow him to stay in Hawaii.

Little did he know his seatmate was Art Rutledge, founder of the Hawaii Teamsters union.

"I didn't know who he was. I was just talking to him," says Tokujo. "He took me himself down to the [Outrigger] Reef and introduced me to Roy Kelley."

Kelley, founder of Outrigger hotels, created a …