(Hagåtña, Guam, May 2,  2012) – First Hawaiian Bank to announce the recipient of the First Hawaiian Bank John K. Lee, Jr. Scholarship at Guam Community College's 35^th Anniversary Gala being held on Saturday, May 5th at the Hyatt Regency Guam, according to an announcement by Laura Dacanay, First Hawaiian Bank Guam and CNMI region manager.

First Hawaiian Bank contributed the first $25,000 to establish the John K. Lee, Jr./First Hawaiian Scholarship Fund in November 2011 at the Guam Community College (GCC) in memory of the late John K. Lee, Jr., former First Hawaiian Bank Guam and CNMI region manager who was a strong supporter of GCC for over 20 years.

The John K. Lee, Jr./First Hawaiian Bank Scholarship recognizes one full-time Guam Community College student for their academic achievement, community service involvement, and extracurricular activities.  Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, Guam Resident or FSM Citizen/Resident, enrolled full-time at Guam Community College, and have a 3.0 GPA and demonstrate financial need.  Applications for this scholarship are accepted in the GCC Financial Aid office.

John K. Lee, Jr., who passed away on October 5, 2011, had retired as senior vice president and regional manager of Guam and CNMI from First Hawaiian Bank in 2006 after a 48-year career with the bank.  It was under his leadership that the bank was able to build a growing presence in the region.  Today, First Hawaiian is the leading bank in Guam with the largest share of loans and deposits in the region.  Lee was active in numerous philanthropic and professional organizations including the American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America (Guam Chapter), Guam Visitors Bureau, Habitat for Humanity, Guam Humanities Council and the American Cancer Society.  He was a strong advocate of education and served on the GCC Foundation Board of Governors for over 20 years.

First Hawaiian Bank (www.fhb.com) with $16.1 billion in total assets was founded in Hawaii in 1858 and is the leading bank in Guam with the largest share of loans and deposits in the region.  The bank operates 58 branches in Hawaii, three on Guam and two on Saipan.