Putting Kaua‘i on the map

What is a winner? Obviously, a winner is someone who is willing to risk failure.

For Moksha McClure, taking risks is a way of life, which has made her a winner many times over.

A creative businesswoman, Moksha founded the esteemed Whiskers Resort, a day care program and sleep-away camp for pets while she was in her twenties. Nothing gets in her way, failures included.

Moksha, who looks like a Miss America beauty contest winner, has always dared to dream big. It may have all started when her parents gave her unusual name, the Sanskrit word for liberation, a concept she has turned into a driving force behind her life-long purpose to help make our world a better place.

Some of her challenges have required her to face and overcome personal fears, such as ocean swimming and public speaking. Both were pathways to bigger purposes, including sustainability and humane treatment for animals. She took up writing and public speaking which incidentally led to two huge talent achievements in one recent weekend.

Joining the Kaua‘i Toastmasters’ Club a few years ago, she recently represented Kaua‘i at a division-level competition on O‘ahu for best evaluator, and not only won first place; but the following day she won the original poetry award at the statewide Rotary conference. Two weeks later she was off to the district level contest, earning her a place on the next rung of the ladder toward the national competition.

Along the way Moksha manages to shine everywhere she goes; she is currently serving as president of the Pacific Region of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society as well as Kaua‘i Toastmasters vice president, public relations.

Moksha is putting Kaua‘i on the map with her many contributions, and this is only the beginning.

Kaua‘i Toastmasters is a club designed to help participants improve their public speaking skills while having fun. Visit kauai.freetoasthost.us for more information.