Apr 28, 2011 | Community
Photo by Caitlyn Panis
Ten Things Your Family Can Do To Perpetuate Your Cultural Heritage:
- Trace your family tree
- Attend cultural events, festivals and gatherings
- Collect the memories of your grandparents and elders in your cultural community
- Share old family photographs
- Maintain your cultural traditions
- Teach your children about the language of your heritage
- Join a group that celebrates your culture
- Learn about the history, art, and music of your cultural heritage
- Cook traditional foods and share family recipes
- Encourage your children to take lessons in the dances of your cultural heritage
How does your family perpetuate your cultural heritage?
Apr 19, 2011 | Community
Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 27, 2011 for the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund! Held at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, featuring Distinguished Educators U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, his wife Ms. Irene Hirano, and Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife Ann headline the event.
Sponsorships are now available. For more information, contact Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. at 808-875-2300 or visit the MEDB website.
Download the 2011 Ke Alahele Donor Kit
Empowering over 30,300 students to date…
The MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund stimulates community investment in broadening career pathways for Maui County residents. Grants awarded from the Fund support needs and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math that enhance our education system and activities.
Make a difference by continuing to empower our students by support the Ke Alahele Education Fund. When they succeed, we all succeed.
Fund the journey!
Apr 13, 2011 | Community
Lehua Park Cosma is one community volunteer dedicated to meeting human needs, a priority value expressed by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process. Through her tireless efforts and leadership, the Hana community benefited from the nation’s first communal home dialysis center, Hale Pomaika’i, which opened in 2009. The facility means that diabetes patients no longer have to make the arduous journey to the dialysis center in Wailuku up to three times a week. “The trip meant leaving home at 2 a.m.,” says Cosma. “My initial motivation was my Mom, who was a dialysis patient and my best friend who instilled in me everything I needed to succeed,” she explains.
Cosma founded a grassroots organization, Hui Laulima O Hana, to spearhead the campaign for the treatment center. There were plenty of doubters that the facility would ever become a reality, but Cosma persisted. “When you live in a rural area, you have to work hard to make things happen—opportunities don’t just come to you,” says Cosma. “I realized that if I didn’t volunteer to make Hale Pomaika’i a reality, no one else would. That kept me going. Now, medical experts come from all over the world to visit our facility in Hana – it’s a successful model for isolated, rural communities.”
Cosma’s priorities as a volunteer go beyond improving community healthcare. “Preserving our culture and lifestyle are very important to me,” she notes. “It’s also about looking out for each other and setting an example for the next generation.” It meant a lot to Cosma that students from Rick Rutiz’s Hana School Building Program, Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike, helped renovate the plantation-style residence that houses Hale Pomaika’i. “County and State officials also played important supporting roles in making it a reality. Now, the State owns the property and the County manages it,” she observes. Cosma’s volunteer work also extends to supporting youth, through her fundraising efforts with Hana’s Spring Festival, which helps support students in need.
Apr 6, 2011 | Community
Meeting human needs is a priority value expressed by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process, and in the case of Brian Moto, this applies to helping the victims of the recent Japan disasters as well as those in need on Maui. Moto, volunteer Board President of Maui Fukushima Kenjin Kai, the local association of descendants of Fukushima prefecture—devastated by recent events—is working with numerous other groups across the State to raise funds for direct relief efforts.
Closer to home, Moto, formerly the chief legal adviser to the County of Maui, provides pro bono legal work for Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii. The agency counsels low-income individuals and families at neighborhood clinics, providing legal advice to those who could otherwise not afford it on issues such as tenant and consumer rights, contract disputes, and collections. Moto is also an active board member for the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center, which helps neglected and abused children and their families. “My voluntary work is personally very rewarding,” observes Moto. “I am sure I get much more out of working for those in most need than the agencies I serve,” he adds modestly.
In February, Moto became Special Assistant to the Chancellor of University Hawaii Maui College, but the change in appointment has not affected Moto’s dedication to volunteering in the community. Among several other commitments, Moto is a Eucharistic Minister at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kula, having studied at Yale Divinity School after gaining a law degree. “That experience put everything in a larger perspective for me, especially the importance of giving to others and finding meaning in one’s life and work,” says Moto. “The most important aspect of volunteering my time is to help those who are least able to speak for themselves or get the help they need.”
Mar 30, 2011 | Community
The Focus Maui Nui process identified the key role of government in responding to community values and needs, and the importance of open, ongoing communication. To promote this dialogue, we continue a series of profiles of newly appointed County Department Directors.
Sandy Baz had to hit the ground running when he took up his appointment as the County’s Budget Director in January this year—he had only a few weeks to prepare incoming Mayor Arakawa’s budget for Fiscal Year 2012, the period running from July 2011 through June 2012. The Mayor presented his Budget proposal in mid-March, and over the coming weeks, the proposal will be deliberated upon by the Council with input from Department Directors, discussed in public hearings attended by the Council across the County, and a final version adopted by June.
Baz’s main responsibility is preparing and administering the County budget. The budget cycle begins in August, when County Departments begin submitting funding requests, and initial public testimony to provide community input takes place in all County planning districts. The Budget Director and staff review, analyze and coordinate Department requests and shape the budget proposal in concert with the Mayor, who sets policy priorities.
Baz was born and raised on Maui and is a graduate of St. Anthony High School. He holds a degree in business management and is a winner of the Pacific Business News “Forty Under 40” award in addition to other leadership awards. As the former Executive Director of MEO, Baz reflects, “I look forward to drawing on my previous experience to improve accountability and specifically to link performance criteria to measurable outcomes. I am enjoying my role of aligning the mission and goals of the County and its Departments with the needs of the community and within the financial resources available.”
Mar 16, 2011 | Community, Environment
All volunteers who make a difference in the community by improving the environment deserve recognition, but volunteering every day for ten years and transforming an unkempt coastline into a thriving native ecosystem represents an extraordinary achievement.
Mike Perry, retired Lahaina Postmaster, has been instrumental in transforming 20 acres of Kanaha Beach Park, makai of the airport in Kahului, into a well-cared for habitat that supports diverse native plants and wildlife. Over the years, and with occasional help, Perry has cleared trash, pruned the understory of trees, trimmed back the kiawe, tended the Park’s wetlands, removed invasive weeds – an ongoing, endless chore – and nurtured heritage species that are now protecting the natural dunes.
“The County takes care of the campground in the park and mows the grassy areas, and Maui Community Work Day removes the green waste, but there’s a lot to do. I always welcome help, and there’s a lot that volunteers can learn about a unique environment of native plants growing naturally in a beachfront setting,” says Perry. (Volunteers can reach Perry through Maui Community Work Day). “Because this work does not depend on outside funding or grants, it’s sustainable all the while the voluntary effort continues,” he adds. Many locations around the State benefit from one-time improvement grants and volunteer labor, but Kanaha is special because of Perry’s ever-presence.
Before transforming Kanaha one section at a time, Perry taught himself about native plants. He apprenticed as a volunteer with Maui Community Work Day, the Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Club, and on environmental projects on Molokai and the Big Island. “Over the years, Kanaha became a pleasant, family-friendly beach park,” observes Sharon Balidoy, coach of Lae`ula O Kai canoe club, which has been based at the park for 20 years. “Mike Perry is a treasure. He is a one-man force who tirelessly works hard and has made a significant difference in our community.”
Mar 10, 2011 | Community
The Focus Maui Nui process identified the key role of government and public officials in responding to community values and needs, and the importance of open, ongoing communication. To promote the dialogue, we present the first in a series of profiles of the newly appointed County Department Directors.
David Goode, appointed in January 2011 as County of Maui’s Director of Public Works, has been here before – he served as Deputy Director of Public Works, and then Director, in the County administrations of Linda Lingle and James “Kimo” Apana between 1995 and 2002. Sandwiched between his two stints, David served as President of KSD Hawaii, one of Maui’s premier development companies. “Working in both the public and private sector has given me an excellent overall view of how things work – and how they can work better,” says Goode.
The Department consists of three divisions: Highways, Engineering, and the Development Services Administration. Its work includes road paving, designing, installing and taking care of sidewalks and drainage systems, maintaining traffic signals and signs, and managing the County’s Kalana O Maui complex in Wailuku. The Department of Public Works also oversees building and housing codes, grading and nuisance ordinances, and beautification projects. “One of our primary goals is to streamline the permit process and upgrade our codes, and help people navigate through the regulatory process” says Goode. “We also put a very high priority on responding to the public and listening to what our residents want.”
Goode has a long track record in construction project management. “I love to see things built and to play a part in making projects happen,” he says. When he’s not seeking constant improvement and efficiencies in his County role, Goode enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and coaching AYSO soccer. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Carden Academy, the independent school Upcountry, and serves on the State Board of Land and Natural Resources, which oversees all policy decisions for DLNR.
Feb 9, 2011 | Community, Sustainability
Harlan Hughes
Hughes has retired now from the food and beverage industry, a background that helps explain his particular passion in giving back. He learned about volunteerism and serving the community from his mother, Lottie, who was a dedicated volunteer here on Maui well into her 80s. He also developed and directs the annual “Chefs on the Beach” fundraiser (netting $20,000 last year) which helps support several Maui nonprofits, and his work for the Food Bank serves as another remarkable example.
The Food Bank, headed by Executive Director Richard Yust, in turn leaves no stone unturned in its mission to mitigate hunger across the County. Whether it’s collecting goods from community food drives or retail and wholesale store donations, distributing perishable items through partner agencies in a timely manner, or working with local farmers to bring in donated nutritional fresh produce, about 140,000 pounds of food per month reaches needy families and individuals. “We’re all about partnerships,” says Yust. “By working together, we are able to create win-win situations.” About 90 community service agencies and faith-based organizations that run a total of 105 programs access the inventory of the Food Bank, and over 10,000 recipients each month benefit through these programs – and from the dedication of volunteers like Harlan Hughes.
Feb 2, 2011 | Community
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.
