Jul 22, 2015 | Small Business
When it comes to understanding one’s financials all types of businesses could use a boost. Such was the overwhelming sentiment by those who recently attended MEDB’s Technical Assistance Series workshop, “Boosting Your Financial IQ,” on Wednesday, July 15th.
Held at the MEDB Malcolm Center in Kihei, over 30 people attended the workshop led by accounting experts from Personal Accountant Inc. – CEO/Founder Lisa Wells, President Anastasia Winslow, and Associate in the Accounting/GE Tax Department Chelsea Smith.
While various industries were represented ranging from agriculture, construction, finance, and hospitality to information services, manufacturing, retail, science/technology services – they all shared a common goal: to learn more about how they can improve their businesses’ efficiency, promote good accounting practices, and ultimately save on their taxes.
“When you work for someone, your financials are done for you,” said Cecelia Hercik, Managing Director of Olavine Spa & Salon in Wailea Gateway Center. “But when you own your own business, you have to create your own accounts and understand what really makes financial sense.”
In addition to covering a variety of financial topics, the workshop also provided an opportunity for attendees to network with each other and to meet with the accounting experts on their own company’s accounting books, financial statements, and business setup.
MEDB’s Technical Assistance Series: Foundations for Business Success was created in an effort to help small businesses establish strong systems, processes, tools, and best practices to build a solid foundation for success.
“It is essential for any business to have a solid plan rooted in sound principles and practice to be competitive,” said Frank De Rego Jr., Director of Business Development Projects at Maui Economic Development Board. “The accounting seminar and the other workshops in the series can help businesses build their human capital in knowledge and skills, thus improving services and systems while giving team members more time to focus on growth strategies and customer care. Ultimately, these strategies will help businesses succeed.”
The “Boosting Your Financial IQ” workshop was sponsored by the County of Maui, Maui Economic Development Board, and Personal Accountant Inc.
The next MEDB Technical Assistance Series workshop, “Minding Your Own Business: Entrepreneurial Psychology Basics and You,” will be held on Tuesday, August 4th. Led by prominent entrepreneurial psychologist Dr. Jennifer Johnston-Jones, attendees will be guided through steps to rediscover their own strength, perseverance, and creativity by overcoming perceived limits then applying those hard won lessons in building their business.
For more information and to register online, visit www.medb.org/minding-your-own-business or contact Frank De Rego Jr. at MEDB: email frank@medb.org or call (808) 270-6807.
Jul 15, 2015 | Education, Stemworks
The fun, new STEMworks AFTERschool Program for the 2015-2016 school year, presented by the Women in Technology (WIT) project of the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), is for boys and girls, grades 6, 7 and 8. The program addresses the need to stimulate interest and skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and to apply it to real world issues. It hopes to nurture student interest into their high school and post-secondary education, as well as prepare them to meet the workforce needs of their communities in viable careers. “STEMworks AFTERschool curricula are developed in close consultation with industry and education partners,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB’s vice president and director of WIT. “The flexible structure of the curriculum allows teachers to align with in-school science and math curricula and the needs of students.”
The program includes an emphasis on coordination between the academic and enrichment activities offered in the after-school program and the coursework students complete during the school day. “The enrichment lessons and activities are interactive in order to teach the curriculum in a different way. This can benefit students who struggle in a regular classroom environment,” said Wilkins. Unlike any other class in Hawai’i’s middle and high school curriculum, STEMworks is a multi-faceted, hands-on program where students get to use the most current, high-end technologies in actual learning projects. “This is more than an after-school science club!” Wilkins said, noting participants will acquire skills to adapt to the rapidly changing technology landscape.
“Having the partnership with MEDB and the 21st Century grant to form the STEMworks AFTERschool program will provide our students with state-of-the-art equipment, trained staff to run the programs and support for training,” said Jennifer Suzuki of Maui Waena Intermediate. Other schools in the STEMworks AFTERschool program are: Iao Intermediate, Lanai High and Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and St. Anthony Junior High.
Jul 8, 2015 | Small Business
Receive invaluable advice from accounting experts on how to improve your business’s efficiency, promote good accounting practices, and ultimately save on your taxes.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 9:30 am – 2 pm
MEDB’s Malcolm Center, 1305 N. Holopono St., Ste. #5 Kihei, HI 96753
Admission is $20 • Lunch will be provided • Reservation required • Space is limited
Register online • Full details
Jul 1, 2015 | Environment
The recent National Geographic Workshop in Honolulu provided approximately 50 teachers from across the state with a deeper understanding of geography concepts and skills. The National Geographic Society funded the workshop in partnership with Maui Economic Development Board. “In this workshop, the teachers learned that geography is an essential element in the social studies curriculum,” said Robert Sternthall, Lahainaluna High School Social Studies Department. The first speaker, Dr. Hong Jiang, Chair of Geography at UH Manoa, enlightened the educators with case studies on change in Waikiki and the geography of tea as examples of interesting stories that convey geographic concepts. “Daniel Lin of the Pacific Voyaging Society shared how to track the canoes from their website and how to contact the crew,” said Sternthall, noting that a statewide emphasis has been placed on this voyage as a way to teach students in an integrated manner.
The group was introduced to C3 Framework, a new initiative designed to enhance the social studies curriculum. “It is based on inquiry, using compelling and supporting questions to enhance student engagement and learning,” Sternthall said. MEDB’s K-12 Project Director for Women in Technology, Isla Young, introduced teachers to the exciting world of geospatial technology. Sternthall explained, “She showed us how to avail ourselves of geographic information systems, data and mapping software from ESRI and ARCGIS. This is exciting because now we have access to this technology for our students to broaden their geographic skills in the classroom.”
Brenda Barr of the National Geographic Alliance for Educators instructed the group in the first phase of training to become certified National Geographic educators. “We hope this will strengthen the teaching of geography in Hawai’i,” said Sternthall. On the last day of the workshop the participants spent most of the day working on lessons using the C3 Framework. “We worked in groups according to the content that we are teaching,” Sternthall said. “It was a very productive workshop,” he added. “Not only did we learn new information, but we also brought home many ideas that we can use with our students.”
Jun 24, 2015 | Events
“During Women in Technology’s Space Day program I learned about motorized robotic machines called Scribble Bots. I made one and it scribbles!”
— Kristen Santiago, 5th grade student, Kaunakakai Elementary School, Molokai
Jun 17, 2015 | Education
Maui Waena Intermediate School’s Technology Club recently traveled to Oahu to compete in the state Botball tournament held at Hanalani School in Mililani. There were 10 teams, both high school and intermediate, from Oahu. “We were the 11th team and the only one from a neighbor island,” said Jennifer Suzuki, STEM and Digital Media teacher, and advisor for the Maui Waena Intermediate School Technology Club. “We had a group of 17 students.” The goal of the competition was to build two robots that could accomplish the assigned tasks. One robot had the job of placing foam balls and blocks, called poms, into a raised basket in the middle of the field.
The second robot was programmed to run an intricate course that took it under the raised elements to move the poms around. “However, when we arrived at the competition, we realized that we misread the field map and that there were obstacles in our way that we could not get around,” Suzuki said. “Because of this, one of our main programmers, Misty Dela Cruz, had to reprogram her robot to do an entirely different function, right there at the competition.” “It was stressful,” said Dela Cruz. “I was so sad when we found out we had the field set up wrong, but then I realized that I could either cry or do something. I chose to fix the robot and I am so proud that I did.”
After the on-the-spot reprogramming, Maui Waena ended up 2nd in the seeding rounds and came in 2nd overall as well. “We also received the Judge’s Choice award for robot design,” said Suzuki. The head builder, John Fabella, commented, “Even though it was hard and things did not go as planned, we worked as a team and did not give up. That is the most important thing I learned while doing Botball.” “If not for the generosity of the Maui Economic Development Board and their Ke Alahele grant, our students would never have had this opportunity,” Suzuki noted. “MEDB offers the support our local students need to excel and compete in a larger community. They give them the chance to prove their self-worth and to challenge their minds, patience and maturity in real life situations.”
Jun 10, 2015 | Education, Events
Mark your calendar now for the annual MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund event for 2015, Saturday, August 29 at the Fairmont Kea Lani. The reception and silent auction begin at 4:30, followed by dinner and live auction at 6 pm. See the MEDB website for more information, reservations, and sponsorship opportunities.
Download the flyer.
Jun 3, 2015 | Education, Stemworks
King Kekaulike High School students credited a STEMworks™ lab as a key component in their third consecutive Program Impact Assessment award at the 2015 STEM Conference. “There are so many students in STEMworks™ lab across the state doing amazing work, so it is truly an honor to receive this award,” STEM teacher and Kekaulike STEMworks™ Facilitator Emily Haines-Swatek said.
Kekaulike picked up three wins at the 2015 STEM Conference: On-Site Hackathon, Web Design and the Program Impact Assessment Competition. The three students behind the PIA award were Maya Ooki, Alesha Menor and Jeremie Amano. The trio gave a presentation on their school’s STEMworks™ lab and how students use it to create and collaborate on community service projects. Amano and his teammates, Gabriel Rayburn and Wyatt Roan, were a part of the winning On-Site Hackathon team. Their project featured a proposed mobile phone app users would tap to send a picture and a geo-spatial coordinate to the Maui Invasive Species Committee. The team behind the Web Design award – Dylan Franco and Andrew Rezac – designed a Web site for Kekaulike’s Digital Media class, using videos, graphics, music and photography.
Amano and Ooki are 11th-graders who have attended the STEM Conference for three years in a row. “The STEM Conference is my favorite time of the school year,” Ooki said. She said she enjoys meeting STEM industry professionals and likes the chance to practice her public speaking skills. For Amano, the STEM Conference is a chance to get more insight into STEM careers. “I get to learn from these professionals about what they do in their career and what they have done that got them where they are,” he said. The annual STEM Conference is presented by Maui Economic Development Board’s Women in Technology Project. WIT’s STEMworks™ program provides hands-on access to the most current, high-end technologies to produce community service learning projects. Students in STEMworks™ labs are afforded the opportunity to work with local industry partners and gain skills ranging from animation to computer-aided design to engineering design and GPS/GIS. STEMworks currently offers free summer Software Camp Series for students; for information visit http://www.womenintech.com/category/workshops/ or phone Lalaine Pasion at 875-2341.
May 27, 2015 | Environment
A team of Molokai High School girls sought a solution to eradicating “the largest current threat” to Hawaii’s reefs and earned fourth-place in biochemistry at the 2015 INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, PA. The win on an international stage for 16-year-olds Kea’a Davis, Alexandria Simon and Amber “Momi” Afelin was impressive.
“Science has never been my favorite subject,” Davis acknowledged. “It was always something that’s been hard for me to stay interested in.” But that has since changed and Davis said she’s now seriously considering a science-related career. Afelin, the group leader and a junior who’s graduating a year earlier than her classmates, said she learned the value of determination. “You had to be incredibly self-motivated and dedicated in order to pursue this. For us, science was about solving a problem and we worked really hard to find a solution,” Afelin said. Simon said each of the girls had specific tasks yet all of them supported each other whenever needed. “We became each other’s closest friends, consultants and partners.”
Their project, “Investigating Agar Extraction as a Method of Gracilaria Salicornia Eradication,” attempted to find a solution to eradicate the invasive seaweed also known as “Gorilla Ogo” on Hawaii’s coral reefs. Together they developed a process to extract parts of the seaweed that could be sold as agar, a substance similar to gelatin. Remaining plant material not used in the agar could serve as fertilizer, according to the team’s research. “Essentially we’ve taken a very negative aspect of our reef life,” Afelin said, “and turned it into a product that can be sold in stable markets, creating an economic incentive to fund the seaweed’s own eradication efforts with money left over to pay for manpower.” The three girls were able to conduct their research and experiments with the help of former teacher Scott Hemenway. Financial backing for the girls to travel to the international competition was supported in part through MEDB’s Women in Technology grants from the Office of Naval Research and the County of Maui.
May 20, 2015 | Small Business
Website consultant David Fry’s idea to create an online voting system for nonprofit leaders took home the top prize at the 2015 Startup Weekend Maui. Fry said he and his team from Board.Vote created the beginnings of a viable prototype in less than 54 hours by listening to many tips including those from Startup Weekend facilitator Bryan “Boots” Butteling.
These tips include identifying a solution to a problem; being flexible and adaptable (“pivot and repeat”); and creating a revenue model. Close to 80 residents and visitors attended Startup Weekend Maui, presented by the Maui Economic Development Board. Aspiring entrepreneurs pitched ideas ranging from a stock market game to science education, to Maui-made pickles and a marketplace to help struggling Hana artists and vendors. “All of these could make good businesses on Maui,” Fry said. “We were really just grateful to be selected.”
Board.Vote would feature a Web application that provides greater efficiency in board deliberations and voting. In its research, Board.Vote’s team interviewed 15 local nonprofit leaders and 42.9 percent said they would recommend purchasing the Web app to their board. During his presentation, Fry outlined plans to charge monthly fees for the Web application. After hearing from the judges, Fry said he’s seriously considering charging a yearly fee for Board.Vote. “It was a great suggestion,” Fry said. The next steps for Board.Vote will be to develop the Web application, including a security piece and securing sources of financing. Aside from revenue model, judges recommended entrepreneurs conduct more research into customer validation and product viability. “Everybody had a good idea and there were lots of pros and cons,” Judge Tarik Sultan told the participants. This year’s Startup Weekend converged May 15-17 at MEDB’s Malcolm Center and the Maui Research & Technology Center. Fry said he thought MEDB did a “great” job of coordinating the event and suggested that the participants be invited back for a reunion.
