Former Hawai‘i governor and Senate hopeful Linda Lingle will be the featured speaker at the next Kaneohe Business Group general meeting Wednesday, January 25, 2012.
The meeting will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Pohai Nani Retirement Community auditorium and is open to the public and guests with a $15 fee for lunch (free to members). The deadline for reservations is Monday, January 23 and can be made by calling Joel Kurosaki at 520-1565.
Lingle will discuss issues important to the state of Hawai‘i, including initiatives that will encourage job creation. As Hawai‘i’s former Republican governor, Lingle is currently vying for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Daniel Akaka.
In addition, Kaneohe Business Group will recognize the service of Military members by honoring Marine, Sailor and NCO of the 4th Quarter and Year 2011.

Kaneohe Business Group members will be on hand to showcase their businesses.

Among the featured performers will be multiple Na Hōkū Hanohano award winners Maunalua and Kapena as well as Windward-area hula halau, the Waimanalo Sunset Band and the Kahalu‘u ‘Ukulele Band.

Maunalua has won four Hokus, including “Group of the Year” (twice), “Favorite Entertainer,” and “Traditional Album of the Year.” All their albums have been Na Hoku Hanohano award winners.

This year the event will highlight hula with a free film fest of the award-winning documentaries “American Aloha” and “Na Kamalei: the Men of Hula” with filmmaker Lisette Flanary on hand to talk about her work. In addition, Dr. Ishmael “Uncle Ish” Stagner will talk about his recent book, “Kumu Hula: Roots and Branches” and autograph copies available for sale.

“The Ho‘olaule‘a has become one of the biggest community events on the Windward side, with something for the whole family,” said event chair and long-time KBG member Herb Lee. “We’re very grateful for the tremendous community support of this event. It’s a way to highlight the talent and businesses of the Windward side as well as the educational opportunities at WCC.”

Proceeds from the Ho‘olaule‘a will help fund scholarships for WCC students and other program support.

Among the WCC attractions will be Hawaiian Studies cultural demonstrations, free blood pressure readings by students in the Certified Nurseʻs Aid program, a student ceramic sale and raku firing, gyotaku fish printing, face painting, math oregami, an plant sale by the botany and bio-technology students and information about college and career planning.

The cultural demonstrations will feature la‘au lapa‘au (Hawaiian medicinal herbs) and Hawaiian fiber arts with WCC instructors Krista Steinfeld and Lufi Luteru as well as lei making, woodcarving and making nose flutes.

Also, Gallery ‘Iolani will feature a new exhibit, “Matali‘i, with works by 20 artists from New Zealand and the Pacific. The exhibit represents a collaboration between student artists from WCC, UH-Manoa and Toimairangi School of Contemporary Maori Art in Hastings, New Zealand.

Among the community groups, the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board will provide information on disaster preparedness, especially for the hurricane season, and Walgreens will offer flu and pneumonia shots at the event.

The Ho‘olaule‘a also partners with the Five Rs 96744 project, which promotes positive character-building among K-12 students in the area. The 5Rs campaign emphasizes the importance of respect, responsibility, resourcefulness, relationships and resilience.

Flagship sponsors of the event are Hawaiian Electric Co., Ameron, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Le Jardin Academy. Other sponsors include the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the City and County of Honolulu, Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, American Savings, Central Pacific Bank, Walgreens, King Windward Nissan, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Residential Resource, Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union, Castle Medical Center, Minami Foundation, McDonald’s, and KCCN/ KINE radio stations.

CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS at the 11th Annual WINDWARD HO‘OLAULE‘A
The highlights will include appearances by several Windward area hula halau, a hula film fest with director Lisette Flanary, “talk story” sessions about two recently published books on hula, and cultural demonstrations connected to WCC’s growing Hawaiian Studies program.

The schedule includes free showings of Flanary’s award-winning documentaries —“American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai‘i” and “Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula,” the story of Robert Cazimero’s all-male halau — which have been broadcast on PBS.

Flanary, who has joined the faculty of UH-Manoa’s Academy of Creative Media, will be at the Ho‘olaule‘a to talk about her films. She directed the recently released documentary “One Voice,” which follows the student directors of the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest.

In an earlier interview, she described her films as a way to celebrate the renaissance of Hawaiian culture but also the challenge of battling stereotypes and misconceptions.

“There are so many strange ideas out there about the hula and Hawaiian culture,” said Flanary. “I feel that my films can serve to educate a wide audience on what it means to be Hawaiian through the voices of the students and teachers who believe that ‘hula is life,’ no matter where you are.”

Also appearing will be Dr. Ishmael Stagner talking about his recent book, “Kumu Hula: Roots and Branches,” which publisher Island Heritage calls the first comprehensive book on hula written by a native Hawaiian.

The book covers some of hula’s history, protocol and practices as well as hula movements, costumes and adornments. It also has first-person oral histories of seven contemporary kumu hula.
Robert Cazimero’s book “Men of Hula” will also be available for sale that day and the discussion may include some members of his halau, Na Kamalei.

The cultural demonstrations will feature la‘au lapa‘au (Hawaiian medicinal herbs) and Hawaiian fiber arts with WCC instructors Krista Steinfeld and Lufi Luteru, woodcarving with Jordan Souza, lei making with Na Pualei and nose flute making with Calvin Hoe.

RSVP to Sandy Kurosaki at 265-2016 or sandykurosaki@mac.com (guests $15 lunch fee). Deadline for reservations is Monday, August 22.

The Kaneohe Town Plan project originated in 1999 as part of a Vision Team project under Mayor Jeremy Harris. Belt Collins joined with a local Honolulu-based architect to undertake the planning aspects of the project.

Join us for a presentation of the Kaneohe Town Plan and an opportunity to ask questions. What questions might you have concerning business in Kaneohe?

RSVP to Joel Kurosaki at 520-1565 or joelkurosaki@mac.com if you plan to attend the membership meeting and will bring a guest ($15 for guest lunch).

Prevedouros will address duel topics,
”Honolulu Rail: Is It a Done Deal Yet?” and “Hawaii Energy Needs: Mandates and Realities.”

Panos D. Prevedouros, Ph.D. is a professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Hawaii-Manoa since 1990. He graduated from the Aristotle University of Greece in 1984 and received his doctoral degree in 1990 from Northwestern University.

Dr. Prevedouros is the current president of the Hawaii Highway Users Alliance and has co-authored the internationally adopted Transportation Engineering and Planning textbook and over 100 reports and technical papers.  He is the recipient of the 2005 Van Wagoner Award of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

He co-organized the first International Symposium on Freeway Operations in Athens, Greece in 2005, and the Symposium in Honolulu in June 2009. Dr. Prevedouros served in the Transit Advisory Task Force in 2006 and in the Technology Selection Expert Panel in 2008 of the City Council of Honolulu.

As Honolulu mayor candidate in 2008, Dr. Prevedouros came in third garnering 28,800 votes (~17%) and third in the 2010 special election with 38,408 votes (~19%).

The KBG general meeting is open to guests with a $15 fee for lunch. The deadline for reservations is Monday, May 23 and can be made by calling Joel Kurosaki at 520-1565.

Hear what Paul Brewbaker has to say about the economic outlook that may impact your marketing and business strategies.

RSVP by Monday, April 25 to Joel Kurosaki at 520-1565 or joelkurosaki@mac.com. Luncheon fee for guests is $15.

Paul H. Brewbaker is the principal of TZ Economics, a Hawaii consultancy. His background is in research on the Hawaii economy and financial risk analytics from a 25-year affiliation with Bank of Hawaii. He is a graduate of Stanford University and received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii, in economics. He also did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, where he taught at Madison and Milwaukee, and is a lecturer in the University of Hawaii system. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, and the National Association for Business Economics, and is a director of the Hawaii Economic Association. Brewbaker currently chairs the Hawaii Council on Revenues. Learn more about Paul Brewbaker at paulbrewbaker@tzeconomics.com.

“Clusters of Opportunity:  Strategies to Accelerate Economic Growth”

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Pohai Nani
RSVP to Joel Kurosaki, 520-1565 or joelkurosaki@mac.com by Mon., March 21

Lisa Gibson has nearly 30 years experience in organizational leadership and fund development, volunteer management, community-building and economic development.  As the founder and past president of the Hawaii Science & Technology Council, she created an industry association representing companies in Hawaii’s ten science and technology  sectors.  She is continuing with her interest in creating prosperity and living wage jobs for Hawaii’s citizens in her focus on regional cluster-based economic development strategies.

In l998, Gibson played a leadership role in the transition of the former Oahu Economic Development board to Enterprise Honolulu.  As the former chief operating officer of Enterprise Honolulu she was the co-author of Target 2005, the island of Oahu’s first comprehensive and performance-based five-year economic development business plan.

Clusters of Opportunity Presentation by Lisa Gibson (click to download PowerPoint)