Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 1, 1 January 1991 — Keale will lead OHA into new decade [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Keale will lead OHA into new decade

by Ed Miehelman Information Officer Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs at tneir Dec 18 board meeting selected a new chair and vice-chair. They also gave preliminary approval to a reorganized standing committee structure. The changes eame during the first meeting of the OHA board following the November elections whieh brought four new faces to the board of trustees. Elected as ehainman was veteran trustee Moses K. Keale Sr. who succeeds Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Sr. This is the third time for Keaie as head of the nine-member board. Elected first in 1980 as trustee from Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, Keale was vicechairman in 1981, chairman in 1982 and again from 1987 to 1988. He has served as chair of the eommittee on budget and finance and vice-chair of the external affairs committee. Keale was born on Ni'ihau and speaks fluent Hawaiian. His business career has included employment with Gay and Robinson Plantation, the Hawaii Job Corps, State Department of Social Services and Housing and radio station KUAI. Keale serves as OHA representative to the South Pacific Commission of Pacific Nations and the Indigenous Peoples' International conferences. He has represented OHA at meetings of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Inuit Circumpolar group and the Tribal Councils of the Sto:lo Indian Nations. Keale serves on the boards of directors of a number of private businesses and government programs. He is the author of several publications in-

cluding "Ni'ihau, the Traditions of a Hawaiian Island." The new chairman was honored by the Small Business Association of Hawaii as Kauai's Minority Advocate of 1990. One of OHA's newly elected trustees, Rowena Akana was named vice-chairman during the board

meeting. Akana is a career counselor for Alu Like, ine., has taught in the state Department of Education and has done extensive radio work as hostess of her own shows on KGU and KCCN. Akana's career as an entertainer includes appearances in a wide variety of productions as a singer and dancer . continued page 23

Moses Keale

Rowena Akana

Keale, Akana

/rom page 1 She was educated at the University of Hawaii and has been a member of numerous organizations including the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club, Hawaiian Poliheal Action Committee, Honolulu Press Club, Society of Hawaii's Entertainers and the Musicians Association of Hawaii. Akana's awards include the Aloha Week eommittee award for promoting Hawai'i, Alu Like's National Women's Week Award as well as recognition by the Federal Aviation Administration for implementing Hawaii Aerospace Education and an award for starting the Honolulu Chapter Scholarship Program for high school drop-outs. In other action the board passed on first reading a new committee structure whieh increases the number of standing committees from four to seven. The action requires a change in OHA's bylaws and must pass two readings at separate board meetings by a two-third majority of the board. The proposed new committees are as follows: — Budget, Finance, Policy and Planning — Native Hawaiian Status, Entitlements and Housing

— OHA Relations — Eeonomie Development and Land Management — Education and Culture — Health and Human Services — Legislative Review Following his eleehon, Chairman Keale thanked his fellow trustees for their vote of confidence and likened the future of the Hawaiian people to a voyage of great discovery. "Together," he said, "we ean overcome all obstacles and move to new beginnings based on the accomplishments of the past."