Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 6, 1 June 1998 — Leo ʻElele [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Leo ʻElele

TRUSTEE MESSAGES

ch airperson's m e s s a g e

Mahalo a nui loa ON MAY 12, Trustee Abraham Aiona submitted his resignation to the full Board of Trustees at our Maui meeting and we honored him for his contribution to the Offīce of Hawaiian Affairs. At a time when most people find it's time to relax. stop working so hard, take it easy and enjoy the golden years, Abe did just the opposite. He ran for office and won a seat on OHA's Board of Trustees. Little did he know he was entering the game when the going would get tough. But Abe is tough too, and he also got going. As chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. he led us through partial recovery of the state's debt to the Hawaiian people and the establishment of an investment policy for these funds. This was a crossroads for OHA

and the challenges have not stopped. I am proud to have shared these times with Abe, for he has always been concerned, caring and committed to our people. Mahalo nui loa, Abe Aiona, for your dedication. It has been my pleasure to serve with you and to share your interest in education, eeonomie betterment, affordable housing, a stronger political voice and increased employment opportunities for Hawaiians. We will miss your astuteness and your civil manner. As you finally "graduate" to retirement, I wish you happiness, enjoyment and love. Also in the spotlight in May was the annual fundraiser for the Public Schools Foundation of Hawai'i, where 1,100 individuals raised $370,000 for pulbic education. As a mother. grandmother and great-grand-mother, I am grateful for the

foundation's commitment to improving classroom instruction in the public schools. Hawaiians know the eeonomie wellbeing of our "ohana depends on literacy and math skills whieh add up to academic competence for higher education and skilled jobs. Hawaiians overwhelming-

ly entrust our keiki to the public schools where they make up some 23 percent of the enrollment. I join every Hawaiian parent of a child in the public school system in welcoming the efforts this foundation rewards: the good ideas that result in new, creative ways to reach out and stimulate our children to achieve, to be the best they ean be, to make us proud. In my years as a trustee, I have encouraged OHA's partnerships with the puhlie schools. We now have a proud history of working together on Hawaiian immersion, kupuna input, programs for the gifted and talented and other activities. I have always considered our keiki Hawai'i's most valuable resource. For me, an investment in their education is the safest, wisest investment we ean ever make because it helps guarantee the best possible future for our

community. It is especially gratifying to me that the Public Schools Foundation shares my belief and focuses on this same kind of investment. Finally, many of you may not know our organization was staffed primarily with volunteers when it started. We depended on people with two important qualities: generosity and a desire to serve Hawaiians. Our volunteers now number more than 300 statewide. If you put a number on their generosity, since the beginning of 1998 they have unselfishly donated 19,000 hours of work. That's more than 475 forty-hour weeks! We value this gift of time and talent. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own concerns that we forget to offer what they so richly deserve - our constant mahalo. Mahalo a nui loa to Abe, the Public Schools Foundation of Hawai'i and to all our volunteers. ■

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