Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2011 — A hui hou [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A hui hou

Well the time has arrived for me to pull up stakes and head off into the

sunset; however, before I do so, I would like to thank first a loving Heavenly Father for the blessings I have received over the last nine years as your elected Trustee from Maui and also for a beautiful eternal eompanion. Next my faithful and reliable staff of Kalei Rapoza, Kira Higa and Melissa (Beimes) Wennihan and also the 2uvs

and gals of the 12thfloor Trustees' offices who work every day to ensure the smooth running of the board, especially Leah Burrows-Nu'uanu, Dayna Pa and Lei-Ann Durant. I have really appreciated their support and kōkua over the years. Then there are the many staff who continue to endure the challenges of being an OHA employee and who have done a commendable job serving you as our beneficiaries. There are over 130 of them so I won't begin to name them other than their boss, Clyde Nāmu'o, who also will be leaving soon. Mahalo to you all. As I leave OHA and leave Maui for three years, though I will be a bit sad at having to discontinue my efforts to secure federal recognition and security for our people from the constant threat of lawsuits against us and our legal existence, I leave OHA in good hands with Chair Machado and the rest of the Trustees who strongly support federal recognition and allegiance to the United States of America. Recognition will provide a legal shield and an opportunity for Hawaiians to focus on the needs of Hawaiians without fear of being sued at every turn. And so I wish the board success in all they do as fiduciaries to the trust. Let's hope they do not revert to politics as usual and vote

counting and empire building of the past. I have faith they will do what is right, including selecting my successor whom I have recommended

be Chubby Vicens of Maui, a nonpolitician, a youth-loving grandpa, a community ieon and a decent and honest man who would better represent you than I ever could. You elected me these past three elections, and I committed to fulfilling your trust in me as your Trustee. Honefullv the board

will honor that trust and your belief in me to honor my recommendation. Now with that aside, you might wonder what in the, ummmmmmm .... world, is he doing and why. Simply speaking, I have accepted a eall from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve as the īemple President of the Kona Hawai'i īemple. This is a special and sacred eall that provides my dearest eompanion and me the privilege to serve others in a voluntary capacity at the temple in whieh we will be working. This being the House of the Lord, it is a plaee of peaee and inspiration where we will be privileged to work with the living and the dead at what could be described as the intersection of Heaven and earth. Our ancestors will be a major focus for us, and as I think of other LDS faithful who have passed beyond the veil and ean help in the work such as Albert Like, Mary Kawena Pukui, Edith Kanaka'ole, George Kanahele, Napua Stevens, E.K. Fernandez, Judge Jonathan Napela, Genoa Keawe, Bill Lineoln, Johnny K. Almeida, Andy Cummings, even Queen Lili'uokalani, as well as so many others, I am indeed honored to do my part in securing for all who would accept life eternal. May God bless you all, mālama pono, a hui hou, aloha nō. ■

Būyd P. Mūssman VicE Chair, TrustEE, Maui