Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2012 — A time of gratitude [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A time of gratitude

As we wind down 2012 it seems appropriate to close out the year with some reflections on what stands out in my mind as having been important to me and my state of being as an OHA trustee this past year. I begin by thanking all of you who have been regular readers of this eolumn. Whether you've

agreed with me or not, I've appreciated the opportunity your readership has provided me to personally express my thoughts to you directly. I hope you will continue to embrace this eolumn in 2013. Second, I want you to know that throughout my time in office I have been blessed with two extraordinary wāhine who have gone way beyond their job descriptions staffing my office. I cannot express how grateful I am for Liana Pang and Makana Chai, who, in their service to this trustee, have brought a profound sense of kuleana to their work in joining me to be the best that we ean be to meet our sacred obligation to serve the Hawaiian people . . . and serving them in a way that makes Hawai'i a better plaee for all people. I thank them for bringing their best game to the office, their selfless devotion to OHA, their personal loyalty and abiding friendship, whieh has made it such a joy to eome to work every day. They are more than staff to me - they are my partners. We leave 2012 with an honest sense that we have served with honor, dignity and have made a contribution, however modest, to "the betterment of eonditions of Hawaiians and native Hawaiians." I would also like to aeknowledge the devotion to duty of the 150 employees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. While trustees and our executive-level administrators get most of the attention, it is our rank and file, Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians, kāne and wāhine, who stand side by side, day in and

day out, dealing with all the difficulties of navigating the high-strung bureaucracy we are, never forgetting why we are here. It is they who carry us on their backs and keep us moving forward. They give OHA its very foundation - the 90 percent of the iceberg that is submerged who go largely unnoticed. God bless them and their families. To Kamana'o Crabbe,

our new CEO, and the excellent senior executive team he has assembled, congratulations on a great start and new beginning. While we are still in the throes of settling into new rhythms and processes, there is no doubt that we are all on the same page in seeking excellence in carrying out our respective responsibilities. Among the year's OHA-related newsworthy events that I would rank as game changers would be first, the $200 million Kaka'ako ceded land settlement, and second our purchase of the Gentry Pacific Design Center building in Iwilei, whieh has created a dramatic new kuleana for us in real estate and commercial-property management. My final note of reflection is to express my gratitude for the leadership of OHA Chair Colette Machado in her first term at the helm of OHA. It has been an honor to serve as her vice chair. Her leadership has brought a heightened sense of civility and stability to trustee operations and I look forward to a bright 2013 with her at the helm. Finally, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season filled with aloha and an opportunity to eelebrate with your 'ohana, perhaps remember those whom we lost this past year, and thank Akua for the blessings that eome with living in these islands. Mālama pono. ■

Contact me at PeterAOHA@gmaU. eom.

PetEr Apo VicE Chair, TrustEE, O'ahu