Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs

O‘AHU COUNCIL OF THE AOHCC 2009 REPORT

This year, the O‘ahu Council has been convening its quarterly meetings in various places of historical, political and cultural significance to Native Hawaiians.  In January, we hosted our meeting at the Bishop Museum and were fortunate to have tours to see the renovations taking place in Hawai‘i Hall.  In April, our meeting was held in Kahana Valley, a place that continues to test the interpretation of living culture and the state’s commitment to this concept.  In July, our meeting was held at Ulu Ke Kukui in Ma‘ili, a transitional housing program on Hawaiian Home Lands and temporary home to 80 homeless Native Hawaiian families.  In September, we visited Lunalilo Home and participated in their current work to develop a strategic plan for the trust with hope to provide for current and future Native Hawaiian küpuna.

We will continue to seek other sites to have our meetings and to provide our members with opportunities to hear from those at the front line of serving and addressing the needs of Native Hawaiians.  These visits provide insight on the many varied activities taking place in our community.  Just as importantly, these are our sites.  They represent a connection to our history and the potential possible in our collective future.  We need to re-establish and strengthen our relationship to these efforts.

As we move forward, we will continue our attention on the health and wellness of our clubs.  Due the impacts of our economic condition, we were unable to secure the funding we needed to host our leadership institute.  We have had to adjust and now incorporate training in each of our quarterly meetings.  There has also been collaboration with the association to provide training at the convention.  The clubs are our foundation.  As councils, we need to do what we can to support them and assist when needed.

The O‘ahu Council wants to thank the hard working people in the Maui Council who have worked hard to host this 2009 convention.  There has been much uncertainty and challenge but Maui has always shown its strength and focus in times of challenge.  We are looking forward to a productive week.

Mahalo and aloha,
Joseph W. Lapilio III - Pelekikena