I recently attended the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association Kaua‘i Chapter meeting called “Is the Hawaiian Culture Alive and Well?” on Oct. 31 at the Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa. It was a wonderful day of Hawaiian culture, sharing and
I recently attended the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association Kaua‘i Chapter meeting called “Is the Hawaiian Culture Alive and Well?” on Oct. 31 at the Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa. It was a wonderful day of Hawaiian culture, sharing and new perspectives. At the beginning of each year, I look for the date of this HHLA-Kaua‘i meeting so I can clear my calendar and ensure my attendance. For the past three years, Aunty Stella Burgess, director of Hawaiian Culture and Community Relations for the Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa, along with the support of HHLA-Kaua‘i’s Sandi Kato-Klutke and Jolene Ogle, put together great speakers who live and breathe Hawaiian values. It is the highlight of my year, where I learn more and expand my thought process about our host culture.
This conference gets 50 to 75 people who register each year, but quite frankly I think there should be hundreds in attendance to enjoy the great mana‘o shared on our very own island. There is no need for an inter-island flight, no car rental — it’s all right here on Kaua‘i. No matter who the speaker might be, the message is never the same — it is enlightening, it is moving and it is a gift to better embrace and honor the Hawaiian culture. While I know everyone is busy making ends meet these days, I hope next year we can increase the attendance for this wonderful event.
Besides this event, there are some great organizations out there, like the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association at www.nahha.com, or Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement at www.hawaiiancouncil.org. These organizations are working hard to improve our Hawaiian cultural resources, grow future leaders of our host culture and educate those who are willing to learn. You can support these organizations by joining and signing up for their newsletter updates. It’s a great way to know what opportunities are out there and be aware of the programs being developed.
One specific program called “Ola Hawai‘i” is a trainer program dedicated exclusively to Native Hawaiians interested in entering the visitor industry as a cultural consultant, or as an experienced consultant wanting to enhance their professional skills for conducting cultural training workshops. The goal of Ola Hawai‘i is to bring Hawaiians into the visitor industry and help lead the way to inspire executives and managers to invest in shifting its operations based on Hawaiian values and sense of place.
For more information on this program, visit the NaHHA Web site at www.nahha.com and click on the “Our Work” tab.
I hope each one of you who comes from other places/backgrounds, and has the wonderful privilege to live on Kaua‘i, will take the time to attend an event, seminar, lecture and learn something more about our host culture.
So when you see the announcement for the 2009 HHLA-Kaua‘i Chapter Hawaiiana conference, please take the time to attend or send someone from your company. I’m sure you will agree it is a day well spent.
• Sue Kanoho is the executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau. She can be reached at kauai@hvcb.org
