HANAMA‘ULU — The First Saturday event is coming back, said Jacqueline Manibusan, newly elected Kapa‘a Business Association board president, during the KBA participation at the Eighth annual Hawaiian Airlines talk story with Peter Ingram presented by the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort.
Joining Manibusan at the luncheon was the newly appointed KBA Executive Director Michelle Miller, who together form the Kapa‘a Business Association leadership team intent on expanding the reach of the organization and add new services for its members.
Combined, Manibusan and Miller bring more than 30 years of experience to KBA, as well as enthusiasm, energy and new ideas they hope to build on the established strength of the organization.
“As our first item of business, we conducted a strategic planning session with KBA board members, and identified the organization’s top initiatives for 2022,” the leadership team said in a release.
“We plan to partner with local business owners, organizations and community leaders to accomplish these recently identified goals for KBA, and to continue to work in unity with these people.”
One of the top goals is relationship-building and strengthening, focusing on helping the local businesses by hosting networking events for business owners. The leadership team plans to implement a speaker series with local officials and representatives on topics such as crime-prevention, police responses and other locally important topics.
Local representatives and elected officials will also be invited to participate in listening events that will provide a forum for business owners to ask questions of these key leaders in an effort to strengthen these relationships.
“Working together in a spirit of collaboration, we plan to build and strengthen relationships as we align our initiatives with those of our local representatives,” Manibusan said. “Both Michelle and myself welcome the opportunity to speak at other local business organization meetings on topics important to their organizations.”
Another important goal coming out of the strategic planning session is the unification of Kapa‘a.
“The KBA board unanimously believes in the importance of creating a unified look for all Kapa‘a businesses from one end of town to the other,” the leadership team said. “The board also shares a passion for revitalizing the return of special events to showcase the Old Kapa‘a Town area, including the Kapa‘a First Saturday Event and the Royal Coconut Coast Festival.”
The new KBA leadership team is committed to tackling these important strategic initiatives. The team believes that by resuming many of the services previously offered to KBA members, this will attract new members and fortify the organization and its ability to serve the local business community.
“We believe focusing on this initiative gives KBA a great opportunity to enhance our beautiful Kapa‘a area and highlight it and encourage more people to enjoy area businesses and activities year-round,” Miller said.
Local businesses interested in joining the Kapa‘a Business Association can visit the KBA website, kbakauai.org.
Manibusan’s experience is primarily in government and community-based organizations. She holds a master’s degree in public administration.
Miller has experience in the small-business area as well as the corporate arena. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing and public relations.
Together, Manibusan and Miller own and operate Paradise Services of Kaua‘i, which provides small-business consulting services. The newest members of the KBA leadership team feel their experience in the areas of strategic planning and management, grant-writing, marketing and public relations, newsletter development, event planning, profitability analysis and community collaboration will greatly benefit the Kapa‘a Business Association.
The Kapa‘a Business Association was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1999, and has been supporting local businesses and assisting with local community issues for many years.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
