Today’s Waimea Town Meeting is all about local businesses and partner organizations, talking about what they are doing, thinking, asking us to do to and hoping our state’s public policy makers are or will be doing. It will stream live on Facebooi. Included in the roster will be both ends of the visitor industry spectrum – Ross Birch for the Hawai’i Island Visitors Bureau, Craig Anderson for Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association and Stephanie Donoho for the Kohala Coast Resort Association. And representing “smaller fries” in the travel industry will be Kamuela Inn owner Melanie Holt, and the Waimea Country Lodge manager.
Sharing the perspective of many of the county’s small businesses will be Toby Taniguchi for the Hawai’i Island Chamber of Commerce, and Wendy Laros for the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.
Their conversation will range from Covid-safety practices to protect the well-being of both employees and customers, to outreach efforts to help feed and otherwise support laid off workers, to strategies unfolding or being considered to transform businesses to meet the needs of the public, stay safe and once again be financially viable. Some of the conversation will be predictable – wearing masks and distancing; and some will explain what a “resort bubble” might look like and how and why it might work.
Another speaker will be Honoka’a High School 9th grader Kamaha’o Ocean Kanekoa. Kamaha’o who used the last Quarter of his 8th grade year at Waimea Middle School – during the Covid-forced shutdown – to fulfill a long time dream to help local farmers, ranchers and fishermen. With the support of his parents and technology-savvy sister, he started a new small business, called Pa’ina By Ocean and it is filling a need for both local food producers and consumers.
Also on the agenda will be District 9’s recently re-elected County Council member Dr. Tim Richards, and Waimea Police Captain Sherry Bird, followed by Lani Olsen Chong, WCA Director and long-time Waimea Twilight Christmas Parade Co-Chair to announce parade cancellation – a first in 60 years – due to Covid.
The entire islandwide community is invited to all Virtual Waimea Town Meetings sponsored by Waimea Community Association. Meetings are streamed live to the association’s Facebook page. To log in, go to WCA FB at 5:28 and hover – the link will pop up.
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