Senate Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism

Aloha and welcome to the hearing with the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism today. It's Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. This is our 1:00 PM agenda. We are in Conference Room 229. This hearing is being streamed live on YouTube and in the unlikely event that we must have abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties, the committee will reconvene on Thursday, April 2nd, 2026, at 1:00 PM in Conference Room 229.

We have a one minute time limit for all testifiers. We have 11 governors message on the agenda, all of which are great. Thank you for showing up, Senator Fukunaga, and all of you. The first appointee is GM 59 for gubernatorial nominee, Danny Ojiri, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Advisory Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority for term not to—term to expire on 06/30/2029. First up on the testifiers list is inter-president Caroline Anderson from Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Aloha, Chair DeCoite, Senator Fukunaga. We stand on our written testimony in full support. We love having a member Ojiri on our board. He brings a tremendous amount of knowledge in the visitor industry and has been helpful in guiding our brand marketing initiatives, as well as our strategic tourism plan. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, DBEDT Director, Mr. James Kunane Tokioka.

Thank you, chair, Senator Fukunaga. Thank you for that warm and welcoming comments in the beginning. I am here in very strong support of Danny Ojiri, He's been a great member of the board, as all of them have been. But he's very impressive.

When we went to Japan with the Governor, how he handled himself there with the the delegation from Japan, he was very, very good and instrumental in, in that sector. And he, I know he would do an excellent job over the...Thank you very much.

Thank you. Anybody else wishing to testify on behalf of Mr. Ojiri? Seeing none. If you would like to say a few words, you should have stopped the, you should have stopped the governor when he did the hairstyle. Oh, yeah. Just playing.

Just playing. Since he's watching.

Aloha, Chair and Senator Fukunaga. I'm honored to be here and be considered for this board position. I hope to contribute to the the, the better of the state and use my experience to move this thing forward and gain your trust and increase the integrity of the organization.

Thank you.

No. Excellent responses. Thank you.

Same here, Mr. Ojiri. I got the privilege of interviewing you earlier. I have no questions for you. You've answered all the questions. The members that are here but not here physically, they have all the questions and answers as well.

So, thank you.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay. Next up...for considering confirmation to the advisory board of directors, gubernatorial nominee, Joel Geis for a term to expire 06/30/2029. First up, Caroline Anderson testifying for HTA.

Aloha, chair. Aloha, Senator Fukunaga. HTA stands in full support of having Joel Geis part of our HTA advisory board. He brings a tremendous amount of knowledge, especially in working with communities and has proven to be exceptional as we move forward with our co-ED map action plan and serving and providing guidance to our strategic plan. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka for DBEDT.

Thank you, chair, Member Fukunaga. I echo the same comments, but I worked with Joel for over twenty years now and the work that he did in Hyena is unbelievable. He also has experience in the film industry, which is, is great for this time right now at HTA, and I'm in very strong support. Thank you.

Thank you, Director.

He also was with Rep...office, and that's where we work together here.

Oh, nice. Thank you. Next up, Mara Kawakami, in support. Sue Kanoho, Kauai Business Bureau, in support.... in support and Hermina Marita in support. Anyone else wishing to testify on his on his behalf?

Seeing none. Joel, if you would please say a few words. See, you guys even dress good. That's what I like about you guys. Representing. Oh my god.

Trip to the big city. We gotta dress up in...

Oh, yeah. You better make fast. No. We're worried about you the whole time.

You're hoping you always have...? I think about it.

I'll call you in ten. No.

Yeah. I just wanna first extend my huge appreciation for Director Tokioka and the staff. It really makes us feel good to sit outside and, you know, not sure exactly how this will go. And just to see them walking up felt really good. So, I appreciate that so much.

And then, I also appreciate you taking time to, to allow us to be of service to the state and to this amazing industry that helps so many, across all parts of the islands.

Joel, thank you for wanting to serve. Members, any questions?

No problem.

Okay. I, I got a quick question.

Since I came in late.

Maybe I should let you go first.

No.

So, Joel, as an independent videographer for many years, how do you see the film industry complementing the tourism, tourism in Hawaii?

I'm gonna bring up my—no. Yeah, you know, I think that the film industry has done amazing things, as Director Tokioka said. We worked long ago and Tropic Thunder was filmed on Kauai and there's—when those opportunities come, obviously it showcases our beautiful state, but it's also really it's so valuable to see how many jobs and how many, you know, all the hotel rooms that maybe aren't rented on the high end, some of that kind of middle, and all the craft services.

There's just such a large reach within our communities, even though smaller productions can make such a difference within our communities from, from big productions down to just small commercials. So, we truly appreciate that.

Oh, thank you. That makes sense.

Thank you. Members? Yeah.

So, you've been serving on the advisory board for how long?

Just a couple months now.

Couple months?

Yep.

And what is your sense of, of your, the advisory group and what you meant to HTA?

No. It's been amazing. It's, it's been, like I said, I'm fairly new at it. I do appreciate the opportunity to see the group come together and have the opportunity to be of service. It's just such an incredibly valuable industry, yet it with, you know, financial impacts across the state, it also has an equally, opportunity to, to affect communities' ability to, to enjoy life.

Right? So, we, we have that balance, and it's been great to be able to be a voice for that on the committee.

But how does the committee actually affect that, affect the community? I mean, do you feel you have a meaningful role?

I feel like I do. That's, that's kind of what I'm hoping to be here is to be a voice to let community make sure that we're not displaced because of an industry that's so valuable and so important yet, you know, it's at risk of, of, you know, creating this uncomfortable life for people that are working hard, whether you wanna go fishing or enjoy these public places.

So, it's really important for me personally, and I know as the, as the, the board as a whole, to make sure that we are addressing those concerns, that we are allowing places that are treasured local places allow us to return access there.

Well, I'm looking more at the contribution because it was so important. Then why are you folks advisory and not, like it was before where you had a board and really had a say because as advisory board, you don't have a say. So, I'm trying to get a sense of that.

Is it someone else in the room? No. Yeah. That's a great question. I, I feel like we do have a say.

We are able to influence it. And maybe I'm just still new, and I don't understand the the limits of our participation, but I'm not here not to have an influence over it. Like, I really want to make sure that that voice is spoken in every part of every discussion we have, whether it's strategic planning. Like, that's that's my lane that I'm here to serve, and I hope I can be of service there.

Well, good. It's good to hear. And I'll ask all the other members similar questions. Thank you.

Yeah. Senator Wakai?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Next up, GM 596, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Advisory Board Directors of HTA, Gubernatorial Nominee Linda Wong for term to expire 06/30/2029. I believe we have Linda on Zoom. I think--

Yes, Chair, they're on.

I'm-- I'm here.

First off, Caroline Anderson with HTA.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. We stand on our written testimony in full support. Linda has been a tremendous asset on the board. She's provided great guidance, especially on our Strategic Plan, permitted interaction group, and the discussions. Again, we look forward to having-- I mean continuing with her on our board. Thank you.

Thank you. And next up, Director Tokioka with DBEDT.

Thank you, Chair, members of the committee. I know Linda is traveling right now, and I-- she called me and said that she was gonna try to be on and she's on, so thank you, Linda, for doing this. And I will say that when the new board was appointed, the first pick the governor made was Linda because of all of her years of experience in the community and the relationships that she's had in this building and in the community.

The governor wanted to make sure that she was on the board, so I just wanna thank Linda for being on the board and thank her for her participation with the members of the current authority. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else wanting to testify on her behalf? Seeing none. Linda?

Yes.

You wanna say a few words? Can you go ahead and-- if you wanna say a few words?

Oh, just thank you for the opportunity to, you know, come before you. I'd be honored if I am confirmed for this board. I'm learning a lot, and I think the people that have been appointed-- you know, we've worked in small groups on strategic planning and film and sports, and they're all good people. And I think all of us want to do a good job and not-- we don't have our own special interests.

And I think this board is gonna try to work together to be more collaborative, looking out for our residents as well as bringing in more high-valued tourists. But thank you very much for allowing me to say a few words.

Thank you, Linda. And I wanna apologize. I was trying to make sure we we put this hearing on when you were here and, you know, I just wanted to make sure that we kinda got you-- got-- moving forward. So apologies that I couldn't--

No, but thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Members, any questions? Senator Kim.

Full disclosure, I've known Linda for decades, and very familiar with her ability to serve, and I know she serves on a number of boards and have asked to serve on a number of boards. And I can also attest that she's been involved with the Hawaii Tourism Authority on some pigs in the past or working groups in the past, and so she's very, very familiar. And so Linda, as a friend that I've known for so long, you know I'm gonna have to ask you a tough question, right?

Go ahead. I'm ready.

My question is, with all your experience and having been involved with HTA and knowing some of the members that have served on HTA and all of the trials and tribulations that HTA has been through, what is your thoughts now of this setup with this Advisory Committee and the way we're going with the Hawaii Tourism Authority?

Well, this is a new-- a new board, and I wasn't all too familiar with the past dealings of, you know, the last board, but I realized that I think the Legislature wanted to get rid of HTA basically because of all the conflicts. I think this new board has a chance to turn things around. I think that's one of our responsibilities.

And hopefully, if the Legislature sees fit, they would give us a little bit more authority going back, whereas I think if we could get funding, right now, I think, as at it stands, we have to go before you. We're not as autonomous as it was before, but I think with this new board, if we can show that we're willing to work and try to do a good job, possibly the legislature may, you know, increase our responsibilities.

But you know you folks are just advisory, right?

Right.

You really have no legal say in getting the department or HTA to do anything, right?

Right. Yeah. Understand. And-- but one of the reasons I enjoy this is, you know, it's a chance to meet different people who have different experiences in the industry and to-- you know, we do have some input on the Strategic Marketing Plan where the consultants gave us a plan, then HTA staff went over it. And then we had a special committee of Advisory Board members.

We were able to go back over the plan and give our input before it goes to the Legislature. So there's some benefit for this, but hopefully-- I think we're looking at having the Legislature maybe reassess what the, you know, duties would be for this new board.

Okay. Thank you, Linda. I know you're very conscientious, and I know you'll do a good job. Thank you.

Thanks.

Linda, I have a follow-up question. So Linda, what's the environment like? Do you feel that you're able to work clearly with the Administration, you and the other board members, even at an advisory capacity?

Right. Yeah, so far, you know, we've only met for a couple of months, but getting to know the new board members-- and I think what's really been good is-- Co-Chairs McCully and Kimberly Agas have really been good bringing, you know, their past experience from the past board, but it seems like we're all working collaboratively, trying to do a good job.

There haven't been any conflicts, and I think one of the things was, after our first meeting, the staff was saying, wow, it ended fast. You know? I guess the other meetings lasted five or six hours and nothing really got done. So hopefully this board-- and I feel very confident that these members are all willing to do a good job, you know, not with their own special interest, but looking out for the community and how we attract more high-valued tourists coming to Hawaii.

Okay. Thank you, Linda. Okay. Next up. Next up, GM 597 consideration confirmation to the Advisory Board of Directors, Kimberly Agas, for term to expire 06/30/2026. First up, Caroline Anderson for HTA.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the committee. We stand on our written testimony in full support. Co Vice Chair Agas has been tremendous, is a leader for us and with the board. We appreciate her knowledge, especially her experience in the hotel industry and has provided great guidance as we were developing our strategic plan. Thank you.

Next up, Director Tokioka.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the committee. Here in very strong support of Kimberly Agas. She was one of the members that we called back on. And I will say to address this question when it comes up that reason that we have co chairs is because both members that were on the previous board have very, very busy schedules. We had a discussion about how this could work.

And so it was, we made Member Agas and Member McCully co chairs. And it's worked out really, really well. The communication amongst them and the Board Members has been great. And they both bring a different skill set to the table. And so, you know, you have our written testimony, but in very, very strong support.

And she has been a solid rock on the board. So thank you for this opportunity to testify. And at at some point, Member Kim, if you want me to talk about what we assigned the members from this new setup with the advisory board, I'd be happy to let you know that when SB 5071 passed, we knew that the one responsibility that this advisory board had was to select the chair, the, the president and CEO.

But with a great group like this, I just thought it was a waste of their time for them to just have that responsibility. So we separated out the committees. We put people in where they wanted to be.

And if they have opportunities for a proposal, they put it together, they send it to the administration and to myself, and we move on some of the things that they have done. And I know for a Member Wong and Member Mericia, they have done that. And so a pop up museum will be happening in the culture and the arts, the museum with the culture and the arts.

And so these are the types of things they're doing with sports and other things, not just the one responsibility that they had from 1571, which is the selection of the CEO.

It would be a just a waste of their time, and we didn't wanna have them come in just to do that. So just wanted to address that question. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Next up, Jerry Gibson, Hawaii Hotel Alliance in support. Elliot Mills, Hawaii Hospitality Group in support. Venus Pajimola, Holina Resort in support. And Dylan Chang, Kamal Hopkins, Kirsten Vasquez, and Hogan Williams also in support.

Anyone else wishing to testify on behalf of the individual? Seeing none, do we have Kim on Zoom?

Not on zoom. Oh, not on Zoom, chair.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. We will be moving right along.

Next up GM 598 also submitting for consideration confirmation to the Board of Directors for Terry Fischer. First up, Caroline Anderson for HTA.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the committees. We are in full support of Terry Fischer being part of the Hawaii Tourism Authority advisory board. Again, he brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge in the visitor industry, in particular tour tour operator, and, you know, he provided tremendous guidance as we developed our strategic plan being the chair of that committee. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka for DBEDT.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members. In very strong support, you have my written testimony. I do also wanna address, Miss Agas. Her bosses are here from the Mainland. So she said she was gonna try to jump on, but it must have been a conflict with the time.

So, Mister Fischer brings a great wealth of experience in tour operation, and that's, part of the sectors that we wanted to cover at the HTA. So thank you for this opportunity to testify in strong support of Mister Fischer.

Thank you. Next up, Christopher. Oh, sorry. Oh, Terry Fischer individual with comments. If you'd like to say a few words, please.

Yes. So, thank you very much. My apologies for not being able to be, appearing in person today. I just, I had other commitments that I had to attend to, but, thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony and expressing my interest to serve on this HTA advisory board.

You know, I'm very excited about this role just because I feel like the Hawaii's visitor industry is at a critical juncture, And I feel like we're at a point where thoughtful balanced leadership is essential for ensuring tourism continues to thrive while supporting communities and protecting land culture and all the things that make Hawaii unique.

I wanna mention that throughout my career, I've gained a lot of experience across a lot of high demand destinations besides Hawaii, but also with the Canadian Rockies and all through the Western United States.

And this background of mine, I feel, has provided me with some practical understanding on how to, you know, balance economic opportunities with environmental stewardship and community well-being. So I'm just I'm excited to jump in and and and serve.

And when, you know, and and once again, I think that tourism is going to evolve and it needs to be economically strong, as we all know, but at the same time, it needs to be culturally, culturally respectful, environmentally responsible and, you know, and supported by the local communities. So, once again, thank you for the opportunity, considering me and, I'd be honored to contribute my experience and perspective to this board.

Thank you, Chair. Members, any questions? We'll go ahead and do it. Senator Wakai.

Thank you. Congratulations, Mister Fischer for being nominated. You're one of the very few members of this board who have actual working knowledge of tourism. And I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on performance based contracting.

Right now, contractors get, they they win a contract, a marketing firm perhaps, and whether they hit goals or not, they just continue to get paid out for the duration of the contract. There are KPIs in most of or all of the marketing contracts, but there's no consequences.

There's goals and if you meet the goals, then you still get the same amount if you don't meet the goals. With your background and, and experiences, should we be going down the road of performance based contracting?

So if a market is tells us they're gonna hit certain numbers and we have certain expectations, if they exceed those numbers, can we offer them carrots? If they miss those numbers, can we penalize them with less payment?

You know, that's, you know, a great question. And I honestly believe that there needs to be accountability along the way. And I think that that goes from all levels, whether it's, you know, whoever's leading, but also the contractors and it even filters down right into vendors.

I think there needs to be a vendor responsibility that, you know, when we look at whatever the the strategic plan is for the, for the HTA, that everybody is working in unison to accomplish those goals. So, yes, I think it's absolutely critical.

And I know we've talked about this through the strategic planning process that, some of the KPIs that are in place that, you know, possibly changing them and revising them to make them, a little bit more, you know, thoughtful towards, you know, the, you know, the changes and, and the things that we're trying to affect. So I, I absolutely agree with that.

I don't, I can not necessarily tell you what that looks like right today, but I certainly think that that's something that we've talked about even in the strategic planning, at the strategic planning level that, you know, we need to we need to maybe make some changes that way.

Right. Because, I mean, looking at your your experiences with Polynesia and Venture Tours, if I mean, I imagine you're contracted to take visitors to various attractions. If you miss picking up some of the visitors, do you expect to continue to get paid the way you got paid?

Absolutely not.

Without taking them, right. But in, you know, government and HTA, if they don't hit the numbers, they still get paid.

Right.

So that's a glaring problem.

Yeah. It is a glaring problem. And, you know, one of the things about it, we look at it, is that sometimes there's situations that occur that you can be on a really great track moving forward and hitting numbers and everything's flowing wonderfully. And then you have what I would refer to as these acts of God that can stop things dead in their tracks.

And, you know, it may be I mean, we're dealing with it right now, you know, with the with what's happened with the storms this last couple weeks. And we were on a tremendous track, and now all of a sudden everything was affected.

So it's, it's, it's kind of situations where as long as we carve out the the specific things that might not necessarily be responsibility of a contractor, but, you know, looking at, you know, the things that are are important and deriving results driven, reports from and KPIs from the things that they can control. Absolutely.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you.

Terry, so, so I have a question for you. And, and, you know, you and I spoken, and I like your background. But, you know, I've had people that had your background on there. And I like the fact that I work with common sense people.

How hard is it for you to educate people? And, you know, we're dealing with the Kona Storms. You know, our challenge, I've always said, and you should know this best of all, you've got to invest money to make money. How do you message across, and I'll take the convention center?

You know, it wasn't an act of God. It was you know, not being able to deliver on that contract as it should be. How do how do you look at the convention center and say, how do we make money off the convention? How do I promote this convention center to other people that while I have all these other places I would take on conference to, why would I bring them to a hole in the wall that leaks all around me?

What, what would be your message, or what would you do to help me make that convention center what it should be to bring me the return of investment that that this legislature has to invest into a convention center?

Well, you know, you know, and I, I'm just, coming into this, as I've joined this advisory board and I'm, in the meetings hearing about the convention center and I've heard about it from the outside now. I'm getting a little bit more insight into it. But certainly, I think that you have, like you said, you have to invest money to make money.

But one of the things that most important is that, you know, your infrastructure is absolutely critical. And I see that that convention center as a critical piece of infrastructure that it needs to be in great repair, and it needs to be functional.

And then once you have a really good asset such as this convention center, you can go out and you can market globally. And I think that Hawaii has such an opportunity to market on a global scale that you can bring some just incredible conferences to this, to the state and, and to Honolulu.

And I also look at it from the perspective is that we have this seasonality with tourism, where we have these ebbs and flows, where we have, you know, certain market segments are really, really strong through certain months.

And then we have other times of the year where we have some lulls and these lulls, you know, these ebbs and flows and these lulls are hard to manage even from a perspective of, just your staffing and, community impact is that it gets to be really, really difficult.

So this convention center I see as an opportunity that we could actually fill some gaps and bring some of those law sections up a little bit to, you know, create a little bit more, consistency with, with, you know, with our our tourism book, even though it's, you know, I, I would say that meetings and events is definitely a a specific segment within the tourism industry.

And so this convention center, I think it's critical. It's absolutely critical that it that it needs to be in great repair. And I'm glad to see that that there's repairs underway, but I think that there's a huge opportunity. And, you know, I, I would, you know, advise from my perspective is to if there was any advice that we could put forth to the legislature is this. Yes.

This, this is a a critical piece of infrastructure that we that we can't ignore and we have to make sure that it's in good repair. So I hope that answers your question.

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, and and like you said, you know, due to unfortunate, circumstances in, you know, this this rain did us no justice. Well, construction is underway. You know? Now we're pumping water off of that, that convention center. But, you know, I, I always believe that I gotta invest money to make money

So I just have a follow-up question because of your background. Do you see much potential for tourists to go on tours to Pearl Harbor's Arizona Memorial, going to the stadium's future development and entertainment district that may contain retail shops and dining options and a cultural center showcasing local arts and history.

And are there other tours that can make this stop as well as we look towards investment into Hawaii's tourism industry?

Absolutely. I mean, I will say personally from our perspective is that, you know, Pearl Harbor, for instance, the way it's set up with the ticketing system through recreation.gov, I mean, it's for how we line up sixty days in advance to purchase these tickets, it's like buying concert tickets for Taylor Swift.

You know, you have about thirty seconds to purchase your tickets. But then if you miss, if you miss that, you're out. But at the same time, we still have all these guests that want to see these attractions.

So the fact is that we have the Arizona, but we also have become very, very creative in how we do it personally with, with Polynesian Adventure Tours is that saying, all right, well, if we didn't get Arizona tickets, we can still go to the Missouri. We can still go to the Pacific Aviation Museum. We can do the Bofin, and we can create a fabulous experience.

If there's something that would go beyond just that to enhance the visitor experience, I think it would be you know, a welcome, addition to, to, you know, the infrastructure of what we could sell and what we could provide. Because I think that's, we're always looking for new innovative products to, to put out there.

And the one thing I'll say is that when we have these products, this is the best way to steward tourism is when you have these organized groups and you can keep people in these organized environments where we can educate them and we can control them and tell them what to, you know, what they should be doing, what they shouldn't be doing, and giving them some background on the on the on the, on the history and the culture.

And I just feel like when we have these types of things and we, we have it where we can control how this all works, I think it's, I think it's just going to help the overall, you know, you know, much, much more.

I think that, like I've, you know, we, you and I, when we talked last week, talked a little bit about the fact that I think that, you know, kind of really knit it a little bit, and this is something that I've been incredibly focused on is the stewardship part of it. But, you know, creating other opportunities to, you know, where we can guide tourism rather than just, you know, trying to control tourism.

Thank you, Terry. Members, any other questions? Senator Kim.

Thank you, Terry. Before I ask a question, just wanted to, say that I did work for Polynesian Adventure Tours back in the seventies, probably before you're probably still in school. But that was one of the things I did in the tourism industry among others. But I wanna go back to the convention center.

Sure.

And we talked about how important that is to be pristine and, and to repair. But keep in mind that the convention center, when it was new, when it was pristine, it was still a loss leader. We still and I know convention centers don't make money. So that's what we're faced with. And over the years, there have been an issue.

And I've as tourism chair back, in the early 2000 we talked about the marketing of the convention center. And back then, HVCB, we had a, they were marketing, long term, more than more than a year out. And that the, the convention center itself was marketing the short term up to twelve months.

And there were confusion as to who they call. Do they call the convention center and HTA for, for reservations? Do they call it HVCB, which people don't know about HVCB? You know, people coming in, they think, oh, convention center, we wanna have a a venue, we wanna do a con, convention.

What do you call the convention center? Well then they're told they gotta go to HVCB. And then when there's problems with the contract, they complain to HTA or they complain to the convention center, but then it's HVCB who made the promises.

So there were a lot of problems. We changed that contract and we made it where the marketing, marketer of the convention center should eat, sleep, market conventions. Because just like the Sheraton, just like all the hotels, they do their own in house marketing. Right? So they're accountable, they're responsible.

Okay. So we passed that, it finally went into effect, and then it changed back. Now again, we have a third party marketing it. So what what do you think as a board, as your experience, how do you think we should be marketing the convention center?

You know, I think it should be a combination of and I think that there needs to be great collaboration between HTA, HVCB and every DMC that operates in the state of Hawaii. Because there are events that you can go to, like PCMA, where you have these national conferences that are meeting planners that manage all of these massive, massive conventions and meetings across the country.

And they always you know, sometimes they'll stick with one, one center year after year, or sometimes they like to move around. And it's with those, we need to be at these conferences and we need to be directly marketing to all of these different meeting planners and convincing them that they need to bring their meeting to Hawaii.

And like I said, right now, it seems to be very, very confusing as to who's supposed to be doing that. But I think it needs to be a combination of that.

I think that's a problem. That's a problem. It's a combination, and it hasn't worked. It hasn't worked. So, you know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. So what are we doing?

You know, and I don't know much about what the history of this was, but I understand and I see the way it works. So one of the other areas where, I also operate a transportation company is in LA and Orange County. And we have just down the street from our other business, the Anaheim Convention Center. And the Anaheim Convention Center is a going concern.

It has so much activity in and out of it all the time, and we do a ton of transportation for it. And it's, it is the, the Anaheim CBB that is the primary promoter of the Anaheim Convention Center, but who they're promoting to and who they're meeting, meeting with are DMCs and meeting planners from all of these national events and conferences.

So I think it's a matter of, let's say, let's sit down and let's lay it out, and let's just decide. Who's it gonna be? Is it gonna be HVCB? Is it gonna be HTA? Or is it, is it going to be a anointed DMC in the state of Hawaii that's going to be the primary?

I think it's either HTA or it's HVCB, and you get your meeting planning department, and then you set a plan and you turn them loose. And that's how I feel that it needs to be. And then the, all of the, the, like, PRA, MCNA, Da Silva, all of the big DMCs in the state of Hawaii will all be, you know, hyper connected to, to whoever's in charge of this.

And then it's a coordinated effort to go out to these conferences and just go after them. And then after them. You know, just, you go after these big meetings.

I agree with you. So you don't think that the operator of the convention center, who knows the convention center, knows everything about it, is not in the best position to market the convention center like the Hilton Hotels, like the Sheraton. Because I say the day that the Sheraton's and the Hilton's go out and get HVCB or HTA to market their their properties, then I think you can make an argument that we need to do that for the convention center.

Well, excuse my ignorance about this. I'm not exactly sure of the, the protocol and the structure of who manages it now. I'm not sure exactly where it falls, but if I understood that matter, I might be able to, answer this question a little bit more intelligently. But, you know, understanding that is, like, whoever is in charge needs to basically come up with their marketing plan on how that they're gonna move forward.

And they, you know, they have to come up with a very comprehensive marketing plan of where they're gonna go instead of just sitting waiting for the phone to ring, thinking that somebody's gonna just come to Hawaii because we're Hawaii and we're amazing and people just come here.

It's like, no. We actually have to get out and actively market, and there needs to be a plan for that.

Okay. Well, I hope that your, your, the board and yourself will be in the front of this. And, you know, you brought up the fact that you don't know the history. Well, I hope all of you will find out the history because you ought to know the history. You ought to know how many different vendors we've been through, what worked and what didn't work.

And you know what? Having been there from the beginning, and that's that's the beauty of longevity, that I know, I know all of that history, but it's up to you folks to to find out. And I don't believe any of you have tried to find out at this point. So I, I hope that you folks take that to heart.

Yeah.

Thank you.

We certainly will. No. Absolutely. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Moving on, GM 599, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Advisory Directors of HTA, Gubernatorial Nominee Mericia Elmore for term to expire 06/30/2029. First up, HTA, here to present Caroline Anderson.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. HTA is in full support of Mericia Elmore to be part of the HTA Advisory Board. Since she started with the board, you know, she's been amazing. She is passionate about the film industry and makes sure that, you know, when we were talking in our Strategic Plan, permitted interaction group, that we did not forget about film and that it was part of both our brand marketing and visitor experience development areas. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka with DBEDT.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, and the members of the committee. In strong support; you have our written testimony. And as Caroline Anderson spoke, Mericia brings a strong background in the film industry, so the Advisory Board made her the chair of the Film Committee. And as I talked about earlier, she came up with an idea that we put into place as a pop-up museum for film, and then that will, hopefully, lead into a permanent spot for a film museum. So with strong support. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Next up, Christopher Wiecking with IATSE 665, in support, Ofelia Constantino--

Her Chair, Members of the Committee, Walea Constantiau with the Honolulu Film Office. I'm so thrilled to see someone, Marisha's caliber and knowledge of the industry, being able to serve on this board. We believe that a strong connection between the film industry and the tourism organization can only lead to really great things, and we've already seen how hard she's been working to help make those connections. Thank you so much for the opportunity to provide comments.

Thank you. Next up, Michael Golojuch, also on oh, in support. Sorry. I had you on Zoom. It's like You're here.

It's like, why do we have you on Zoom here?

Good afternoon. Michael Golojuch Jr. He/him pronouns, president of Pride at Work Hawaii. It is my extreme honor and pleasure to be here today to advocate for Russia to be on the HTA board. I've had the privilege and knowledge of working with her over the last decade.

There's very few people that can get me off the mountain to come down here to testify for them for one of these wonderful things, and this is actually my first time testifying before this body. This committee. So after twenty five years, so special things come together, and so some more shows a very special person in Hawaii is lucky to have her willing to give her time and her energy to this board, especially as you go into this new endeavor.

I know there are a lot of problems at HTA. We've I've read the headlines.

I've heard the I've been paying attention for the last 25 years. So Yeah, so and I echo some of the concerns that we've heard from Senator Kim, and I know that she's a built with her ability there and her willingness to work towards making these things better and making sure film is not an afterthought, as it has been for way too long at H t a. So, on that note, I encourage you all to pass her and confirm her on the board. Mahalo.

Thank you. And thank you for coming down from the Mona.

You've been here. Yeah. You've been here often.

Ask a minute. Okay. So we got 30 people in support, zero in opposition, zero with comments, and in light of time constraints. Anybody else wanting to testify on that for Mericia? Seeing that Mericia, if you'd come in and say a few words, please.

Hello. Hi. It's nervous to be on this side with my name on this side.

Oh, my goodness. Hi. Thank you so much. Thank you. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is such an honor and a privilege. And when I got the call from director, I had to think about it for a little bit because I know that I come at it from a different place, and I do have, you know, a a different background.

And I am humbled by this board and all their knowledge. And you're right. We need to know more. And I've been, since August, since we were appointed, little by little, learning and educating myself. And the more I educate myself, the more I really stand with such awe at all the folks that are already here.

And, I took the exercise of reading through everyone's resume and also, again, feeling like, oh, what am I doing here?

But I wanna say thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn more and to contribute what I can through my experience and skills to also bridge that gap and shine a light on the fact that the products we make in the entertainment industry, whether it's film, and I wrote this in my, my questions, it could be just fleeting moments as part of a short film or, a series where Hawaii is central, is one of the characters even. Right?

These are huge, and it's generational, and it's evergreen. And this kind of marketing lasts forever. And I know it sounds floral and poetry like, but it stays with your heart for the folks who especially love movies and just even consume TV.

These things sting in your brain. And whatever I can do to help that and to continue that partnership, I'm grateful for the opportunity. Thanks.

Thank you. Members, any questions?

Yeah. I'm gonna start.

Hi, Lisa. Hello. Thank you for for your willingness to serve. My hope is that and and maybe you can lend something to this, is that what more can we do at the convention center to be able to showcase and highlight some, be it film, music and dance and so forth.

You know, there was a proposal made many years ago, and I still have the proposal in my office of putting the music and dance museum on the top level, because we knew that the roof needed to be repaired.

And to just spend the money for the repair of the roof, we thought, okay, we're going to put the music and dance. We're gonna make the floor. We're gonna take use of that square footage, and we would have that there. So when we have the captured audience of conventions, and they had blouse in their schedule, they could go up there and partake. We could bring in halau's, we could bring in arts and crafts, weaving, coconut hat weaving, these kinds of activities within the convention center itself.

And then, of course, it never came to pass. They said it was too expensive. At the time, the roof repair was going to cost, I don't know, $40,000,000 and to do this whole thing was gonna be more. And now the the roof itself is costing way way beyond that. Again, you know, lack of lack of hindsight back then as to what we can do.

But how do we highlight and and showcase the the soul of of Hawaii, which is music and dance, and through film, how can we do that and incorporate it into the convention center where we have a captured audience from time to time?

As I listen to you talk about the convention center and that roof part and all the activities, the storyteller's mind, I'm picturing it now. And I am thank you so much for educating me to that because I didn't know that that was an option to do it there or it was even something that was thought of. But I think that would be a great idea. I mean

It's kinda too late now.

It's too late now, but I I think in the arts world and also just in regular general community living, we lack these third spaces. Right? The spaces where whether we come together as a community to observe and learn or just be or as people say, hang out, as young kids say, hang out.

I can envision that for, you know, maybe in the future as construction and repairs progress that a pocket that there will always be some little pocket of the convention center for that space for the arts, for film. And wouldn't it be great to have a place to screen shorts?

I'm thinking if I can go on, like, 30 tangent. Austin Airport once, they had this thing where you walk through the airport, and they had a display for costumes, for different costumes here and there. But at the time, they were also storing so short films. So something like that.

It doesn't have to be an ornate, here's this big, huge building we're gonna spend millions of dollars on, but finding a space to tuck into, to highlight and honor dance and music, film, and incorporate short film and those other I mean, if if you really think big, incorporate the content that's being made by the influencers that live here in Hawaii.

And that's how people are consuming. We talked a lot about verticals and other bills, but perhaps this is also a place for that to live. And whether it's you're walking through and you see the content and you access it that way, if we wanted to go even bigger, accesses it on our phone, here's your QR code scan, so it becomes an interactive thing.

But I feel like with the space that we have and the wonderful minds and technology we have here in Hawaii, why not partake in it and take part and give that opportunity to the young people who are already making the content to begin with? So I love that idea, and thank you for teaching me.

Because now it's in my brain, and you know me. When things get in my brain, it's gonna stay there until it you know, look, you laugh because you know how I am. It's gonna be there.

I'm gonna put more things in your brain right now. You got put more things

in my brain because they don't go away. Well, you know, and part of

this too is also we wanna bring the locals back to Waikiki. Right? We wanna bring the families and and the little hula dancers and whatever it is that back to Waikiki. So it doesn't necessarily have to be at the convention center. We looked at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, but I think it's imperative that HTA being the arm, being the tourism authority, should be looking at these opportunities where we could put it elsewhere if we can't do it at the convention center or put it in.

The other thing is we had the opportunity, I believe it was was it in Korea or Japan that we went to the affair, and they had those those glasses. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And they took us and then, you know, it was a Hawaii one. And so it was like we're flying over Hawaii and everything. Imagine if we could do that with the history of music and dance, and people will come in and put the glasses on and have an opportunity in with that venue to see the music, to see Danny Kaleikini, to see, you know, Hilo Hattie, to see all of these these entertainers, Ku'ili, Don Ho. I mean, it would be amazing.

And there's your history. Yeah. The history lesson that we're all going to learn.

These are these are simple things that I think of. I don't understand why the experts in the in the area, the people that are in charge are not pursuing these things. And so it just it I hope I'm here

to help you now, to be that sounding board for you.

Yes. So now I hope that, you know, something you'll take back and then you guys will not just discuss it, but then look at ways in how we implement.

And and as director will tell you, I love to write a proposal. He's like, a proposal's coming, man. I know. You get annoyed at the proposals that come in, but I I'm good with the proposal and the spreadsheet.

We need some creativity, and we need we need to be proactive. Thank you. So thank you, Mericia.

I look forward to sharing more from you. Senator Favella.

Yeah. Since my colleague gave me this since I came into this building Thank you. 2015.

This is what should have happened at the convention center besides having hotels there. But, again, the industry wasn't up to par to what she was trying to present. And then, of course, the industry listened to the hotel industry and said, hey. No big hotels. We will bring you the business.

Oh, nice.

And now we're getting stiff. Now we're getting hard time to do what we need to do to provide. What Senator Kim showed me is, and she had explained to me what it was important of this, and not just the aspect of having this, history presented there. A part was having hula halals and other guys come over there and perform and and and practice and, you know, utilize the convention center.

And there would be a give back to the convention center that, you know, because they're going there for free and utilizing the place that they can give back, the culture, the the the learning, and all of that.

Bamba, when you get a chance, unless you got you you can't I love them give you this, but you can't

look at them anymore. Look at it. I'll come hang out on this.

Get rid of this. I love this idea. I think we still can.

Yeah.

Regardless of what the trials and tribulations that we're having at the convention center, working together with film and tourism, this can happen, whether it's gonna happen through virtual or or our area because our convention center is big enough. Yeah. We're not gonna be able to do it because of the roof situation and how she wanted it done. But in corporate, what she has in here, majority, over 50%

Yeah.

Would be quoted enough to get what we need to do at the convention center. Center is filled because we listen to other people that start from here telling us how to run the convention center. How she got the idea? Because, tell her everything, girl. She live here.

So she's seen tourists come and go. So she knew. So, again, what she's telling everybody, and I I'm not saying everybody should be an expert. I'm not saying she's the expert, but she's an expert to me to going forward because, again, I learned a lot just in a short time I'm here about how important the tourism is. Even though my mom worked at the hotels, I didn't know that the the layers of what we can do with the funding, and we don't do that.

We didn't have that transfer that transformation from the Hawaii tourism authority for decades. We need to have that implemented, that they understand that that is the priority. These right here, culturally, should be our priority because that's why people come here. Don't come here to be Vegas. Sorry, I mean, you know, they don't come here for Vegas.

I mean, you know, everybody has a are they coming for our culture?

Yeah.

And how are you gonna have that in the center of Waikiki, and we don't have nothing really culturally moving within that center for decades. In 2015 when this is proposed to now. You know? So that's just my spiel, but I I I urge everybody to either go to her office or come to my office and just look through because it's a very, very awesome idea. I wish I was there in 02/1415 and been here because I wanna support this 110% there.

I can't wait to look at it. Yeah. I can't wait to learn more.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

I, I have to qualify. Thank you for the credit, but I don't deserve all that credit. So definitely, it's an idea and thought, but I have to credit Mike McCartney, who was the head of HTA back then, and recognizing that we had to repair the roof, and why don't we put my idea on the rooftop? So it was a group of people. After that, I had nothing to do with it.

They put together a group. They went around the island. They met up. They they they, we put aside a million dollars a year into the fund that would help fund it. And then we put together or or the group put together and they hired architects and and they put that whole thing together.

So it's a whole plan. Wow. Complete plan.

I can't wait to look at it.

And it's interesting that, you know, even the current administration of of HTA and stuff don't don't know have not come and asked to see it or wanna know the history because I don't know that they know the history. But it's about time that they did.

So hopefully in that little idea of the convention center, I I think what she forgot to recognize is she was part of the hula dancing crew. So in the decades of, you know, it really should just be, like, history of the center of the

Then she tries to, like, force us all to do that too. But It'll be in the VR.

That's you.

But it'll be We can dance with you. Yeah.

But, you know, film has been one full on interest of mine because I realized what the capabilities of what the film industry does because it markets.

Yep. And we're grateful for you.

They live in markets. So only question I have for you, what can the tourism industry do to help the film industry make Hawaii a more attractive place to film in Hawaii?

That is that's that's a very good question, and it's one that I think is really complex. Because when we think about what's gonna make it more attractive, right, we can and we've talked about this. We can go to tax credits. We can go to this and that. And, I was recently in New Zealand, so I spent some time there and seeing how I waited for you to come and film.

I know. I know. You're so good. Thank you. And how how easy they make it to come and film.

And I think that's one of the things that we can probably learn from here is that, you know, I've I've talked about before how Hawaii is open for business. Right? And whether it's Hawaii is open for business with regards to, you know, all kinds of business, we also need to make sure that the people who make film, TV, and content know that. So that's that's part of it.

How Hawaii tourism can play into that, I think, is part of the general I mean, we use advertising marketing, but really putting it out there that we are open.

We're ready. We do have a tax credit that already exists. We do have crew here, whether it's all the workforce from our union, IATC team, sir, there's people here that are ready to work. And I think putting that message out there for real real, I think that's one of the first things we need to do. Another thing

so I'm so glad you asked.

I actually wrote thinking you were gonna ask me this question. I have a little idea, another proposal, which you'll get, that's tied to the idea of the film museum and also what we're talking about here is strategically going to cities that we wanna bring people from and doing a pop up film festival. So little pop up film festivals of movies, TV shows. I'm thinking of this, there was a show on PBS called Molly of Denali where they had Hawaii writers and voice actors on one episode.

Even things like that to showcase to folks, hey, short films, TV episodes, little pop up film festivals, so that not only are we showing great content and long commercials to people, but we're also showing them, hey.

All these things are made in Hawaii.

Perfect. So is Lanai part of your working group?

He is not. He's been asked by our working group. We should get Lanai part of it. He is not. Working group.

He's just a good idea.

So something like that. So then you go to the like, you're in Vancouver, you're in Seattle, you're in Wellington, whatever, and you have you take a day, a night, and bring in a little festival to show all the content. And, hey, this was made in Hawaii. The same way you say your chocolate, your macadamia nuts made in Hawaii. This TV show made in Hawaii.

Perfect. Thank you.

Okay. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. Thank you, Mericia.

Thank you.

You know you know how I get with you. Yeah. Next thing you know, it's 45 minutes.

I know. Get ready when you get to the office. You better have an hour.

I think so.

Okay. Next up, GM 600, submitting for consideration and confirmation to HTA Board of Directors, Grant Tabura. Term to expire 06/30/2029. First up, HTA, Caroline Anderson. You can stand up there and take testimony. Yeah.

Okay. Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee, we stand on our written testimony in support. We appreciate Lanai's, you know, experience with sports and entertainment, and he's been invaluable to our board. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka for DBEDT.

Chair, Vice Chair, members, standing in strong support of Grant. I didn't know his name was Grant.

I didn't either. Who's Grant?

From Lanai.

Maybe he'll be watching this hearing, but very strong support, and all of the things that Caroline said. He brings a wealth of information and experience to the board. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have Grant on Zoom? Or anybody else wishing to testify on his behalf? Okay. We have Grant on Zoom?

Not on Zoom, Chair.

Shucks.

Shucks. We're just gonna do a roast now. Thank you. Okay. Next up, GM 601, Advisory Board of HTA, Troy Lazaro for a term to expire 06/30/2029. First up, CEO-- Interim President and CEO Caroline Anderson for HTA.

Chair and Vice Chair, members of the committee, we stand on our written support-- written testimony in support. Member Lazaro, he has been wonderful, especially representing Hawaiian culture on our board. He opens up every board meeting with [Hawaiian] and sets the tone for our board meetings. And, again, just appreciate him being part of our board.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka with DBEDT.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair. You know, he's a Kauai boy. I've known Kumu [Hawaiian] for 30 years now, and it was a proud moment for me when I got to give him the call to ask him to be on the board. So just a strong advocate for the Hawaiian culture.

If you were at the conference and you saw his oli and the hula that they did, it was amazing. It was actually chicken skin oli, so we wanna mahalo kumu [Hawaiian] and thank you for this opportunity--

Thank you. Would have been nice to see if you had Director Tokioka doing the hula while you was doing it. Yeah, that would have been a sight to see. Thank you all. So we have 12 people in support. Nobody in opposition. No comments. Anybody else wishing to testify? Yeah. Say a few words, please? Mahalo for coming.

Mahalo nui loa. Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege to fly over here today to be with all of you. Mahalo nui for your time, for your energy, and I'd just like to say that it-- this-- I gave up my, you know, my real job about 10 years ago in the visitor industry to pursue culture and community relations through my Halau Ka Pa Hula o Hinano, which is established on Kauai.

Being a liaison for our culture, our host culture, is such-- that it's such a kuleana, but it's a kuleana that I wear on my heart, in my na'au, in every breath that I take, in every expression that I can share. I didn't think I was gonna have a voice on this board when I first came because I wasn't sure as to what this kuleana was at hand.

And as I learned about the position that I had, I realized that I had a voice, and a voice that would enable me to advocate for the kama'aina, for the local people, to advocate for our practitioners, for people who carry the flag of Hawaii, who are truly ambassadors of aloha, who live that life each and every day, that I would be able to partner with them if there ever is a need for me to ask questions.

I know that I have a community of people that I can reach out to to be able to bring forth a great answer to the questions at hand, and it has been a privilege to work with Caroline, and the board members, and everyone at HTA. It truly has been.

They're a wonderful family, and everyone is not just so nice, but to be able to be there for them, to offer our support as a board, to be able to offer our insight culturally, administratively-- you've heard from all of these board members. We all come from different waves of life.

We all come from different backgrounds. But as we come together, we're able to partner up and be great kia'i for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, not just for Waikiki, but for all of our islands because we are Hawaii Tourism Authority. We're not just the Convention Center.

We're not just Waikiki. We are all of Hawaii. So if I'm going to come into a space and advocate for just one tiny little place, Waikiki in Hawaii, then that is not why I would like to be on the board. I would like to be on the board to be able to provide my insight as a cultural steward, to be able to partner with people.

And, you know, there were so many questions that were asked earlier about-- direct questions and that we would have all of the answers. And to be honest with you, that's why a board is so important because we can collaborate with each other. We can bounce off ideas. We can listen to each other and gain insight by the intuitive and the smarts that are-- that we're surrounded by on this board. I'm proud to stand on the board. I'm proud to be there.

It makes me feel great to be able to not just do hula seven days a week, but to actually feel like I'm contributing so much more to our community, not just for our visitors, but for our kama'aina and the people who call Hawaii home. So thank you so much for the opportunity. Mahalo nui.

Mahalo. Mahalo, Troy. Members, any questions for the individual? See, you got everybody's speeches. This is why our interview was so good, Troy. I just loved it.

Mahalo.

So I think you-- you know, you and I talked, and, you know, we had this conversation of, you know, what do you wanna see? So I appreciate your commitment, and, you know, like the rest of the members, everybody brought a different perspective of what they want to see on the board, and it was more on a collaborative level, so thank you.

Mahalo. Thank you.

Oh, now she does. She was just stuck.

I was waiting for-- but first of all, just to let you know that, you know, I'm a student of Auntie Maiki. I used--

Oh, so we're in the same lineage of hula. So--

Exactly. So that's the part of me--

Just years different. Yeah.

But, you know, in all due respect, having been here the longest-- I've been in office the longest-- have you been-- I don't know-- Carol is somewhere up there with me. I have heard and seen from boards, okay? I have seen the HTA Board transform from bad to good to best, better, to bad to not so good where we're at, and the collaboration, everything, but things didn't get done.

So we need more than just collaborating. We need more than just picking each other's brain, coming together. We gotta act. We gotta do something. Isn't it sad that in Hawaii, we don't have a music and dance museum?

It is crazy that every island doesn't have a Hawaiian culture center, period.

Exactly. We have a Japanese culture center, Chinese cultures-- I've said that. You know, the Koreans wanted a Filipinos-- I said before, we need a Hawaiian culture center, but the Hawaiian community has not been strong advocates to get there. And it's sad that we're in that situation, and I don't know how we fix it.

I totally hear what you're saying. I believe that this new generation of Hawaiians that are strong kia'i today, I believe that we are the people that are gonna make the difference, not just for us, because we see the value in allowing something like a convention center for Hawaiian people or a space for Hawaiian people to come together, to learn, to share, to grow as Hawaii grows, you know. I think community centers like neighborhood centers, we've, as practitioners, have outgrown those community centers.

But, you know, you are right, and it sometimes is mind-boggling, and I know that speaking that it should become from a collaborative space on making decisions and all of that. But, you know, in just hearing all of the conversation and all the dialogue that's happened, I sit in my board meeting and I think to myself, wow. How come we're not gonna give the Hawaii Convention Center the rest of the funds to fix their roof, you know, to do it all one time?

So I-- to me, I sit there in that space and I'm like, I wish I had the voice to be able to say, I think we need our people to hear us that this shouldn't be a question, because if your roof in your home was broken, you would fix it. You know, all of it.

You would not want a leaking hole in any part of your roof. And so when I heard in our last meeting that those funds were not allocated, it made me think to myself, like, well, are we the problem or is our collaborative efforts as our we work together, is that an issue? You know, because we're the board of tourism, and we stand firmly to support all of the men and women who work at the Hawaii Tourism Authority. But you said it.

We don't have the authority to advocate for the roof in the way that I would like to because, you know, it would fall on deaf ears. Our mana'o wouldn't go anywhere.

Troy, the camera on you.

Oh, kala mai.

No. You're advocating right now.

Okay. So kala mai. To me, when I'm sitting in that room, I think to myself that I would like to advocate not just for the building, but for the people who are trying hard to make a difference and to fight for those funds so that those funds can be allocated, because why would you fix something twice if you could do it once and do it well? You know?

So when I look at all the people that are working and I see the frustration and I see the hearts, right--because there is a lot of heart at HTA, I will tell you that; I've experienced that firsthand--they're very passionate, but they're also tied down. And sometimes they will-- they would need a little bit of freedom to be able to make decisions that would impact the longevity of the structure of the building and the infrastructure that surrounds it.

Sometimes as kama'aina, you know, for us as Kanaka Oiwi, people of Hawaii, right, when we go to [Hawaiian] and we enter a sacred space, [Hawaiian], we ask permission, even though there's nobody there. When we go there, if there's opala, our kuleana is to pick it up.

If there are things that are broken, our kuleana is to fix it without wanting anything in return, because as ambassadors of aloha through the hula, through the Olelo Hawaii, through the language, and the genealogy that we are all connected to--and you know, right, because as a hula person, we know our hula genealogy better than we know our own family sometimes--the kuleana at hand for all of us and for everyone at HTA really is the foundation, you know?

Kuleana, the responsibility that they have, but when the responsibility is shared and sometimes fallen on deaf ears, and sometimes it's not as important-- the HTA is a partner with the State of Hawaii. It's not your enemy. It is your partner. And so when they come to you and ask you, can I have $20 million, because you have it, so that we can fix our roof, and it's already sitting there, to me, as a kama'aina and as a board member, I would think that people would stand up and say, we're gonna give you this, you're gonna fix it, but you gotta promise me something.

You're gonna fill those buildings and those rooms with people in it so that those units can be filled and that the Convention Center can, in return, make money. If you have a good product, it's easy to sell it. If your product is broken, it's very challenging to sell it. So when we talk at our meetings and we have [Hawaiian] and we have discussions, we all think like this, but not-- a lot of us are not gonna articulate it and share it.

But I'm sharing it today, and I thank you for the time because as a-- I'm a very passionate person, not just for hula and culture and not just as a board member, but as an advocate for Hawaii nei and for our wonderful staff at HTA. I will tell you that I have always felt the spirit of aloha within the space.

So even though there are not movies or craft fairs there, when you go and you are a part of an event that takes place at the Hawaii Convention Center, I can tell you that the people and the staff from the people who are serving you drinks to the food, they're all embody this beautiful essence of aloha. So there is a foundation of it. You have in that book-- it is there. It's living. It might not be living in the capacity that you have visualized, but it is a start. And you are right.

We don't know everything that's happened, but I will tell you, I watched months of videos of the HTA board meetings before I became a board member, and I was appalled. So I can see why a lot of the kuleana and the responsibility was taken away from the board, but we are new. We don't have hidden agendas, you know? I came here today on my own ticket because it's important for me to be here.

It's important for me to come to show you I'm willing not just to serve, but to be a voice, not just for myself, but for the generations to come and for the people who cannot speak. So I mahalo you. Thank you so much for that, and kala mai if I went off the camera.

So I need to follow-up. Thank you for that. So you said it, but understand that we have roofs across the state that are leaking, and I use that as a metaphor. We have problems across the state, and we have to sit here, and it's not as simple as, oh, we need $20 million. Can you give us 20 million?

Also, the history on how that 20 million grew into 100 million, you know, which we are accountable for all of that increase. So it's not as simple as just in space and time now that they need this money that is-- they're not getting it.

There's a lot of stuff that go on. And sadly enough, some of it they inherited from past, but at the end of the day, we're responsible. At the end of the day, we should be the keepers. We should be holding people accountable, which is what I try to do, because if you don't hold the current people accountable and then they mess up and then they leave it to the next generation or leave it to the next board, and now the next board has to pick it up.

So it's important that you understand the history, you understand where we're coming from, and why this is happening, not because we don't have the kuleana for the conventions. We had a pristine convention center and we still couldn't sell it. I mean, we sold it, but we can't make a lot of money because it's a lost leader in nature.

The other thing is, not so much it's the culture and having a community center, but preserving our culture and the history for our future generations, you know, preserving the people that have passed and their works of art. You know, like I said earlier, Uncle Danny, you know--

Yes. Even my kumu pass--

Hilo Hattie.

--so you could say my kumu, yeah.

Yeah, and then we wanna preserve-- and we wanna preserve them before they go. That was my whole thing, that we need to get them on film. We need to get their history told before they pass away so we can capture that and preserve that, and we can't do that with just the community center. We need a music and dance museum of some sort, something that will preserve this for generations to come when we're gone.

I totally agree. Thank you for that, Senator.

Yeah, so I hope that the board will focus on that. Thank you.

Thank you. So I just wanted to follow up on, shit, everybody's roof is leaking, but not all of us can make money, right, on it. So I always try to look for how do I get the other roofs fixed if I can make money off of fixing the roof that gonna make me the money, right?

With that being said, we get every culture, centers, Hawaiian centers and stuff-- I mean, Portuguese Heritage Center, Puerto Rican, Japanese. What would you think if we just had the Hawaiian Cultural Center at the Convention Center?

I think that would be absolutely amazing. You know, that would be a wonderful opportunity, and I know you spoke about a little bit of that li'ili'i earlier. I think that's wonderful. Utilizing existing spaces that we already currently have that are not being used as a space in which could be used as a cultural center, a Hawaiian cultural center, I think that would be a win.

Why not at the place where everybody gonna come from conference to educate and teach them? Thank you.

Yeah, we can teach them lei making and challah making and all that.

Bring her back in from retiree to go dance hula. Thank you, Troy.

You're welcome. Thank you.

Mahalo.

Thank you.

Okay, I guess I better move on. Okay.

Next up, GM 602 consideration and confirmation for the board of directors HTA gubernatorial Lea Belmonte. First up, Caroline Anderson on behalf of HTA.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the committee. We stand on our written testimony in support. Member Belmonte has been extremely valuable for our board. I appreciate her in attending board meetings and she's also part of our administrative standing committee and CEO of the action group. We appreciate her and would love for her to continue on as a board member.

Thank you. Next up, Director Tokioka with DBEDT

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the committee. In very strong support, support of Lea. She brings an excellent amount of expertise into human resources that I did not know.

And I had just recently met her, But her expertise has been invaluable to the board, especially as we're going through this selection of the president of CEA. So for all of those things

Thank you, Director. Next up, former lieutenant governor, Shan Tsutsui and COO for Mahi Pono also in support, and Clifford Caesar also in support. Anyone else wishing to testify? Okay. Lea, do you, please say a few words and thank you for being here.

Aloha. It's truly an honor to be here, and I just wanted to mahalo all of you for also serving as well, especially while legislative session is active. So thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me today. You know, it would truly be an honor to be able to serve on this Hawaii Tourism Authority board, you know, born and raised here on Maui. And as far as my first career, it was in the hospitality industry.

So that always has a special place in my heart to serve within the tourism industry, as a mother, as a young grandmother, you know, being able to share those stories with our, our children, our grandchildren, and be able to make that impact for the next generation. It really is an honor to be able to serve on this advisory board. So really just thank you for the opportunity to serve and mahalo.

Thank you, Lea. You know, Lea, I just wanted to say I've known you for many, many years, and I think you've done an excellent job in just what, whatever you've been tasked with, whether it was the governor's liaison, you know, working in industry.

So thank you. I know your time has been precious, and, you know, you've always been for the people in advancement. But I'm gonna ask my board if my committee if they have any questions

So thank you. I know your time has been precious, and, you know, you've always been for the people in advancement. But I'm gonna ask my board if my committee, if they have any questions.

Thank you.

for you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Next up, GM 603. So For considering your confirmation to the board, James McCully, for term to to expire 06/30/2026. First up, interim president and CEO Caroline Anderson.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the league, to be standing with 10 testimonies in full support of member McCully. You know, he's standing with 10 testimonies in full support of member McCully. You know, he's

been our past board member. You can see he's on as our board member. He keeps us on our toes, and we appreciate him and his service to the board. Thank you. on as our board member. He keeps us on our toes, and we appreciate him

Thank you. Next up, director Tokyo Fuentdi Pei.

Thank you, Chair and Vice Chair and security from support. I saw the comments that, miss Anderson stated. You

know, Jim has he brings a very distinct amount of talent when it comes to reading the bylaws, reading HRS, and helping the board and members, in the public understand, you know, what HTA is dealing with. So all of the agreements and the variation was important.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify on the individual's behalf? Seeing none members, any questions? Oh, oh, yeah. Sorry.

I'm sorry, Jim.

I figured we needed the whole 15

No. I'm, I'm still. No. I didn't give my introduction.

I, I apologize. I'm a shrinking violet chair.

So chair of the coin.

Thank you.

Senators, thank you very much. I'd first like to thank previous governor Ige for nominating me originally to serve on this board and for governor Green to have the confidence to ask me to serve in the new advisory board. And so I'd also like to thank director Tokioka for his former membership on the board where he was a fellow colleague, but also now is our DBED director providing support to our authority staff, which is very much appreciated by the board itself.

And I I look forward to continuing to serve the state of Hawaii, the people, my family, my friends, if this committee feels that they can confirm me. So thank you.

Thank you. And and I know you've been through the ring and back. I'll just say it. You know? And I I'm just happy that you are willing to come back and advise you.

Capacity, as we've said, you know, people have gotta have some history to kinda help the newer members to understand what was the problem there to change it for the better. But I know the committee has some questions for you, so I'll start with Senator King.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jim. Thank you, sir. Having served, on the last board Where you had authority and now sitting on this board. So what do you think you can do now that you couldn't do before and why?

Well, there's actually the question might be better frame. What are you not able to do now that you could do then? And I would say that, of course, our first primary responsibility now is to, to nominate the CEO, which was part of our previous kuleana. After that, the board will have to carve out its its new direction and power, which we will have as an advisory board. If you look at 201 b two b, the authority is the advisory board.

That's the language. That never changed. Before, it was the authority is the governing board. Now it's the advisory board. Sure.

Our CEO has 10 or 12, powers that the board, that the statute confers upon the CEO. But there's a number of responsibilities that are still not specified to any other entity but the authority. So this advisory board, its first, issue from my perspective was, how do we craft our bylaws to provide an ability for this board and all future boards to have an effect upon the authority?

And I'll just say that as a member of the prior board and the difficulties we went through are appalling behavior, according to some of our witnesses. We lost a lot of our, manau, a lot of our spirit, a lot of our gravitas, our power, and we gave it away, in factionalism and leverage.

And I'm sure this legislature knows much about those two items and how powerful and at times corrosive they can be. So we've, we've been reconstituted by this legislature. Act 132 created this new entity. We will flush it out. It will take time.

It's not a four month or a six month project to understand who we are as an advisory board. But I I believe we will either muddle through or power through it and and make for a better authority.

But as the cochair now and have and having been on the board, again, the question is, what can you do now or why you wanted to come back and be here in this capacity versus the last capacity you had, which obviously were more authority and more power than you do now. So what is it as cochair that you're going to drive this advisory board and HTA?

So I would the the basis will be the 2024 governance report that the authority funded and have as our base document. We use it for our strategic plan, the basis for our strat plan. I think that the future governance of the authority will not look like it does today. I think this legislature will continue to amend two zero one b to, hopefully, and eventually get it right.

I think that there's a, a problem with, unfunded mandates at this point where, the legislature has asked the authority to solve many problems, to take a lot of responsibilities for destination stewardship and management that is beyond the ability for the size of our staff, the size of our budget, and, of course, the the, the various regulatory and control environments between departments is not something that HTA has any power to resolve.

I would hope the legislature would reduce, so to speak, the authorities' interests back to its founding in nineteen ninety eight, ninety nine, which is the brand of Hawaii and promoting our the concepts of Hawaii for return visitors so that we can create a recurring visitor group that has the best interests of our community and culture at heart, which means that they have a selective interest in staying in Hawaii as a as a destination.

What this board can do to affect that, would be to constantly impress upon the authorities, staff and our contractors. We have the two HVCB and and the Hawaiian Council, and and how they perform and how they will, present their future contracts to reflect the interests of this board. So our advisory ability has to be proactive rather than accepting reports and being reactive.

Agree. But in back in '98, '99 when the when HTA was thought of, it was a mess. The board was a mess. There are conflicts. There are lost funding.

When I got in in in in 2000 and took over the tourism chair in 2001, it was it was a mess. And then we had to, over the years, and by mid to middle towards the ending of 02/2009, we finally thought we had it right. It was working really well. But personalities change. People change.

And it wasn't the structure back then. It was individuals and leaders or leaders that had lacked the ability or conflicts of interest that messed it all up and put us in the position. And I warned them back then that if you're not gonna be careful, you're the only entity that has dedicated funding through the TAT, that you're gonna lose that money one day. And sure enough, I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime that that funding would be taken away, and it was.

And and be it they that the that the entity had come to that point that forced the legislature to do what they've done.

And it's a sad situation. But again, it's a lot of times, it's the individuals that then take over the the helm and not necessarily follow what the intent should be. And so therein lies the issue. So, you know, the fact that we have this new board and that's great, but at some point, members leave, things change, and I I'm again, we're in that situation.

So I think the biggest thing that this board can do is to hold HTA accountable, hold leadership accountable, hold employees accountable for what it is that is going on because that therein lies the issue.

And sometimes, some board members in the past have had the ear of of the administration, and therefore did things beyond what was allowed because the the people in charge allowed it, allowed to be manipulated. And those those are the things that happen, especially in the tourism industry, hospitality industry. There is a lot of special interest that goes on in people's relationships, which then interfere with doing what the right thing to do.

So I hope you guys keep that in mind as you guys go forward because it's not an easy job. You have a lot of people out there with different interests.

That's your friends. Right? Yes. Yes.

Thank you, Senator.

Thank you. And, Senator Wakai?

Ajay, I have great respect for your business acumen. And you and I have had years and years of discussion about tourism, where it's been, where it needs to to go. When you first were put onto the board, HTA's responsibility was branding and marketing. It is since crept into stewardship, right, taking care of the the culture, making taking care of our natural resources.

It's a kind of a different set of responsibilities from simply bringing bodies here, dropping your money here, and going back to wherever you came from.

So how in this new world of stewardship and branding do you envision HTA to be successful at both?

At both branding and stewardship? Yeah. Aye, frankly don't believe we can be at this at this funding level with the staff on hand and the responsibilities in 201 b that have been added in, I think it was act 224 you know, previous 2024 act. The kulean is huge. I mean, it's asking us to resolve parking lots in Haleiwa, you know, essentially, functionally, it's asking us to resolve, you know, demographic issues.

We can do things, at the micro level and the macro but difficult to do it all. And, I think if we focus on brand, and brand is not advertising, it's not selling an individual plain seat or an individual pillow on a bed. It's about a perception of Hawaii that goes beyond KPIs. You know, Frank, you asked earlier about how do we take a performance indicator and hold somebody accountable. When you're talking about branding, you're talking about generational.

You're talking about impressions made on a six year old when they watch a cartoon about a girl, Moana. You know that that creates a want and a need to take their honeymoon in Hawaii. You know? So we have to think generationally, and you can't minimize the effects that a dollar spent now, in the proper way, can have a a multiplier effect in five, ten, twenty years.

If we talk a $20,000,000,000 revenue, generator from this industry, and we're talking 2,000,000,000 in collective taxes, 8 or 900,000,000 in TAT, 10% of TAT would be a minimal level in any other polity, any other tourist area.

If you were to say, what's the direct, allocation from cause and to effect? In other words, the effect is the 900,000,000. The cause, we did that with, what, 30,000,000? 50,000,000? We got a lot of bang for our buck in that, in some respects.

Now, are people gonna come to Hawaii if there's no HTA? Yes. If we have no branding, are people gonna come to Hawaii? Yes. But over time, what kind of people?

And how will they come? What will it be seasonal? How how do we smooth things out? That's the one of the things Terry talked about with our convention center. The convention center brings in people on their calendar, not spring break, not summer vacation, not Christmas holidays.

So that's a huge, capacity of the of the convention center is to, buffer or to ameliorate the the effects of when tracked when tourism flows in. I went off a little on the farm there. Getting back to you.

Yeah, I'm gonna because I got okay.

Thank you very much, chair.

Sorry. Sorry, Senator. What? Yeah.

I'd be happy to go to any of your offices and talk at any time. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Okay. Any other any other follow-up questions? Okay. We're good.

Thank you. Seeing none, I'm gonna I'm gonna jump to the last GM. GM 604 board of directors, HTA Christian West for term 06/30/2028. First off, CEO interim president, CEO Caroline Anderson.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee is that his testimony and strong support of member of the request. He brings its extensive knowledge, you know, in the user industry and especially in sports.

And we appreciate his guidance, and he has helped with our, time manager for sports and the AC staff as well.

Thank you. Thank you. Nixa, the deputy director of Jamie Tokiokam.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I will just keep it short. I'm gonna

follow the words of Caroline Anderson because she's been great. You brought him back. He's he's continuing to be a great asset. Thank you.

Thank you. And last up, Randy Perra, AFL CIO, in support as well. Seeing no one else is here to testify on his behalf, and I don't think we get him on, so we don't have him. Okay. We're gonna move right into decision making. Okay.

So decision making going forward, submitting for consideration and confirmation to advisory board of directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority for GM 594, Daniel Ojiri, GM 595, Joel Guy, GM 596, Linda Wong, GM 597, Kimberly Agas, GM 598, Terry Fisher, GM599. Maricia Elmore, GM600. Grant Tabura, GM601. Troy Lazaro, GM602. Leah Bamonte, GM603.

James McCully, and GM604. Submitting for oh, yeah.

I'm so Christian. I'm so I'm just at the moment.

Oh, sorry. And GM604, Christian West. Christian West, all for a term to expire at 06/30/2028. 06/2028. Oh oh, you know what?

Sorry. Sorry. Wait. Hang on.

602. GM602.

Yes. Okay. So up to GM6GM6062.

GM694 all the way to yeah.

So so GM no. Wait. K. So GM594 all the way up to GM602 for term to expire 06/30/2029. For this advice and consent.

Any Okay. I'm gonna take that all back. We get three minutes. Hang on everybody. Okay.

Here we go on. Miss Sullivan. Okay. G submitting for consideration confirmation to the advisory board of directors of the Hawaii tourism authority. GM594, Daniel Ojiri.

GM595, 595, Joel Guy. GM596, Linda Wong. GM598, Terry Fisher, GM599, Maricia Elmore, GM600, Grant Tabura, GM601, Troy Lazaro, and GM602, Leo Belmonte. For a term to expire sixthirtytwenty 29. Advice and consent.

Any discussion? Seeing none, vice chair for the vote, chair goes aye.

I vote yes. Senator Fukunaga? Aye. Senator Kim? Aye.

Senator Fevella? Aye. Chair, your recommendations are adopted.

Thank you. Next up, GM597. So I'm gonna need for consideration and confirmation advisory. Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. For the term to expire, 06/30/2026, Kimberly Agas, GM603, James McCully, and GM604 Christian West.

Advise and consent. Any discussion? Seeing none, vice chair of Kai for the vote. Chair goes aye.

I vote yes. Senator Fukunaga? Aye. Senator Kim? Aye.

Senator Fevella? Aye. Chair, your recommendations are adopted. Thank you.

Okay. GM604 submitting for consideration, Thruway Tourism Authority Christian West, a term to expire 06/30/2028, advice and consent. Any discussion? Seeing none, vice chair. Okay.

[Roll call]. Chair, your recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. And thank you all. Congratulations. And we look forward to working with all of you. With that, we are adjourned.