We felt it was vital to provide an open forum for Maui people to question candidates about issues of importance. Democracy works best when voters are informed, educated and engaged.

We thank the major candidates for Hawaii governor, Duke Aiona, Mufi Hannemann and David Ige, for accepting our invitation. Their presence demonstrates their desire to understand the concerns of Maui voters, especially those of us who are involved in business.

Mahalo to Alan Arakawa and Tamara Paltin for participating in our Mayoral Forum and candidates for the Maui County Council for sharing their mana’o with our 300-plus conferees. Hawaii Nei needs strong, smart leadership to navigate a rapidly changing world.

Holding political office requires high-profile type of leadership, yet others choose to lead through less-visible service. This conference will showcase some of Hawaii’s most admired leaders in integrating the fields of education and culture.

Opening keynote speaker, Michael Chun, retired headmaster and president of Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, will inspire as he speaks about education in 21st-century schools. Cultural historian Kepa Maly, senior vice president of Culture and Historic Preservation for Pulama Lana’i, will speak at lunch about how Lanai is planning its future by looking to its past. Our final speaker, Miki Tomita, is a Maui girl and part of the visionary education team for the worldwide voyage of Hokule’a.

Yet, even with all the prestige, power and politics on the stage, Mo’okiha o Pi’ilani may teach us most of all in her silence. After two decades of hard work and sacrifice, Maui’s own voyaging canoe first launched on July 17. The 62-foot double-hulled canoe will grace us with her presence at dawn as part of our opening protocol. She will remain anchored offshore throughout the day.

For Hawaiians, the voyaging canoe is the perfect metaphor for success in life.

Every canoe begins as a tree. Therefore we know that nature cares for us when we care for nature, so we malama aina, or cherish our environment. But a tree cannot become a canoe without the cooperation and hard work required to design, carve, lash the canoe and fashion its sails. Others must tend to the canoe’s spirit, to hear when it is the right moon to leave the land and enter the ocean. So we laulima, or work together.

But a canoe cannot sail itself. It needs a crew. From captain to navigator to steersman to paddler, each person has a specific duty or responsibility. If one fails, all fail. So we have kuleana, or responsibility, to ourselves and to one another. To reach our desired destination, the crew must have the right attitude, motivation and fortitude to keep on paddling even when the weather changes and the seas get rough. So we ho’omau, we persevere regardless of obstacles that may appear.

But even the most motivated and physically fit crew cannot move a canoe without strong paddles. Our paddles are the tools of progress . . . education, mentors, practical skills and financial support. So we kokua, we help and provide support when we can.

Each of these elements – nature, community, resources, tools and cultural values are required to sail a canoe, it is the same for success in life. Success is measured solely by much more than quarterly profit and loss reports.

Our cultural values reveal what we value as a society. The Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce was founded upon the belief that Hawaiian values are good for business because they are good for people and place.

Whether Hawaiian by birth or Hawaiian at heart, if you share this belief, we invite you to attend the 8th annual Business Fest and learn more about the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce.

* Doreen Napua Canto is the president of the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce.

For more on this organization, see https://mnhcoc.worldsecuresystems.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=14020  

NOTE: KCA has no affiliation, and thus just posting as a community service to our members.