Bucks for Bricks

If you haven't taken advantage of this opportunity yet, we hope that you, your family and/or friends, will want to be a part of something special that will last a lifetime by purchasing special bricks.  We are continuing to gather donations for these bricks, which will be used to make a walkway from the parking lot to the front door of our new office, formerly the historic  Mutual Telephone  Company Building.  The funds will be used for paying off the building renovation, maintenance of the building, and for programs of the Chamber.

The bricks, which cost $100 each, are 4"x 8"x 2 ¼ and are engraved using state of the art laser technology. In addition, we offer you the opportunity to purchase a miniature replica of the original for $15 which may be used as a paperweight, remembrance, or just as an every day reminder!  Logos are $75.

Corporate Sponsors may buy four, 8" X 8" bricks, which can include a company logo for $2500. There will only be 14 corporate sponsorships sold for the walkway.  The four 8x8's will be placed together to form a larger image.  Click here for donation form: Bucks for Bricks

New North Shore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

NORTH SHORE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2010-2011

Susan Matsushima
Chair
Alluvion

Bill Martin
Vice Chair & Membership Chair
Island X Hawaii

Carolyne Lazar
Recording Secretary
Visitor Center Chair
Coffee Gallery

Marianne Abrigo
Corresponding Secretary
Marianne Abrigo Properties

Susan Lau
Treasurer
First Hawaiian Bank

Josh Heimowitz
Past Chair
YMCA Camp Erdman

Bob Boyle
Events
Turtle Bay Resort

Karen Campbell
Events
Waialua Soda Works

Ed D’Ascoli,
Ocean Recreation Chair
Xcel Wetsuits

Jane Duncan
Membership
Patagonia

Kalani Fronda
Haleiwa Main Street Program Chair
Kamehameha Schools

John E. Moore
Infrastructure Chair
Strong Current & Grass Skirt Grill

Chet Naylor
Fundraising Advisor
Waimea Falls Grill & Sharks Cove Grill

Paul Saccoccio
Legal Advisor
Saccoccio & Lopez

Will Schoettle
Public Relations Chair
Haleiwa Town Center

STAFF
Antya Miller, Executive Director
Wendy Wingate, Bookkeeper
Trish Coder, Photographer
August 4, 2010

Laura Figueira Appointed to fill Senator Bunda's Position

Aloha Members,

I am forwarding a press release from Gov. Lingle's office announcing Laura Figueira's appointment to fill Senate District 22's vacant position. Laura has been a member of the North Shore Chamber for many years and we would like to offer our congratulations on her appointment.

Mahalo,
Antya


GOVERNOR LINGLE APPOINTS FIGUEIRA AND KOUCHI TO FILL O'AHU NORTH SHORE AND KAUA'I SENATE SEATS

HONOLULU - Governor Linda Lingle today appointed Laura Figueira to fill the vacant O'ahu North Shore Senate seat and Ronald Kouchi to fill the vacant Kaua'i Senate seat. They will serve on a temporary basis until new Senators are elected in the upcoming General Election and take the oath of office. The two vacancies were created by the resignation of Robert Bunda and Gary Hooser in July.

"I have known Laura and Ron for many years, and I look forward to working with them," Governor Lingle said. "I appreciate their willingness to represent their respective districts and serve our state on an interim basis," she added.

Laura Figueira

Figueira, who will represent Senate District 22 (Mililani Mauka, Wahiawa, Hale'iwa, Mokule'ia, North Shore), worked for former Senator Bunda for 14 years, including six years as chief of staff while Bunda was Senate President. She continued to serve as community liaison during Bunda's tenure as Senate President Emeritus. In addition to overseeing the administrative and legislative affairs of the office, she represented the former Senator at neighborhood board and community association meetings, as well as served as his delegate on various ad hoc committees. Although Bunda resigned on July 16, Figueira has remained on staff while the office has continued to serve the district.

Figueira previously worked as the district director of the Honolulu office of the late Congressman Cec Heftel, as well as for the state Departments of Health and Labor and Industrial Relations.

She is a member of the Sunset Beach Community Association and the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. She is a past president of the Hale'iwa Arts Festival; past president and current vice president of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i; and past president and current treasurer of the Hawai'i Council on Portuguese Heritage.

Figueira attended University of Hawai'i Hilo when it was a two-year school and transferred to the University of Hawai'i at Manoa where she graduated with a degree in psychology.

Ronald Kouchi

Kouchi, who will represent District 7 (Kaua'i and Ni'ihau), served for 22 years (11 terms) as a Kaua'i County Councilman, including 12 years as Council Chair. Currently, he is a registered representative of LPL Insurance Brokerage Company and is also the director of community relations for Showe Land and Marine LLC.

Kouchi was a member of the Legislative Committee of the Kaua'i Chamber of Commerce and previously served as a lobbyist for the County of Kaua'i at the Hawai'i State Legislature.

He is a former director of the Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative and the Kaua'i Visitors Bureau, served on the boards of the Kaua'i Veterans Memorial Hospital and YMCA, and chaired the Wilcox Health Foundation's capital campaign. He also worked as a legislative analyst for former Rep. Dennis Yamada in 1982. Kouchi attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Governor Lingle selected Figueira and Kouchi from two lists that were provided to her by the Democratic Party of Hawai'i. The Governor was required under a law passed by the Legislature in 2006 to select a replacement for each vacant seat from separate lists of three prospective candidates submitted by the same political party as the prior incumbent. The Democratic Party submitted the two lists of names to the Governor on August 16, 2010 and the Governor sought public comments on the individuals.

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For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor - Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043

Membership Meeting August 25th, 8AM at Haleiwa Joe's - HTA Mike McCartney is Guest Speaker

Aloha Members,

Mike McCartney, CEO for Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), will be the key note speaker at the North Shore Chamber's Membership meeting on August 25th at Haleiwa Joe's, 8:00 am. He received his bachelor's degree from Pacific University in Oregon and has held many leadership positions in Hawaii. He joined the HTA early last year. He will speak on the "North Shore's Role in Tourism." Sign-in and networking are from 8:00 to 8:30a.m. A continental breakfast will be served: members $5, non-members $10. The public is invited. Call 637-4558 for more information. Please RSVP by August 23rd.

Also, mark your calendars! Candidate Forum for House, Senate, and City Council races will be held at the Haleiwa Gym on Wednesday September 8, 2010 at 7PM.

MAYORAL DEBATES at CHAMBER OF HAWAII:

When: August 10, 2010, 5:30pm - 8:30pm

The Plaza Club

Join the members of the Main Chamber for a lively discussion of the 2010 Mayoral Special Election. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the leading candidates and hear them debate issues impacting the business community in Hawaii.

Moderator: Bruce Coppa, President, Coppa Consulting, Inc.

Candidates: Kirk Caldwell, Peter Carlisle, and Panos Prevedouros

Cost: $30 per person (Heavy Pupus, Free parking, NO host bar) Includes Q&A and a Full Hour of Networking.

To register: http://cochawaii.com/event-registration.asp

For more information: http://cochawaii.com/

Mahalo,
Antya

Kahuku wind farm lands $117M loan guarantee

First Wind Holdings LLC has closed on a $117 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department to build a wind farm in Kahuku, the federal agency said yesterday.

The 30-megawatt project is being built by Kahuku Wind Power LLC, a unit of Newton, Mass.-based First Wind. The project is expected to create more than 200 jobs, the Department of Energy said in a news release.

The power will be sold to Hawaiian Electric Co., Oahu's only electric utility, under a 20-year contract. First Wind broke ground on the project this month and plans to complete it by early 2011.

More at the Star Advertiser

Last Chance to Sign Up for North Shore Map. Deadline Friday the 30th

Dear Members,

One of the benefits of being a member of the Chamber is that you get first priority in advertising in the Chamber's map. The 7th edition still has a few spots left, so if you've missed the opportunity before, sign up now! We will be printing 70,000 for this next issue. Call Sharon at 220-1382 or Antya at 637-4558 to sign up or if you have questions.

People who are planning a trip to Oahu or North Shore call us daily to get information and a map of the area. The map is what we send them along with rack cards geared toward their request. This is the only publication that we have as a Chamber to send to them. Other visitor publications do not have much information on the North Shore. The map is completely about and for the North Shore businesses.

In addition to the printed map, the North Shore map is on line giving you additional web presence. http://www.oahunorthshoremap.com/ Check it out.

Our new Visitor Center provides a centrally located, visible, and highly attractive place for visitors as well as residents from the whole state to get information about our North Shore businesses, events, history and more. This map is central to supporting you, our member businesses.

Speaking of the Visitor Center, if you have not already done so, please bring some of your rack cards to us so that we may display them for walk-ins. We also mail them out when visitors are planning their trip.

Lastly, please spread the word that we need volunteers to help staff the Visitor & Business Services Center. (We are providing printing, faxing and other services to anyone needing them). Retired neighbors and friends would be ideal. Of course, we would love to have you volunteer, but we know you're busy running your business. Please have potential volunteers contact me at the office.

Mahalo,
Antya

Oahu wind project selects contractor

RMT Inc., an energy and environmental company, has been selected by First Wind to construct its wind-energy facility near Kahuku on Oahu’s North Shore.

Read more: Oahu wind project selects contractor - Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

30-megawatt wind farm breaks ground in Kahuku hills

Oahu is on its way to joining Maui and the Big Island in the effort to harness the state's famous tradewinds.

Today developers will break ground on a wind farm in the hills near Kahuku.

The 30-megawatt project on the North Shore is the first large-scale commercial wind farm on the island and includes several technological advances, such as a battery system that will help smooth out the stability of the electrical load.

The project is being built by Kahuku Wind Power LLC, a unit of Newton, Mass.-based First Wind. The wind farm will feature a dozen state-of-the-art Clipper Liberty wind turbines with a maximum output of 2.5 megawatts each. Based on expected wind speeds at the site, the system will generate an estimated 83 million kilowatt-hours annually, the equivalent of 139,500 barrels of oil.

More at the Star Advertiser

Questions for Elected Officials at Membership Meeting on July 8th Pikake Pavilion

Aloha Members,

Please send us questions (by return email) that you would like asked of our elected officials by noon July 6th for the membership meeting next Thursday. We will compile all questions submitted and ask the most frequently submitted ones.

Senator Bunda, Rep. Magaoay and Councilman Dela Cruz will be present at this next membership meeting Thursday, July 8th 7pm at Waimea Valley Pikake Pavilion. Light refreshments will be served. $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

Also, please plan on attending and testifying at the Public Hearing regarding school consolidation (possible closing of one of the elementary schools) next Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at Haleiwa Elementary School Cafeteria. More information will be forthcoming. The Chamber Board of Directors voted to support the Waialua Complex's recommendation to keep all schools (Waialua High, Waialua Elem., and Haleiwa Elem.) open.

Mahalo nui,
Antya

Membership Meeting Rescheduled to July 8th in evening @ Pikaki Pavilion

Aloha Members,

The meeting for tomorrow morning has been rescheduled for Thursday the 8th at 7PM in the evening at Waimea Valley Pikaki Pavilion. We needed to reschedule to accommodate the schedules of our elected officials. Please mark your calendars now.

The agenda will be forthcoming.

Mahalo,

Antya

North Shore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 2010-2011

Susan Matsushima
Chair, Alluvion

Bill Martin
Vice Chair, Island X Hawaii

Karen Campbell
Recording Secretary, Waialua Soda Works

Marianne Abrigo
Corresponding Secretary, Marianne Abrigo Properties

Susan Lau
Treasurer, First Hawaiian Bank

Josh Heimowitz
Past Chair, YMCA Camp Erdman

Kalani Fronda
Haleiwa Main Street Program Chair, Kamehameha Schools

Ed D’Ascoli
Executive Committee Member, Xcel Wetsuits

Paul Saccoccio
Legal Affairs, Saccoccio & Lopez

Chet Naylor
Fundraising Committee Advisor, Waimea Falls Grill & Sharks Cove Grill

Bob Boyle
Director, Turtle Bay Resort

Jane Duncan
Director, Patagonia

Carolyne Lazar
Visitor Center Chair, Coffee Gallery

John E. Moore
Infrastructure Chair, Strong Current & Grass Skirt Grill

Will Schoettle
Public Relations Chair, Haleiwa Town Center


STAFF
Antya Miller
Executive Director

Wendy Wingate
Bookkeeper

Trish Coder
Photographer

Old Haleiwa building gets new life

Historic Haleiwa town serves as a link to the past and a bridge to the future.

And the North Shore Chamber of Commerce is giving an old building new life.

Today the Chamber of Commerce opened its new office and visitor center in Haleiwa.

And while many of the businesses in Haleiwa have changed over the decades, much of the overall look has remained the same.

More at KHON2

Grand Opening & Installation Dinner

Aloha Members and Business Owners,

The Chamber's Grand Opening celebraion will be next Friday, June 18th. This is a MAJOR accomplishment for our community. It has been a goal of ours to have a visitor center for at least 25 years. Thank you ALL for your wonderful support in getting this project completed.

The June 18th Grand Opening celebration is next Friday. This will be great fun as well as an opportunity to thank all the donors and volunteers who made this happen. You'll also be able to see our new office and Visitor and Business Resource Center, as well as the newly restored Mutual Telephone Company (now Hawaiian Tel) built in 1924. This historical building has many elements of classic plantation architecture. We will also have a special guest performer, Owana Salazar!

The RSVP's are due this Thursday the 10th. Please send it in along with your payment today.

If you are unable to attend on the 18th, please stop by and visit us in our new digs! It's so comfortable, you may never leave!

Mahalo nui,
Antya

Grand Opening - Chamber Office Moving Next Week!

Aloha Members,

The Chamber's new building and Visitor Center is FINALLY nearing completion. There are a lot of small tasks to complete, but the major stuff will be completed by Monday. This is a MAJOR accomplishment for our community. It has been a goal of our town to have a visitor center for at least 25 years. Thank you ALL for your wonderful support in getting this project completed.

The June 18th Grand Opening celebration is in just three weeks. This will be great fun as well as an opportunity to thank all the donors and volunteers who made this happen. Also, every member helped make this happen through their on-going support which allowed us to have an office and paid staff which, in turn, allowed us to accomplish this project.

So.... please get those RSVP's in now so we're not overloaded at the last minute. With the move and everything, I'd really appreciate your help in this matter.

Secondly, we are moving the first week of June. On June 4th the office will be closed and telephone service will be switched over. We need a few guys with muscle to move the heavy items on Thursday. Please call 637-4558 and leave your name and number or email me back if you are able to help. Johnny Moore has volunteered. Who will help Johnny?

Mahalo nui,
Antya

Need People This Saturday 8-12 AM

Aloha Members,

I want to thank the following volunteers for making last Saturday such a successful workday: Lee Bryant, Bob & Trish Coder, Bob Leinau, Jon Marr, Joe Pavsek and Richard of Grafitti Busters, Kaiki Ragragola, Boyd Ready, Iopu & Nicole Sivatia and their two nephews, Nahe Webster, and Linda Yadao. We grassed the front of the building, cleaned up the white birds around the gym, and spread dirt to level the yard after building the new septic system. The grounds look great!!

I also want to thank our landlord, neighbor, and partner, the Waialua Community Association, and especially Nicole, their new Office Manager, for all their help in coordinating and getting volunteers to help make the workday successful.

We are in the home stretch on the building restoration, but we need to have one more morning workday to finish grassing the back of the building, planting more hedge plants, finish painting, scrape and wash windows, and move furniture for the flooring guys on Monday!

Please email or call me if you can help. I will be forever grateful if you can help even a couple of hours.

Mahalo nui,
Antya

Hawaii PUC approves HECO deal with Kahuku wind farm

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved a power purchase agreement between Hawaiian Electric Company and Kahuku Wind Power, HECO said today.

Kahuku Wind Power, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based First Wind, is scheduled to begin construction of a 12-turbine farm in the hills west of Kahuku later this year.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser

Updated North Shore Map Now Being Distributed!

It's colorful, appealing and informative. Visitors and residents regularly ask us for a map of our area. We have something to give them that not only helps them find their way, but it also tells them what activities are available and how to get to businesses advertising on the map. It helps visitors plan their trip to the North Shore, and brings more business to our area because visitors can plan better instead of just driving through not knowing what's available.

The map is distributed to the airport, major hotels, car rental agencies, local businesses, gas stations, the library and of course the Chamber's visitor center. The airport approved the map for distribution in the brochure racks as well as at the information counters as a map.

Thank you to Green Turtle Publications (Bob and JoJean Schieve) their great staff and you, our members for ongoing support of this important project.

Chamber of Commerce Announces Grand Opening!

North Shore Chamber of Commerce's Grand Opening and Installation Dinner is set for June 18th at the new Chamber building located at 66-434 Kamehameha Highway, across from the Haleiwa Post Office. The program will be from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm beginning with pupus and no-host cocktails. A dinner and program will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Please join us in honoring all tradesmen, volunteers and donors who made our new home, visitor and resource center possible and install the new Board of Directors. The cost will be $25 for chamber members, $30 for non members, $250 for corporate table, and $500 for sponsor table.

Donations for this very worthwhile building project are still being accepted and are completely tax deductible. If you are interested in supporting the preservation of this historic building, please make checks payable to "NSCOC" and mail them to P.O. Box 878, Haleiwa, HI 96712. You may also visit the Chamber's website at www.GoNorthShore.org for more information or call the Chamber's office at 637-4558.

Volunteer to Finish Painting and Landscaping

Aloha Members,

We will be having another painting workday this Saturday (8th) from 8am to 12noon. We are almost half done and the building is beginning to look really sharp. Lots of compliments on how it's shaping up. Please email me back if you can volunteer, even if it is a couple of hours. "Many hands make light work!" A big mahalo goes out to Matt Eagle (Aloha Surf Guide), Joe Lazar (Haleiwa Joe's), Johnny Moore (Grass Skirt Grill) for volunteering this past Saturday. We got a lot done.

The following Saturday, the 15th, we will be having a joint Chamber and Waialua Community Assoc. landscaping workday. We will be trimming the white birds, replanting the ground cover, fixing the borders, planting shrubs, weeding and cleaning up along the hibiscus hedge, etc. Work gloves, sun screen and covered shoes are recommended. Trucks that can make dump runs will be appreciated. A potluck will follow the workday.

We hope you will join us for some work and fellowship in making our community a better place to live and moving us closer to having a presence on main street with a visitor center.

Mahalo,
Antya

Please Help Gather Signatures on Petition for Funding of Walkways!

Aloha Members,

Attached is a petition to support funding for walkways and other improvements in Haleiwa Town. When we did our last survey of merchants in Haleiwa Town, 92% supported building walkways. We are now pursuing funding for the design and planning for them. Your help in gathering signatures on the attached petition would be most helpful. Please have everyone sign it: residents, Oahu visitors, and off island visitors. We need a ton of them. You do not need to have a business in Haleiwa to sign or help gather signatures.

Please feel free to make as many copies of petition as you need/want. If you have any questions, please call me.

Mahalo,
Antya