ʻAno ʻai me ke aloha nui! Greetings and my warmest aloha to you!
In 2001, after living in Hawaiʻi for 10 years, it became apparent to me, that there were many community leaders doing good work around the islands in Hawaiʻi – but, it also became apparent that there was no real mechanism in place to help existing and new leadership grow with an expanded knowledge and history of where we are, who was before us, and the ability to gain a deeper sense of the key issues facing our community. This sparked off a series of thoughts that motivated me to the eventual creation of The Hawaiʻi Island Leadership Series – Ulumau.
The answer came to mind, garnered from an experience of which I was privileged to be a part of in 1987/88, a few years prior to moving to Hawaiʻi, namely the Stanley K. Lacy (SKL) Executive Leadership Series in Indianapolis, Indiana. The SKL series originated in 1974, as a similar model to the White House Fellows founded in 1964. However, what differentiated SKL from other series was the strong emphasis on how to build a healthy and vital community through community volunteerism. It was designed to help emerging leaders aged 25-45, understand the make up of our society and enable participants to better confront the greater community needs going forward.
Because of this amazing introduction of learning about the disciplines of our society after being “sheltered” by the then corporate world, I regarded this opportunity as a privilege to be chosen. Many thanks go to those that encouraged and shepherded me along the way, namely, Margo Lacy Eccles, Andie Marshall, Frank Walker, the late Fred “Bud” Tucker, Jr., and Dale Scott.
The process involved completing an extensive application, together with approximately 250 other applicants vying for a class size of 25 (Greater Indianapolis’ population at that time was in excess of 1 million). The make up of the 25 were split as close to even as possible by gender, race, public, and private sector participants. All held senior positions within their respective organizations, from president and CEOs to general managers, owners, partners, so on and so forth.
The experience gained from SKL changed my life and all that participated. Although I had lived in many countries around the world, being so involved and learning hands on about the inner workings and failures of our surroundings and society at large was a huge eye opener. So, then how does one create such an entity here in Hawaiʻi? I had a day job, and needed a home for this idea.
At the time (summer of 2002), I was asked to be on the board of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, and was invited to a strategic planning session at Scotty Bell’s home (then chair of the Chamber). During the session, everyone was asked to help boil down ten key initiatives that would help strengthen the direction for the Chamber for the coming years. I thought that this would be a perfect launching place, for creating a community leadership series. After hearing me out, the board agreed that I should go and work out the details and come back with a plan. Six months later, I presented a comprehensive plan including an advisory group, recommended curriculum, a budget, and a name for the Series.
The name was purposely chosen as The Hawaiʻi Island Leadership Series as it was important from the very beginning to be established as an all inclusive series, encompassing our island as a whole. The Hawaiian name Ulumau (a translation is “perpetuating growth”) was given to me by Mikahala Roy known for her wisdom and knowledge of ancient Hawaiian history, particularly her dedication to working with her father Papa Mauna Roy at Kamakahonu.
The board unanimously embraced and approved the idea and we launched with an application process at the beginning of 2003.
The advisors that I managed to round up, literally-to help formulate the overall plan were:
- Kaniela Akaka, Jr., Director of Cultural Affairs, Mauna Lani Resort
- Tina Clothier, Executive Director, American Cancer Society
- Andy Levin, Deputy Director, Mayor’s Office, County of Hawaiʻi
- Sandra Sakaguchi, Chancellor, Hawaiʻi Community College
- Lynn Walton, CEO, Kona Community Hospital
My thanks go to them for their insight, stick-to-it-iveness and their belief in the concept that now has become a reality …
Mark McGuffie
Founder
The Hawaiʻi Island Leadership Series – Ulumau
