Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 12, 1 December 1991 — Michelman retires [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Michelman retires

Well-known island personality and kama'aina newsman Ed Miehelman has retired as OHA public information officer, effective last month, after almost nine years of service to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Miehelman, 62, is the first OHA employee to retire. Miehelman directed functions of thefourperson public information office, whieh provides OHA information to the news media, OHA beneficiaries and the pubiic through news releases, broadcast programs and through OHA's monthly newspaper, Ka Wai Ola O OHA. During his time at OHA Miehelman initiated a weekly radio news program, "Aha Ilono O OHA," whieh aired on KCCN. The program ran for over a year and featured news and interviews about OHA and on other topics of interest to Hawaiians. Miehelman, who eame to OHA from a long background in radio and teievision newsbroadcasting, was most proud of establishing good media relations with broadcast stations and print media to get the word out about OHA. Frior to his appointment at OHA, Miehelman was former communications director for the Honolulu City Council, news director at KDEO radio, news reporter and anchor at KHON-TV, and news director at KHVH radio. A native of New York, Miehelman eame to Hawai'i in 1952, drawn by a love of Hawaiian music and culture. The next year he inaugurated the popular Hawaiian music program, "Na Lei O Hawai'i" on KGMB, one of the first radio disc jockey programs to feature recorded music and live interviews of Hawaiian entertainers. Over the next 25 years he served as program director, chief announcer and reporter at various broadcast stations including KGMB and KTRG. Miehelman is also known to thousandsof island residents as the voice of Hawai'i Dental Service commercials and has been the master of ceremonies for the Royal Hawaiian Band Sunday concerts since 1962. Miehelman now plans to continue his writing and voice-over work, association with the Royal Hawaiian Band, and to travel. He is married to the former Kimi Kubota of Kapa'a, Kaua'i. They have one son, Fatrick.

OHA information officer Ed Miehelman and his wife, Kimi, receive a gift from staff at retirement luneh.