Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 6, 1 June 1994 — Shine on, OHA volunteers! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Shine on, OHA volunteers!

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees and staff wish to thank the more than 250 dedicated community volunteers who eontributed nearly fifteen thousands hours of their valuable time to help make the Office of Hawaiian Affairs work in the past year. Though they worked at many different tasks — from Operation 'Ohana registration to eleiieal tasks in the different OHA offices, helping at community meetings, conferences, workshops and other

events, entertaining kūpuna at the Lunalilo Home, and serving on OHA advisory boards — they all shared a willingness to provide their knowledge, talent, kōkua and aloha to benefit Hawaiians. Receiving special recognition last month at the annual OHA volunteer recognition luneheon for the outstanding OHA volunteer project for 1993 were the members of the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund board of directors. This board, made up of business men and women and

financial experts, reviews and decides on revolving loan requests. In the revolving loan fund's five years, loans have been made to 143 native Hawaiian businesses totaling $7.4 million and creating at least 300 jobs. The program, the first of its kind among federal programs for native Hawaiians, has gained national Small Business Administration recognition. The task of the

revolving loan fund's directors is made more difficult by the fact that it has received a $58 million demand, though only $6 million is currently allocated. Therefore the board ean approve only 10 percent of total loans requested. Recognized as the outstanding individual volunteer in 1993 was Ann K. Heffner, who has been a valued OHA volunteer for more than five years. She provided significant kōkua to the Health and Human Services division during the Indigenous Peoples' Diabetes Conference, and to the Land and Natural Resources division as well.

OHA administrator Dante Carpenter gives lei to OHA's 1993 outstanding volunteer of the year, Ann Heffner. Assisting is health specialist Babette Galang, Photo by Patrick Johnston