Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 2, 1 February 2004 — Waiheʻe named OHA vice chair [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waiheʻe named OHA vice chair

At-Large Trustee John D. Waihe'e IV has been elected as the new vice chair of OHA's Board of Trustees. Waihe'e replaces Kaua'i/Ni'ihau Trustee Donald B. Cataluna, who stepped down from the post after serving for one year. Cataluna remains a part of the nine-member board, and At-Large Trustee Haunani Apoliona will continue as Board Chairperson. In an initial vote held during a Jan. 8 meeting, six of the board's nine trustees voted to elect Waihe'e as vice chair: Rowena Akana, Colette Machado, Boyd Mossman, Oz Stender, Apoliona, and Waihe'e himself. A second nominee, Hawai'i Island Trustee Linda K. Dela Cruz, was supported by Trustees Dante Carpenter, Cataluna and Dela Cruz. Following that vote, Trustee Carpenter made a motion for a unanimous vote to support Waihe'e's selection, as a gesture of solidarity. All nine trustees voted in favor of that motion. "I am truly inspired by the final action of the board to cast a unanimous ballot for my vice chairmanship, and I look forward to working with eaeh of them

in my new capacity," Waihe'e said. "Motivated by a higher purpose, I believe we ean eombine our talents and ahilities and create

something better." In December of 2002, the board made the unprecedented move of voting to support the selection of a chair and vice chair for a period of at least one year. In deciding to step down from the vice-chairmanship, Cataluna expressed that he had fulfilled this commitment, having served as vice chair for 12 months. The board continues to support Apoliona's chairmanship. The four-year term of four trustees expires with the November 2004 general election: Trustees Apoliona, Cataluna, Dela Cruz and Machado. Five trustees elected or re-elected in November 2002 — Akana, Carpenter, Mossman, Stender and Waihe'e — hold terms that will expire with the 2006 general election. ■

Trustee Waihe'e