Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 12, 1 December 2014 — REVIEWING THE SUCCESSES OF FISCAL YEAR 2014 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REVIEWING THE SUCCESSES OF FISCAL YEAR 2014

Aloha mai kakou, The Office of Hawaiian Affairs strives to improve the conditions of the Native Hawaiian people, and while at times we seem to be a lightning rod for controversy, there is much being done every day, going under the radar much of the time. The 2014 Annual Report outlines some of the highlights from the past year, from the most high-profile items, such as the launching of our Nation Building effort to our efforts to provide aid to struggling families, scholarships to college students and loans to businesses so they can expand and earn more revenue. Our successes are many. For example, Waimea Valley is operating in the black for a second year in a row, but we are now able to reinvest in the valley without taking additional OHA funds. In the past year, the Proud Peacock restaurant finally reopened, serving dinner Thursday through Saturday and featuring a prime rib Sunday brunch. Waimea Valley is run by Hi'ipaka LLC, OHA's wholly-owned subsidiary. At the Legislature, our Public Policy team was able to block all of the anti-Hawaiian bills we opposed. That's quite an accomplishment when there are so many potential threats to our rights and cultural resources. And we were accountable to the public. In September 2013, the state Auditor criticized our grant monitoring procedures and land management policies. These are findings we embraced, because

we too recognized the same challenges we were already in the process of addressing. We have worked to develop land management plans and changed our grant monitoring procedures. In December, we made one of our biggest literal moves. OHA moved its offices to its current location at 560 North Nimitz Highway. We renamed the building Na Lama Kukui from its former name, the Gentry Pacific Design Center. In Kaka'ako, we are beginning work on a master plan to develop as well as determine the long-term plans for our 30 acres of land. Those are just some of the highlights for the 2014 fiscal year. This year's Annual Report is once again published as a special insert in Ka Wai Ola as a way to be accountable to you, our beneficiaries. In the coming year, we pledge to continue to build upon our successes and to improve conditions for Native Hawaiians, which will, in turn, strengthen all of Hawai'i. 'O au iho n5 me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o, Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer