Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 6, 1 June 2016 — Getting ready to return to the boord [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Getting ready to return to the boord

am pleased to announee that in my eternal optimism I have targeted the end of June for my return _ to work following three months of medical

ieave. My recovery from the effects of a stroke has been going extremely well, allowing me in recent weeks to increasingly engage in board matters. Now, I am ready to resume my full-time responsibilities as board chairman. And I am looking for-

ward to fully re-engaging with the board perhaps as soon as later this month. My return would eome amid growing realization that the board cannot govem well without close collaboration with our organization's senior executives, and they cannot lead our organization to its full potential without the board's unflagging support. The viewpoint of trustees remains central to the ability of our organization to clarify thorny problems, offer breakthrough insights on pressing matters, and present new ways of framing challenges as well as opportunities. Given that reality, my immediate priority will be to lead the board's efforts to set the appropriate tone for the organization. This would entail ensuring that we maintain a board eulture that adheres to the highest ethical standards. For that reason, ensuring that we exercise our authority in the best interest of OHA will eonhnue to be a clear theme that I will organize efforts around. My other immediate priority will be focusing on effective strategic thinking at the board table that helps hone our orga-

nization's direction. Among my first acts upon my return

will be to get the board an update or progress report on OHA's

current strategic plan. A n o t h e r immediate priority will be thinking through new ways for OHA to generate revenue that enables its hnaneial situation to remain sound. Already, we

have created an Ad Hoe Committee to help us identity and capitalize on eeonomie opportunities that might be critical to our ability to, for example, continue to meet the growing demand for grant money as well as the rising costs to maintain the lands we own. But, at the moment, no immediate priority is greater for me than getting the CEOselection process right. For our board, this is arguably the most important decision we ean make for our organization. And I look forward to rejoining the board in time to help guide this decision. In the meantime, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Trustee Dan Ahuna for his willingness to step in and lead the board over the past few months. His dedication and leadership have not gone unnoticed in my absence. I also want to thank all of you who sent me well wishes for a full recovery (by email, text, cards, phone, prayer and Facebook) while I was at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Kaiser San Feandro and Kaiser Vallejo. We are now very, very happy to be home. We have mueh to celebrate. Aloha Ke Akua. ■

<LEO 'ELELE V www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org TRUSTEE MESSSAGES ' NATIVE HAWAMAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Ec8tor's note: in accordance with an Otfice oīHawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees policy based on state ethics guidelines, any trustee running for re-election is suspended from publishing his or her regular eolumn until the elections are eompiele, except for those trustees running unopposed.

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. Chair, Trustee, Hawai'i