Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 12, 1 December 2016 — Focused on helping OHA reolize its full potentiol [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Focused on helping OHA reolize its full potentiol

With the v o t e s counted, I want to express my debt of gratitude to the more than 194,000 people who re-elected me. I am humbled and honored for the privilege to eonhnue representing Hawai'i Island on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees. While I have been a

probation officer, Nahonal Park Service ranger and Land Assets Director for Kamehameha Schools, I find nothing else to be as exhilarating or satisfying as puhlie service. For that reason, I take mueh comfort in the faith placed in me to always act with civility, integrity and on our

people's behalf. I will not let you down as our board turns its attention to addressing the issues of major importance to our organization. While we can't snap our fingers and instantly ease our people's frustration with our ability to improve their lives, our board ean and must refrain from making matters worse. Our organization has pressing needs that won't be addressed by wild utterances, untamed egos or self-inflated behavior. But I have the fierce belief that OHA's pressing needs ean be met by a board whose trustees use their influence appropriately and act relentlessly in our organization's best interest. The early sign of the potential for this happening was the fiscal sustainability plan that our board adopted in October. From my perspective, this plan puts our organization on a path to fulfilling its greatest responsibil-

ity to future generations of Hawaiians. Simply put, the plan ensures that OHA will remain solvent for at least the next half century. Meaning, an entire new generation of our people would benefit from our 38-year-old organization's renewed efforts to improve conditions for Native Hawaiians. Given this reality, the board and administration

eame together for a series of Ananeial workshops, where we plotted a strong, future course for OHA's finances. We now have a full picture of our finaneial situation and a solid grasp of solutions to sustain it. For example, we know that long term solvency is achievable through greater diversification of our

revenue streams. Similarly, we know that OHA has the ability to overcome the changes in regulatory environment through better planning. In addition, we know that OHA must move toward managing its balanee sheet items as they are able to positively impact the trajectory of our Ananeial situation. For all of these reasons, OHA's board and administration have eommitted to a fiscal sustainability plan meant to ensure our organization's future salvation. All told, it is a plan that demonstrates a firm commitment from top leadership at OHA to being responsible stewards of our people's trust. And I look forward in the weeks ahead to working on implementing it. So, with the campaign finally over, may your heart be filled with every joy at this special time of the year. Mele Kalikimaka e Hauoli Makahiki Hou! ■

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

Mele Kalikimaka e Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! - Photo: Pixabay