"The Magic of West Oahu"
8th Annual West Oahu Conference
“The Magic of West Oahu” was the theme for the West Oahu Economic Development Association’s (WOEDA) 8th annual West Oahu Conference. Gina Mangieri emceed the half-day conference at the new Aulani Disney Resort & Spa. Mayor Carlisle opened the conference with nearly 200 in attendance and the conference featured an impressive panel of speakers covering a wide array of topics such as APEC, West Oahu Development, Technology & Media, the Economy and the new Disney Aulani Resort & Spa.
Todd Apo, Director of Public Affairs was the keynote speaker and he provided an overview of the Disney Aulani Resort & Spa. Todd talked about the Disney culture and how it influenced how Aulani was designed; incorporating the culture of Hawaii into the resort from its buildings, landscaping, features, amenities, and most importantly the people they employ. Todd also took WOEDA members on a VIP tour of the Aulani after the conference. In addition to learning all about Aulani, conference attendees heard from Dave Rae, Senior VP of Kapolei Property Development; Cameron Nekota, VP DR Horton; Michael Sorenson of Maven Media Marketing; Craig McGinnis, VP Hunt Development Group; Gregg Yamanaka, President & CEO of APEC 2011; David Bylund and Kerry Hadaway, FBI Field Office Administrator; and Carl Bonham Executive Director of UHERO.
WOEDA has more exciting events planned for 2012 and we look forward to seeing you all there!
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"Leading the Way to Economic Recovery"
Annual WOEDA Meeting
On April 1st, no joke, WOEDA held its Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. And what a great turnout it was! As WOEDA's reputation for organizing great speakers and covering interesting and informative topics spreads, we see the attendance increasing as this was the highest attendance for the organization's Annual meeting. That day we had the pleasure of hearing updates on the University of Hawaii West Oahu's new Kapolei campus slated to open in 2012; DeBartolo's Ka Makana Ali'i 1.5 million sq.ft. regional mixed use center; Salvation Army's $110 million Kroc Center currently under construction; the construction status of the long awaited Rail Mass Transit project; and Ilima at Leihano's senior living development project. Be sure to watch for the next exciting WOEDA meeting coming soon.
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"Energizing West Oahu: Powering Up a Growing Region"
7th Annual West Oahu Conference
“Energizing West Oahu: Powering UP A Growing Region” was the theme for the West Oahu Economic Development Association’s (WOEDA) 7th annual West Oahu Conference. The half-day conference provided insights on topics relevant to both West Oahu and the greater Honolulu community with featured speakers from APEC 2011, Ulupono Initiative, Hawaiian Electric Company, The Gas Company, Bank of Hawaii and the James Campbell Company. Gregg Yamanaka, CEO of the Hawaii Host Committee of APEC 2011, served as the keynote speaker and discussed the details and importance of this major conference, which will bring leaders and heads of state from all over the world to Hawaii to discuss free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Other expert speakers also talked about the progressing growth of Kapolei, renewable energy and the economy. David Rae of James Campbell Company gave an update of the growth within Kapolei. Joseph Boivin, Jr. of The Gas Company, Robbie Alm from Hawaiian Electric Company, and Robin Campaniano of the Ulupono Initiative covered the future of their companies’ sustainability efforts and Steve Rodgers from Bank of Hawaii provided a year-end review of market conditions and economic trends for the year and thoughts going forward. Stay tuned for more exciting meetings coming up in 2011!
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9th Annual WOEDA Golf Tournament
It started out as a beautiful West Oahu day at the Kapolei Golf Course on Friday, May 28th and despite the rain that rolled in later in the afternoon, 189 golfers had a great time at the 9th Annual West Oahu Economic Development Association Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Once again this year's tournament was a tremendous success because of the many generous sponsors, donors, golfers and volunteers and we were able to raise over $25,000 in net proceeds. A sincere "Mahalo" for your support and generosity.
New to the tournament this year was the raffle WOEDA held to benefit Hawaii US Vets, a non-profit organization located in West Oahu whos mission to help homeless veterans throughout Oahu. WOEDA is proud to have been able to help Hawaii US Vets raise nearly $3,000 for its great cause. Mahalo to all of you for your support.
Partnering with others who share our mission, WOEDA will continue to be a voice for job creation in West Oahu, and will engage in advocacy, education nad promotion, ensuring that West Oahu is a great place to live, work and play. WOEDA is a growing organization, and we are ceratin that as more businesses and organizations join this dynamic group, we will be able to make a significant impact on the economic expansion and appeal of this fastest growing region of Oahu.
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WOEDA members listened intently as Allan Landon, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bank of Hawaii talked about Hawaii's current economic situation and how it relates to West Oahu. With the State's economy in question due to a national subprime recklessness of practices, one bank was noted for its "boring" practices. Bank of Hawaii, Hawaii's second largest bank, is listed as the top performer on Forbes top 100 banks & thrifts in the nation due to its financial success and it was great to hear from the head of this successful Hawaii business. Prior to Mr. Landon's talk, Gregory Barbour, Administrator of the Hawaii Foreign-Trade Zone educated WOEDA members about the specially designated areas outside the US Customs territory and 14 of the sites in Hawaii including all of the James Campbell Industrial Park. Gregory shared how the FTZ provides unique cost savings for companies that use foreign made components in their manufacturing and or are looking to store foreign goods.
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WOEDA ANNUAL MEETING
Many attended WOEDA's Annual Meeting held on Friday February 26th at the JW Marriott Ihilani. WOEDA members adopted revised By-Laws, elected four new board members and outgoing WOEDA President Roy Yonaoshi (Central Pacific Bank) transitioned leadership of the organization to incoming President Jon McKenna (Haseko). A big "Mahalo" to Roy for his leadership as President of WOEDA for the past two years and "Congratulations" to Jon on his new role. After lunch WOEDA members heard from Brennon Morioka, Director of the State DOT who gave an update on the future Kalaeloa Airport project and projects that will modernize our harbors. He also discussed future highways projects as it relates to West Oahu as members listened intently on how those projects would help ease traffic woes.
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| Jon McKenna; Roy Yonaoshi |
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"Building Communities from the Inside Out"
6th Annual West Oahu Conference
More than 250 community and business leaders attended the recent West Oahu Conference, presented by the West Oahu Economic Development Association (WOEDA). Attendees received updates and learned new information on a number of topics of interest to West Oahu, such as elevated rail, continued development in the City of Kapolei, housing opportunities for native Hawaiians, new social services facilities, and video production services by West Oahu high school students. In addition, they heard from keynote speaker Lance Wilhelm of Kiewit Pacific Co., which was recently awarded the $483-million design-build contract to construct the first phase of the City’s rail transit project.
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| Lance Wilhelm, Senior Vice President and Hawaii area manager of Kiewit Building Group and Roy Yonaoshi, president of WOEDA |
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Target Market Entry Into Hawaii
Lots of folks attended this luncheon to learn why and how one of the nation's top retailers, Target, selected Hawaii to open its latest retail locations. Assests Protection Business Partner Mark Attucks, Human Resources Partner Gina Pohlabel, and John Radtke, Target Kapolei Store Team Leader enlightened attendees with a great presentation on the tools and tactics Target used to enter the Hawaii market, why Target chose to open in West Oahu, and what the company forsees in the future. The three Target Team Leaders also entertained and impressed the crowd by peforming their very own rap/dance routine.
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| Mark Attucks, Roy Yonaoshi, Gina Pohlabel, John Radtke |
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A Vision of Hollywood in West Oahu With International Movie Producer Chris Lee
Imagine the West Oahu Plain being transformed into a film production and creative media center, abounding with businesses that produce high tech computer generated special effects for movies that are being made around the world. Imagine a new film production studio and a thriving hotel and restaurant industry to support the trade. Imagine students from Makaha to Ewa and beyond being able to continue their passion for the visual arts at the UH West Oahu campus. Imagine hundreds of high paying, high quality jobs in West Oahu for those who are born and bred in Hawaii, including video game production, computer animation and digital media.
These are some of the things Chris Lee, international motion picture producer, shared with many who attended the WOEDA luncheon on July 29, 2009.
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Download Chris Lee's Speech |
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| L to R: Representative Chris Lee, Senator Will Espero, Jon McKenna, Debbie Luning, Film Producer Chris Lee, Kristi Hirota-Schmidt, Roy Yonaoshi, Todd Hedrick |
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8th Annual WOEDA Golf Tournament
It was a beautiful West Oahu day at the Kapolei Golf Course on Friday, May 29th and 210 golfers had a great time at the 8th Annual West Oahu Economic Development Association Golf Tournament Fundraiser. This year's tournament was a tremendous success because of the many generous sponsors, donors, golfers and volunteers. In spite of the soft economy, we were able to raise over $25,000 in net proceeds. A sincere "Mahalo" for your support and generosity.
Partnering with others who share our mission, WOEDA will continue to be a voice for job creation in West Oahu, and will engage in advocacy, education nad promotion, ensuring that West Oahu is a great place to live, work and play. WOEDA is a growing organization, and we are ceratin that as more businesses and organizations join this dynamic group, we will be able to make a significant impact on the economic expansion and appeal of this fastest growing region of Oahu.
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View some pics from the golf tournament. Lots of fun, great food and fantastic prizes. Hope you can join us next year!
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Ho'opili: A New Trend in Sustainable Residential Development
In the past, residential developments on Oahu focused primarily on one thing: building homes. Today, a new trend in residential development is emerging that focuses on more than just building homes, but also on creating balanced communities where key aspects of people's lives - where they live, shop, play, learn and gather with others - are fully integrated into a complete and sustainable development. Ho'opili, a 1,600-acre development on the Ewa Plain, is envisioned as such a community.
On Wednesday, 5/13 WOEDA members gathered to learn more about the Ho'opili master planned community that will include up to 11,750 housing units, commercial developments, a rail transit station, and other community uses from Dean Uchida, Vice President, Ho'opili Dr Horton Schuler Division.
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WOEDA Annual Meeting
DeBartolo Development in Hawaii
On March 11, 2009, WOEDA held its Annual WOEDA Meeting at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. Filling the room to near capacity, many business, community and government leaders attended the meeting to learn about Ka Makana Ali'i, a major regional center that includes shopping, hotels and office space.
Erin Nellis, Senior Development Office for DeBartolo Development shared about the history of DeBartolo and its commitment to communities in which they operate. Ms. Nellis also talked about DeBartolo's plans for developing the 1.5 million s.f. regional mixed use center and how it is projected to add thousands of jobs to the West Oahu region.
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5th Annual West Oahu Conference
From Vision to Reality
On December 5th, 2008, WOEDA held its Annual West Oahu Conference at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. Hundreds of business, community and government leaders attended the conference to learn more about West Oahu's rapid growth and why this region is truly the best place to live, work, play and learn.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks by WOEDA President Roy Yonaoshi and Mayor Mufi Hannemann followed by Mr. Dave Rae, Senior Vice President of Kapolei Property Development who provided an update on the economic impact of the City of Kapolei as well as information on various projects planned or under construction which would bring more jobs to West Oahu.
Attendees also learned about exciting new shopping malls such as Kapolei Commons, home to Hawaii's first Target and other big retailers and Kapolei Village a new 4-acre community shopping center anchored by Foodland. Chief Justice Ronald Moon then shared the progress being made on the new judiciary complex that will house the Family Court and Waianae District Court. Educators Dan White, Randy Moore and Gene Awakuni then talked about some of the most advanced schools on Oahu, including Island Pacific Academy, state-of-the-art DOE schools and the planned UH West Oahu.
Following a fantastic lunch, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa shared how visions for Ko Olina are being realized through projects such as the Disney Vacation Club and Resort. Then, to cap off the conference, keynote speaker Djuan Rivers, Vice President of Disney Vacation Club and Resort, Hawaii, shared his company's exciting plans for the Disney Vacation Club which broke ground in Ko Olina.
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