Aloha! July 1st marked the beginning of yet another year for ACEC Hawai`i. I am excited to welcome back our returning board members and look forward to working with new Directors George Takase and Kealohi Sandefur. We extend our gratitude and are indebted to former board members Derek Mukai and Ross Kaneko for their years of service and dedication to advance our core mission of protecting the business interests of our member firms.
I am humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to lead ACECH this year. I will strive to follow in the footsteps of all our previous great leaders to advance our organization to higher planes. In the coming year, I will focus our efforts on the value of being an ACECH member by highlighting the many programs and resources available through our national organization and showcasing the great work from our many committees. The goal is to provide better access to the information and resources. Additionally, I am motivated to build stronger partnerships with the outer islands and work collaboratively to build greater involvement across our great state. Lastly, I am looking forward to build upon the strong foundation of our past president, Nimr Tamimi, to advance our work through the Workforce and Permitting ad hoc committees.
This past June, a small group of Hawai`i members made the journey to Washington DC to attend the National Spring Conference and meet with our congressional delegates. ACEC Hawai`i was given the special honor of hosting our congressional delegates at the ACEC Townhouse on Capitol Hill where we discussed some of the issues facing our industry both on the national and local level. R&D Amortization, Workforce Shortage, IIJA Implementation, and Permitting Reform were some of the challenges shared during our time.
