Aloha ACEC-Hawai‘i Members,
April has been an active and engaging time for our organization. I’d like to briefly reflect on a few recent highlights and share what’s ahead for ACEC-Hawai‘i.
I also want to acknowledge the recent flooding events across Hawai‘i and the impacts felt by our communities. These situations are a reminder of the important role our industry plays in planning, designing, and maintaining resilient infrastructure. Our thoughts are with those affected, and we are grateful for the many professionals who contribute to response, recovery, and long-term solutions.
Engineering Excellence Awards – POSTPONED
As we all know, our 2026 EEA has been postponed due to the recent severe weather that impact our islands. On behalf of the Board of Directors (BOD), we would like to thank our member firms for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing everyone when the new date is secured. I also would like to thank Carly Kaneko, Deanne Hayashi, Shannon Holman, and the rest of the EEA committee. They put so much effort into getting the event ready and are now being asked to put in more time and effort to get our new date set. Please keep an eye out for that announcement.
The Silent Auction has also been postponed until the new date, however there are a couple auction items that are time sensitive and the Board is determining the best way to handle these items. This does open up the opportunity, for those that really wanted to donate something to the auction but didn’t make the deadline, to add additional items to the auction!
ACECH is Preparing for DC and Needs Your Input!
Hawai‘i will be well represented in Washington DC again this year. Eleven of us will be traveling to DC, including Kealohi Sandefur (ACECH President Elect/YKE), Dayna Nemoto-Shima (ACECH Director/Pacific Geotechnical Engineers, Inc.), Scott Hayashi (ACECH Director/SSFM International, Inc.), Nimr Tamimi (ACECH National Director/Engineering Partners, Inc.), Jay Stone (ACECH PAC Champion/Bowers + Kubota), Janice Marsters (ACECH Past-President/Akalā Consulting, LLC), June Nakamura (ACECH Past-President/Kaula AE, LLC), Garret Masuda (ACECH Past-President/InSynergy Engineering, Inc.), Ginny Wright (ACECH Executive Director), Tiffany Tabbal (Manageability LLC) and myself Charles Jury (ACECH President/Okahara and Associates, Inc.). I would like to thank these individuals and their respective firms for supporting ACECH. Traveling as a large group helps to keep use relevant on the national stage.
National’s advocacy priorities, we will be discussing with our national delegates, include maintaining funding commitments that support America’s critical infrastructure. Investing in water infrastructure that deliver safe drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, to authorize new Corps of Engineers projects that support navigation and commerce, control flooding, and provide recreational opportunities, water supply, and environmental stewardship across the country. As well as permitting reform to provide an efficient, predictable environmental review and permitting process that is essential to delivering critical infrastructure projects. This month’s National Director’s Report includes a summary of the Whitehouse’s budget proposal for 2027 along with key highlights.
These topics often are the starting point of conversation with our national delegates but often they ask about issues faced by our local firms. We would love to hear from the membership about the challenges you are facing, it could be related to changes you have seen in government funding or staffing, DEI directives, SBA, etc. Please feel free to reach out to me directly at cjury@okahara.com.
Annual Meeting Rescheduled
Our ACECH Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place during the EEA ceremony and with that event being postponed, a new Annual Meeting date will be sent out to membership. This will be a virtual meeting, and we will discuss next year’s annual budget and vote on the proposed slate of officers for FY27. Please ensure at least one attendee, authorized to represent your firm, is in attendance.
April General Membership Meeting & Golf
Show your support and attend the upcoming April General Membership Meeting taking place on Maui. This event will feature a discussion on meeting Maui’s water needs presented by Kimo Landgraf (DWS Deputy Director). More details are available on our website. Strong attendance at our neighbor-island events help to support our efforts to better engage with those Counties.
AIA-ACECH-GCA Event Recap
Last month we had the opportunity to join our partners in architecture and construction for the AIA-ACECH-GCA joint event, “Rail, Reality, and Redevelopment: Iwilei/Kapalama’s Next Chapter,” held on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at The Pacific Club. ACECH described the program as a discussion focused on Honolulu’s approaching rail future and the opportunities and challenges of transit-oriented development in the Iwilei/Kapalama district. The event was moderated by Lance Wilhelm and featured Garret Matsunami of Castle & Cooke Hawaii and Serge Krivatsy of Kamehameha Schools, followed by pau hana networking.
Events like this matter because no one profession can shape Hawai‘i’s future alone. Engineers, architects, contractors, owners, developers, and community stakeholders all bring a needed perspective to the table. When those perspectives come together in an honest and thoughtful way, we all benefit. More importantly, Hawai‘i benefits.
The topic itself was timely. Redevelopment, mobility, land use, infrastructure, and community identity are all deeply connected. Having the opportunity to hear from leaders involved in such a complex, multi-landowner area is exactly the kind of conversation our industry needs more of.
Mahalo
As always, thank you to our members, committees, partners, and volunteers who continue to move this organization and our profession forward. There is a lot of good work happening across ACECH, and I am grateful to be part of it with all of you.
Mahalo,
ACEC-Hawaii President