Humble start for
Hawaii’s tourism czarMarsha Wienert sets up shop
in a cubicle, with a computer
but no printer
A cubicle in an unused section of the downtown Hemmeter Building. A "fully furnished apartment" with a bed, a couch, a TV, and nothing else.
Such quarters don't seem fitting for the state's first-ever tourism czar, a Cabinet position that pays $85,000 and carries heavy responsibilities.
For Maui's Marsha Wienert, it's part of a life of chaotic events.
"Everybody keeps telling me I need to write a book," said Wienert, who started her new job this week.
Wienert had been executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau since 1994, and she is being succeeded by Terryl Vencl, formerly of the Maui Hotel Association. Directors of the Maui bureau chipped in to give Wienert a huge going-away party last week at the Makena Golf Courses, south of Wailea.
The menu included prime rib and a sushi bar, provided by Maui hotels.
From such a nice send-off, Wienert arrived to her new state job to find a simple office desk, surrounded by divider walls, and no printer for the computer.
Wienert said the cubicle is a temporary workplace, and she expects to have an office when she returns from a trip to Japan with Gov. Linda Lingle and others. Wienert leaves Saturday for that trip.
Wienert's Honolulu apartment is also temporary. She rented the downtown apartment sight unseen, then learned that "fully furnished" means anything but. "We still don't have silverware," Wienert said. "I've never spent so much money in such a short period in my life."
Wienert is buying a downtown condominium, and she hopes to close the purchase by the end of this month. Wienert said she wants to be close to the state Capitol and her nearby office, because she expects to work long hours.
Wienert has always been a hard worker, said David Gleason, a former board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and general manager of The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course. "She stays as long as it takes and gets it done," he said.
The Maui bureau needs two people to replace Wienert, partly because Wienert and Vencl worked as a tag team: Wienert handled the marketing work; Vencl handled government relations, Wienert said. The Maui Visitors Bureau is seeking a marketing director, a position it has not had before.
As Lingle's tourism czar, Wienert will have major roles, such as getting more flights to the islands and building an agenda for Lingle at the state Legislature.
Wienert also faces the untimely release of a critical state audit of her former employer, the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau.
Lingle said at a Tuesday press conference there is a "high probability" that the HVCB will lose part of its state tourism marketing contract, which expires at the end of the year and is up for bid.
The Maui Visitors Bureau is an island chapter of the HVCB. The audit said the HVCB spent state funds for self-serving purposes. "Some of it was a surprise to all of us," Wienert said, noting that the island chapters work independently of the Hawaii visitors bureau. The Maui bureau gets most of its funding from Maui county and membership dues.
Officials of the Hawaii visitors bureau plan to address the audit at a public hearing July 16. Wienert said, "I'm sure there's answers to everything."
For example, the audit had criticized the Kauai Visitors Bureau, another island chapter, for spending $100 for less than a pound of coffee for office use. Wienert said it was one case of coffee, not one pound, and the vendor who sold the coffee just didn't make that clear on the invoice.
The audit noted that the Kauai visitors bureau had few instances of questionable expenses, and that the organization appeared to monitor expenses fairly well. The Maui bureau was not covered in the audit.