[ INSIDE HAWAII INC. ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
As president of one of the largest community service groups in Hawaii, Outrigger Chief Operating Officer Melvin Kaneshige wants to seek solutions to the state's drug problem.
New Rotary leader
aims to tackle iceWhat is Rotary?
Melvin Kaneshige
>>Day job: Senior vice president and chief operating officer of Outrigger Enterprises Inc.>>Community post: President of The Rotary Club of Honolulu
>>Background: Joined Rotary in 1997. Chairman of the Hawaii District Council of the Urban Land Institute, director and past chairman of the Waikiki Improvement Association, director of the Wailea Community Association and a trustee of Hawaii Youth for Christ.
>> Rotary Honolulu: The first Rotary Club in Hawaii, chartered in 1915. It has more than 400 members and is referred to as the "mother club" in Hawaii.
It's the world's oldest service club. It was founded in 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris. He was an attorney by profession and new to Chicago. In order to further his professional contacts and do good works he started meeting with other business people. It's called Rotary because they rotated meetings among their offices. Today Rotary has 1.2 million members and 30,000 clubs in 160 countries around the world. Business networking and charitable service internationally and locally are still its focus. The biggest service project of them all has been an international effort to eradicate polio. Despite doubts from the United Nations and others that the goal was achievable, they've kept after it and it looks like polio will be eradicated in two years.
What inspired you to run for president of the Honolulu Rotary club?
Being president of our club is an opportunity really to harness the manpower and the financial strength that we have to make some changes in our community.
What are your goals in office?
One of the things I'd like to do is educate our members about some of the problems in our community and to formulate strategies for solving those problems. The first is the horrific problem we have with ice. We all see it in the newspaper, but given the age, income and backgrounds of our membership, we probably don't know as much about the problem as we should. I'd like to bring in experts who can tell us what these drugs are, what effects they have, why people take them and what the long-term effects are. When you've got Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle saying more that 50 percent of the arrests in Honolulu now are drug-related, obviously that has an impact socially and economically on all of us.
Why the focus on drug issues?
It seems to me that the drug problem is the No. 1 problem in Hawaii right now. As Rotarians it is our responsibility to understand the problem, look at solutions and find out what role we can play in those solutions. Then I think we will fulfill our duty, which is to serve to our community.
Honolulu Rotary has among its membership some of Hawaii's most active business leaders. What are you hearing from them in terms of the state of the economy?
Obviously it's uneven. Maybe we wish we had a more diverse economy than we have, but we seem to be doing OK when you compare us to other states.
What has the growth in domestic visitor arrivals meant to your employer, Outrigger?
For us its terrific because the westbound market is our primary market. We're not that heavily concentrated on eastbound, although that is becoming more important to us. We're seeing repeat Japanese visitors gravitating toward our properties. They are seen as being more local and as offering value. If they can save money on a hotel room, that's more to spend on a designer handbag.
Lingle vetoed a bill that would have helped Outrigger get its Waikiki redevelopment project off and running. What is the status of that endeavor?
We continue to work on the project. The veto has caused us to re-examine some of the financing plans. So it's delayed about six months as we try to compensate for that. We'd like to sit down with the governor and understand her veto and see whether there's a bill that can be crafted that would provide tax relief and be acceptable to her.
Inside Hawaii Inc. is a conversation with a member of the Hawaii business community who has changed jobs, been elected to a board or been recognized for accomplishments. Send questions and comments to: business@starbulletin.com.
