Aiona aims to tap energy of Maui business

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WAILEA - Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona called on members of the Maui Chamber of Commerce on Friday to help with innovative ways to stop Hawaii residents from sending $7.1 billion a year to foreign sellers of petroleum.

"We must break that dependency immediately," he told about 200 Maui businesspeople at the annual general meeting and installation luncheon at the Fairmont Kea Lani.

Also at the meeting, Carole Kooy, owner of Kilakila Employment Services, was installed as the 2008-09 chairwoman of the chamber.

Developer Everett Dowling was given the T.S. Shinn Award.

In his remarks, Aiona said,"Good business and green business are not mutually exclusive."

He reviewed the Hawaii Green Energy Initiative, which Gov. Linda Lingle announced in January. Its goal is to have Hawaii obtain at least 70 percent of its energy from renewable and local sources by 2030.

Government will do its part, Aiona said, but business must also unleash the innovative qualities of the residents of the islands to achieve the goal, he said. "You can be a national and state leader when it comes to clean energy."

He noted that Maui is already pioneering in two renewable projects.

Oceanlinx, an Australian firm, is preparing to install a 2.7 megawatt wave generator off the north shore. It will be the first commercial power plant using wave energy in the United States.

UPC Wind, which operates the Kaheawa Wind Farm, was named a test site by the National Wind Technology Center, the first one outside Colorado. Over three years, the plant will study ways to make sporadic wind electricity more reliable and easier to manage when feeding into the island's electric grid.

"Energy independence does more than free us from high energy costs," Aiona said. "It diversifies the economy, generates new business ventures, advances technological solutions and develops a skilled work force."

He called for improving education for Maui students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) areas.

He said robotics courses in both middle and high schools are a promising approach, although "of 43 schools on Maui, only seven have robotics programs."

"We must light the spark in the children."

Aiona was upbeat but slightly more wary about economic prospects than the governor was when she visited Maui a month ago.

"There are reasons to be optimistic," Aiona said, "despite the negative signals" from higher fuel prices and the troubles in the financial sector blamed on the subprime mortgage crisis.

"Here in Hawaii, we are doing OK."

The T.S. Shinn Award is the group's highest honor, given since 1980 in memory of a former chairman, to a chamber member who reflects Shinn's dedication to the Maui business community, his ideals, aloha spirit and service, said chamber President Pamela Tumpap.

Dowling came to Maui 22 years ago and founded The Dowling Cos. He was honored by the chamber in 1998 as entrepreneur of the year.

Tumpap noted that in 2001 Dowling was honored by the American Fund Raising Professionals and by the Maui Contractors Association as developer of the year.

He is a member of the board of his business alma mater, Babson College, and a former regent of the University of Hawaii.

In 2001, he founded the Dowling Cos. Foundation, which has since provided more than $3 million to local organizations.

Dowling said that when he arrived on Maui and joined the chamber in 1986, he "noticed the commitment of the business sector to the nonprofit sector."

"I don't know how it got started," he said. "Maybe it was Mr. Shinn's influence, maybe it was earlier." He said he was pleased to have been a part of it.

Besides Kooy, other officers installed Friday were Joe Bradley of Maui Publishing Co., chairman-elect; Bill Russell, immediate past chairman and current treasurer; and Tumpap, president and secretary.

Members of the new board are Kathy Borelli, Ohana Steel Buildings; Bradley; Grant Chun, A&B Properties; Thomas Cole, attorney; Randy Endo, Maui Land & Pineapple Co.; Karen Fischer, Maui Arts & Cultural Center; Paul Gammie, Gammie Homecare Inc.; Jim Kartes, Paradise Television Network; Myles Kawakami, Hawaiian Carpet One/Hawaiian Ceramic Tile; Frank Kiger, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.; Jeff Knight, Oceanic Time Warner Cable; Steven Knight, Expeditions; Melissa McCoy, McCoy Custom Travel & Cruise; Mitchell Nishimoto, First Hawaiian Bank; Ryan Ouye, Service Rentals & Supplies Inc.; Tom Reed, Aloha Recycling; Carol Reimann, Maui Hotel & Lodging Association; Patricia Rohlfing, Bank of Hawaii; Russell, American Savings Bank; Jeanne Skog, Maui Economic Development Board; Neal Shinyama, Maui Electric Co.; Jeff Strahn, Maui Dive Shop; Terryl Vencl, Maui Visitors Bureau; Kevin Yoshida, Central Pacific Bank.

* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.