 Bingo. We're live. We're here. We're Think Tech Hawaii. We're doing Aloha United. We stand. I'm Jay Fidel. I got two beautiful women with me here today. What a treat. We have Kelly Hain. Yes, that's spelled H-O-E-N. Absolutely. Dutch, isn't it? I'm not sure actually. Forget DNA, Testia. And she is, this is an honor. She's the general manager of modern Hawaii, modern Honolulu. Hotel in Waikiki, which is a very nice hotel. Thank you. Thank you. And we have from Aloha United Way. We have Emily Mendez Bryant, and she is the vice president of Fundraising and major gifts. Hi Emily. Hi. Nice to have you back. Thank you. So you guys have you kicking off now. You got a big project going. It's a big fundraising thing. It's got multiple parts. We're going to talk about one of the parts today, namely the Hotel Lodging and Tourism Association and all the hotels in Waikiki, really. But you have some talking points. Sure. So what I thought I would do is I'm going to give you as much time as you want to reveal your talking points. This is so awesome. On one condition. Give me your notes. You're so good. No. It's a test, right? Go for it. Yeah, it's a test. Thank you. Yeah, I got it already. I haven't even begun yet. Well, thanks so much for having us here and you know, I just love being here with you, Jay. So join the movement. That's our campaign theme for this year. And it really emphasizes how anyone in our community can join in this effort of just fundraising and contributing to the community, whether it's donations or also volunteering. So definitely, you know, join our movement. We have a kickoff this Friday, which is August 26 from 6 o'clock to 9 a.m. Bright and early in the morning. So I'll expect you to be there. It's just in Tamron Park. I'm going to surprise you. Yeah, I'm going to pitch that. So you can be there with us. You know, we'll be signwaving this year alone. We've seen an increase of participation. So we will have at least 500 plus people there. And that are people, those will include people who are employees of workplace campaigns that are running fundraisers right now or nonprofits that have received funding through us. So we're really excited. You know, Dustin Sellers is this year's campaign chair. So it's a big effort. And we definitely want to see and emphasize that we can't do it alone. And we invite the whole entire community, the public to come and join us and really make a difference in our community long term. Yeah. You know, I've been doing this show with Aloha United Way, Aloha United We Stand, we call it, for almost a couple of years now. And I must say, I know a lot about the charities you support. And I know a lot about the way you work inside. And I'm very impressed. I think you're a bastion of our society here in Hawaii. You're a great job. And you're making people come together. All sides of the disparity, so to speak. Exactly. Very kind of you. And I feel like you work. I love it. I could tell you. I know. It's my passion. It's great. So how does it fit now with the hotel, lodging and travel association? How does it fit? Do you want me to answer that? Yeah. Sure. Go for it. We're just super excited because we obviously know that the Hawaii Lodging Tourism Association, HLTA, is a huge association in our community. And also, I mean, it comprises of over 700 members. And there are... Members include hotels. Yes. And all kinds of businesses. Mm-hmm. Different organizations and companies fall under that umbrella. So we're really excited this year because we're partnering up with them in regards to this whole new endeavor of lodging what we call the HLTA AUW Fall Campaign. But I'll have Kelly talk about that more. Okay. You want to host the show? Yes. I'm so excited. Oh, I'm sorry. I know. It's fantastic. So Kelly, what is your role now with the...that is the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association? Yes. And actually, your partnership, so to speak, with the whole United Way. Well, I really feel honored to be the co-chair of this year's and the first time that we've really had this concerted effort. Mufi Hanaman, who's our CEO of Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, HLTA, looked at me and he said, Kelly, you know, we think perhaps you could be a good chairperson. And I said, I really need some help. And so Terry Orton, our general manager of the Hawaii Convention Center is my co-chair and she's dynamic, amazing. And we've had a lot of fun this year in really bringing back that spirit of Aloha United Way as our fall anchor fundraising effort in Waikiki and in the state of Hawaii. I'm fortunate enough to grow up here in Hawaii, fourth generation, and my dad was on the board of Aloha United Way. So I do remember as a kid, it was what we did. You know, it was who we were. And so growing up, it was definitely a part of kind of my DNA, if you will. So it was fun to be able to be the chairperson and co-chair this year to bring the hotels together. And we're excited because we have our first ever kickoff. And that's next week on the 30th in Waikiki at the Royal Hawaiian Center. Which, you know, is the heart of Waikiki. So we're going to have a really incredibly fun event as hospitality hoteliers do. It's at four o'clock on August 30th. We're going to have live entertainment. We have prizes, of course. And the Royal Hawaiian Center has created such a great venue for us in the Royal Grove, which is in that center. Live auction items, live music with star Kalehiki, who is a phenomenal entertainer. So we have a lot of fun that's going to happen next week. So you're the general manager of an operating hotel in Waikiki. That's a pretty heavy job. It's an important job. You make the economy run for us. You are the engine of our economy. How do you have the time for this? Can I clarify one of your statements, though? I would like to say that the team members at the modern really make it happen. And I'm really honored and blessed to be the leader there. I've been so fortunate to be in hospitality all of my career. As a matter of fact, I actually started at the Ilikai, which is, yeah, a few years ago at the front desk. Not asking how many. No, but it's so fun because the modern Honolulu is that cool, hip, sexy hotel that was part of the Ilikai at one time. So I feel like it's full circle. But where do I find the time? It is a passion of mine, actually, community. And it really is so important because what we do, certainly in the visitor industry, is all of our team members, all of our associates, all of our employees are the community. And when we see some, like, Aloha United Way, so many of our team members, our employees, associates need the services of Aloha United Way. And it's just incredible, you know, the 360 kind of opportunity that I know I have as a leader here in Waikiki to be able to be a part of it. You know, just so I know you a little better. Sure. So you're part of a Kamayana family. Yes. And you started in hotels in Waikiki in the Ilikai. Yes. But then you went on the circuit, I take it. You went to the mainland for a period of time? A very short period of time, just one year. All of my career has been here in Hawaii. So you fully understand how Waikiki works then? I was on Kaua'i also. I was also on Hawaii Island. So here in the Hawaiian Islands, I've been just really, really, really fortunate to be in amazing places. Now you were telling me before we began about, you know, how things had kind of deteriorated in terms of the connection of the hotels and the staffs of the hotels with charitable giving through Aloha United Way. What happened? Why did it happen? And it sounded like a conscious decision to come back to the way it was before. Sure. Sure. Well, you know, what I believe happened and when we looked at the data in terms of fundraising and contributions to Aloha United Way over the past 20 years, the hotels were a real strong contributor. They continued to contribute to nonprofits and not through Aloha United Way. And so many still do, like Starwood in Hawaii is one of the major contributors to Aloha United Way and that has never wavered. And that's Kyo'i Hotels, the ownership group there, phenomenal contributors. We've kept that as their anchor. Many other hotels and hotel companies have. But over the years, they went directly to a nonprofit. And so as a team, we met actually with Aloha United Way last year to help us with a couple of things. As you know, every year, Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association has the charity walk in May, which is a statewide fundraising effort. And so we needed some help. And so Aloha United Way has helped us with, quote, unquote, the back end of charity walk with the technical side, the vetting of nonprofits, the organizational side. Yes. So that we determined last year would be our partnership for 2016. And we would really start this emphasis of bringing the hotels back to Aloha United Way again. So that's kind of how it has evolved. That's a great thing. Yeah, it's fun. So I remember when I was in the military, we had the combined federal campaign, which was part of Aloha United Way. And the big question was, how do you approach your staff? And do you arm twist them or you do voluntarily? How do you engage them, motivate them? You are talking as a real manager, as a leader manager. Sure. And I'm really wondering how you put that into your leadership package. Sure, sure. I have two stories to tell. I hope it's OK. I was fortunate enough to be the general manager of the Royal Hawaiian before I came over to the modern Honolulu. And as I just described, Kyoya hotels and Starwood hotels, it is part and parcel of their efforts. And so from that perspective, the associates in those hotels are used to it. They're very familiar with the campaigns. So it was a really, I'm not going to say it was an easy effort as a general manager, but it was one that was already, the culture was already there. Coming to the modern Honolulu, it was new to our team. And it was new for them to know what is Aloha United Way and what does that mean. So how we've approached it is educating our team members through a variety of different all team member meetings, communication, and getting them to understand who benefits. And I'm really fortunate because our team, we have a really youthful team at the modern Honolulu. And they're energetic and they want to participate and they want to volunteer. Maybe you want to stay over at the hotel. Yes, I'll tell you, it's pretty awesome. Not pretty awesome, it's really awesome. But the team members not only want to give of their own money, their personal money, they want to give their time. And so connecting them to the actual nonprofits that are benefiting. So we actually bring in several of the different nonprofit organizations to do talks with our team, meet with our team, and then our team does outreach to a variety of different nonprofits. So they can understand what's happening. Connect the dots. It's not just filling out a form. It doesn't work if that's what it is. Yes. They don't want to participate. When we come back from this break, we're going to turn to you, Emily. We're going to ask you how you do this. I mean, what is your half of the partnership? What are your activities? What are your burdens during the course of the campaign? Okay. I want to know everything. I'll be taking notes. We'll be right back. You'll see. Hi, I'm Steven Phillip Katz. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist here in Hawaii. And I'm the host of Shrink Rap, Hawaii, which is on Tuesdays at three o'clock. Have a great summit. Take care of your mental health. Aloha, everyone. I'm Maria Mera, and I'm here to invite you to my bilingual show, Viva Hawaii, every other Monday at 3 p.m. We are here to show you news, issues, and events local and around the world. Join me. Hi, I'm Kili Akina, president of the Grass Root Institute. I'd love you to join us every week, Mondays at 2 o'clock p.m. for Ehana Kako. Let's work together. We report every week on the good things going on in our state, as well as the better things that can go on in the future. We have guests covering everything from the economy, the government, and society. See you Mondays on Ehana Kako at 2 o'clock p.m. Until then, I'm Kili Akina. Aloha. We're back. We're live. We have Emily Mendes Bryant from Aloha, United Way and Kelly Hain from the modern Honolulu Hotel. And they're working on this great project, this great event, this fundraising thing. It's a return to other times, maybe in some ways. And what I get in the universe of our discussion, what I get is, you guys are in a partnership. You have sort of a tiger by the tail in Kelly because she's so active and so excited and so committed to her co-chairmanship, co-chairpersonship. So this is a fabulous opportunity. This is what makes Aloha, United Way great because you guys collaborate all over town. You blank at the community and it works because everybody knows you're there and they have great trust and confidence by the community. So I'm just curious, and I will be taking notes about exactly how you conduct this kind of campaign, what kind of work you have to do, how you support Kelly, how she works with you. What is it like day to day? That's a great question. I think one of the things that I'd like to preface is that there's over 1,300 companies that do workplace campaigns. And so the breadth of just this general campaign that we're going into is very deep and definitely foundational for the community here in Hawaii. So we're very proud of that. And from the 1,300 plus companies, we have 50,000 donors that are supportive of our mission and what we're doing. And so just creating value into the community and letting them know how they can give back in that way. So we have these three community impact areas, includes education, poverty prevention and safety net. And so for us... Can you define them for me? Yeah. Go into it, like every single one. Yeah. You want me to? Okay. So one of the things about the community impact areas is that our purpose is to help identify and solve Hawaii's most critical issues. Now, as you can tell, that is a daunting task. And of course we have people like in the HLTA organization that are helping us. And also just overall in the community that are able to understand that there's certain issues that are at the forefront, including homelessness. But you're evaluating the priorities. Correct. Exactly. You're actually studying what's important and I think that's one of the great contributions you make. Exactly. To make that analysis. Right. If not you, who then? Who can do it. Right. So for education we have found that it is super important to ensure that our keiki are ready for whether it's kindergarten or just graduating from high school. So that's one of our focus areas. When it comes to poverty prevention, of course homelessness comes into the forefront for us. And we received a state grant for five million dollars that we're facilitating right now and distributing to the community and helping people... Maybe 50. Okay. If you guys will watch it. 50. And I could be wrong. Maybe I should be saying 100. You're right. You're part of our team, our fundraising team. Right. Thank you for that. And then of course safety net which is basically ensuring that people have their basic needs. We have this 2-1-1 resource. It's a call center and if people need help they can call 2-1-1 just like 4-1-1-9-1-1. And we have a call center at Aloha United Way and we can provide that information whether it's a food pantry if they need food, if they need assistance with rental or housing. We can provide that information. It's offering a comfort to people they would not otherwise have. Right. And when you talk about how do we even get this started is really creating awareness not only within the companies but individuals and in the public. Just being on the show and letting people know what we do and how we can help them make a difference in our neighborhood. Well, it's like engaging your staff at the hotel. You gauge the community. Right. You're making people aware but more than that you're making them come in. You know, come in out of the cold. Let's do this together. Yep. Which is a really noble thing to do. And we have to help you. We all have to. Not only the hotels, everybody. And one thing I did want to mention is that we have there's a new endeavor that we have and I know Kelly talked about, you know, having a young energetic group of employees. We also are looking and trying to strategize the millennial and we've talked about this in previous shows. I am a millennial. So am I. Yes, you're not. Yes. So that whole demographic age range we I like to call them young professionals as well is that they also would like to contribute, whether it's monetary or, you know, their time. And so one of the things that we are doing within Dustin Sellers our campaign chairs leadership is to have a campaign committee. This is brand new for us. We're super excited about it. So they comprise of 10 individuals and they have workplace campaigns or they help us with our mission through a low high way. And they're also engaged and trying to not only engage the young professionals within their own workplace, but also trying to help us get new people understanding what we do and want to join the movement. So we're I mean there's a lot of momentum happening with a little bit. Good. I know that I see you. You mean every all of you every week. Right. I meet all your beneficiaries. Exactly. Yeah. So what are your metrics on this? What would make you really happy, Kelly? Wow. I'll ask you the same question. Well, it's interesting you say that because, you know, Emily and the United Way team said, what's the goal? And I'm a very goal driven person and I was a little nervous to put a goal out there because this is our first year. So I don't have a number. I have one in my. I understand completely. But I don't. Would you really rather not reveal it? I'd rather not reveal it because it's personal. And I know I just know it's going to be extraordinary. I can already we have so many hotels that have a committed that didn't run campaigns last year. And it's just it's I've been so proud and so pleased to see everybody really rallying around this. That's great that you have this response from HLTA. Yes. You know, but there's there's considerations here. But for example, we you you put us in touch with the Y Community Association a month or two ago. And I really love that organization, by the way. It's fabulous. And the idea there is that the hotels would support that. I assume they are because it helps to keep the lid on Waikiki. It helps to keep Waikiki from falling into, you know, trouble. It's the same thing here. I mean, so the hotels do have a kind of vested interest in building the franchise in building a relationship with the community. Absolutely. The hotels cannot exist without the community. That's right. And frankly, from an economic point of view, the community can't exist without the hotels. There has to be a relationship and you want to see it touching. You want to see the two parts touching. You guys are touching. Right. Right. So and so you have a vested interest. That's right. You have a vested interest. This could be maybe it is a big part of your of your fundraising right here. Right here. It's stable. Absolutely. That's what we're hoping. Definitely. Yeah, we know that. I wish you would ask you the same question. Right. Okay. What's your answer? The question. What is your goal secret or otherwise? Right. So I mean, I like how Kelly answered it. So I do want to mention Cindy Adams, our president and CEO and of course her leadership. And she definitely, if she was to be here today, she would also talk about participation. That's really, I mean, we encourage a hundred percent participation, but we also want to ensure that people realize this is all voluntary. We know that everyone has different situations, different dynamics. And so we're just super fortunate to live here in Hawaii and those who are able to work to be able to thrive in this community and if they can to get back. We really emphasize participation, whatever level that means to them, whether it's donations, monetary, or just giving back with their time and helping out. They could do many events. Physically. Yeah, physically. That's part of what you do, isn't it? Exactly. Volunteer opportunities. All of that, just every single change or action contributes to the bottom line. So I mean, it would be nice to say, okay, we want this number. Of course we do. But at the same time, I like what you said, 50 to 100. That's a good range. Yeah. But we want to also talk about just joining, you know, just do it. And especially for the first time, if not, just continue to do it every year. It's connection. It's community. It's together. And make it important. Yeah. Exactly. So one of the things is, and this goes to our conversation before we started, is that sometimes you find people want to designate a particular charity. Right. Now you're entering a big campaign and, you know, you always, you always offer that possibility to contributors. But what would you say to them? I mean, do you want to encourage them? Or do you want to encourage them to, you know, not designate and have it across the board and let Aloha United Way decide who the ultimate beneficiaries are? So we're their vehicle. We want to ensure that whatever they want to do, we can execute. So there's three different ways when I look at it for them to participate. And one of them, like you had mentioned, is giving back through those agencies. So right now under Aloha United Way, we have over 300 partner agencies. So those are the nonprofits that can respond. That's really true. Last time I counted. 300. You're so good. Yeah. Okay. And so, you know, there's a vetting process and ensuring that any agency that falls under Aloha United Way, that they're physically responsible and their results oriented and that we ensure that the monies are spent the way they are supposed to be spent. Right. We trust you for that. Exactly. That's the value, right? Talking about the history, at least in recent years, of the hotel industry and the staffing and the hotel industry and the charitable giving from the hotel staffs have been directed to certain specific charities. Right, right. And, you know, the problem there, I mean, I do see a problem there, is that you don't have somebody who's making the priorities. Right. It's like who walks in the door and who pitches you a particular charity. Right. Or your corporate office in, you know, somewhere saying this is the one you're going to do. It may not necessarily be as impactful in Hawaii. Exactly. Right, right, right. So you need priority. Yeah. But the question is, you have people on your staffs who have given to the XYZ charity for some period of time. Right, right. And, you know, they may be wedded in some way to that charity as a, you know, nature historical reaction. What do you say to them? Well, actually that is the beauty and the benefit of Aloha United Way. Now, when I was doing presentations to a lot of our general managers on our board, it was, you know, you may be giving to this one organization. And every single one I did a study was a part of Aloha United Way already. Sure. And so they can designate if they want. And they can say, you know, this is going to be the charity we're going to continue to support. And as individual employees, you do have a choice. You can do the one that we're saying we really want to support. And you can also designate your own if you want to. And that's what I believe has been the impetus to get back on track with Aloha United Way. Because the designation piece is a much, much more fluid and much more dynamic and easier to understand today than it was before. Right. So that's why I believe. Instead of having just one charity. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, now we've come to the end of our show. But I want to, I want to offer you, Emily, the opportunity to speak to the people about your startup tomorrow. So there's camera one. So engage them. Make them, make them participate. Okay, with the red light. Where's the red light? I know there's a red light. There's a red light. See, talk to the red light. Oh, this red light right there. Yeah. So join us tomorrow, Friday, August 26th. We're super excited because tomorrow we are going to be kicking off the general campaign for Aloha United Way. Come join 500 plus other people who are going to be signwaving and just having so much fun and just really contributing back to the community and realizing that what we are doing here at Aloha United Way is making a long-term difference. So there you go. Please join me. Kelly will be there. Jay will be there. So you definitely would like to go. You should go. Awesome. Thank you Emily. Thank you Kelly. Thank you. You guys are truly leaders in the community. Thank you so much.