The Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi Podcast Presented By SilverShark Media

Jason Evans from SilverShark Media talks to Nicholas Winfrey of the Maui United Way.  In this podcast Nick discusses the history of the Maui United Way, how the Maui United Way helps the Maui community, how they have adapted to the past few months to utilize their resources to help those in need, projects the Maui United Way had worked on prior to Covid-19 including financial support for displaced workers and a holiday toy drive for Maui children, their 3 year community impact grants that were recently announced, challenges that the Maui United Way and other non profits face, why it’s important for non profit organizations to work together, and their goals for the future.  

Jason Evans from SilverShark Media talks to Maggie Pulver of the Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC).  In this podcast Maggie discusses the history of Kaho’olawe, the condition of the island when it was transferred back to the state of Hawaii from the US military, how access on island is split into three different zones, how KIRC prioritizes restoration projects, how the volunteer process works to get over to Kaho’olawe, the work that volunteer groups take part in on island, what it was like dealing with a major fire in February of 2020,  how Covid-19 has impacted workflow, how to become a volunteer, how the community can donate items that can be put to use on Kaho’olawe, and the goals for KIRC in the future including building a new educational community center on Maui.

Diane Woodburn of Maui No Ka Oi Magazine is joined by GM Michael Jokovich of Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort for a follow up to their conversation in early April (Podcast Episode #3).  In this podcast Michael talks about how the decision making process for resorts has evolved since early April, how they are targeting August 1st as a new reopening date, why the mandatory 14 day arrival quarantine will determine the potential for resorts to reopen, the idea of testing visitors for Covid-19 as part of a reopening plan, how the resorts have adapted to new safety and sanitation measures for when they do open back up, the challenge for properties to open to extremely low occupancy, the affect the past 3 months have had on resorts in Hawaii, how new airline capacity restrictions will bring fewer people to Hawaii over the next year, how properties in Hawaii are studying other tourist locations that have reopened already to learn what has worked well, what the Andaz experience will be like when they do reopen, and if there are any silver linings that have surfaced during this difficult time. 

Jason Evans of SilverShark Media talks with Yvonne McClean, the community relations director at Habitat For Humanity on Maui.  In this podcast Yvonne explains the overall mission of Habitat Maui, how future homeowners are selected to receive housing, the importance of volunteers to the construction process, how the families of each homeowner help with their own projects, how progress has been slowed but not stopped in the past few months with Covid-19, ways they are shifting practices as new regulations and limitations have to be considered with their projects, their ReStore facility that accepts donations from the public and utilizes those materials for future projects, their work with the Kahoma project in Lahaina and with Hawaiian Homelands up in Kula, and how people can volunteer to help with current and future projects.  

Jason Evans of SilverShark Media talks with Kimberly & Byron Brown of Akamai Coffee.  In this podcast Kimberly & Byron talk about the inspiration behind Akamai Coffee, how it took 2.5 years to open up her first location,  how they utilized local Maui resources to help them launch,  how they managed a new business during the economic downtown in 2007-2008,  how they began to roast their own coffee that is grown on Maui, the business decisions to keep prices controlled as their product became more expensive to produce, how they have dealt with the past few months as Covid-19 had a global impact,  the importance of local businesses helping each other during these times, and how they will look to adapt as the island opens up more and more.

Diane Woodburn of Maui No Ka Oi Magazine talks with Daniel Chun - the director of sales, community, and public relations for Alaska Airlines.  In this podcast Daniel talks about growing up on Oahu, some of the factors that drew him to work with Alaska Airlines such as their diversity and support for local communities, how they've had to adapt how they stay involved with the community during the past few months, their goal to provide one million meals to families in this time of need, how Alaska Airlines has been impacted by Covid-19,  how Alaska Airlines wants to reassure that passengers can be confident in their cleaning and safety protocols, how the 14 day quarantine will determine when normal flight routes will return, the importance of evolving the future of tourism in Hawaii, and what the near-future of air travel could be like.  

Diane Woodburn of Maui No Ka Oi Magazine talks the principal partner / operator of Taverna, Chris Kaiwi.  In this podcast Chris talks about growing up on Oahu, the decision to move out of state for a little while, coming back to Hawaii to help open Chart House Kahului, what it was like opening Pineapple Grill in 2005, his transition to Taverna with Chef Roger Stettler, the inspiration for Taverna, what it has been like for his restaurant to handle the past few months, how Taverna has donated meals to the community during this challenging time, the need to be innovative as businesses slowly begin to reopen, how his childhood influences helped to mold his approach to business, and the inspiration behind the Deborah Anne Drysdale-Kaiwi Scholarship that has been presented to UH Maui College culinary students.  

With gyms and fitness centers beginning to reopen in June on Maui, Jason Evans of SilverShark Media talks with Beth Ross of Anytime Fitness Lahaina.  In this podcast Beth explains how she and her husband Kalani got the inspiration to open a fitness center in West Maui, the challenges they went through in finding a location, how word of mouth helped build their client base early on, what it was like being forced to temporarily close their business in March, how they already tried to be proactive with cleanliness & sanitation in their facility, ensuring their members would not be charged while they were shutdown, how they wrote letters to the Mayor to provide information on how they could safely reopen, the excitement of hearing that gyms may be allowed to open sooner than originally expected, how they will adapt to new regulations and standards going forward, and why community outreach has been such a large priority for them especially during these challenging times.  

Jason Evans of SilverShark Media talks about the past, present, and future of Trilogy Excursions with LiAnne Coon (Director of Sales & Marketing) and what it's like to run a destination management company in 2020 with Frank Robinson of Island Events. In this podcast LiAnne shares how Trilogy began over 45 years ago with a boat that took sail from Alaska, how her father and uncle created a unique partnership with the kupuna of Lanai, how the fleet expanded from the 1 original boat to the 7 vessels today, the dynamics of working within a family business, the challenges of removing emotions from business decisions over the years, how Trilogy ownership was passed down to the next generation at the end of 2019, how the new family ownership has handled the Covid-19 situation, the challenges they're dealing with while they wait for permission to reopen, how Trilogy has made a huge impact in cleaning Maui beaches and waters with their Blue Aina campaign, why it's important for their company to be involved in community efforts, and what the goals are for the future of Trilogy Excursions.  Jason also speaks with Frank Robinson (27:14) on how he created Island Events, why he moved to Hawaii over 20 years ago, what a destination management company (DMC) does, why he wanted to create his own company, how he overcame the fear of starting a new business, how DMC's work together with dozens of other businesses on Maui, how he handled the initial impact of Covid-19 where corporate groups had to immediate cancel trips that had been set up over a year in advance, the impact those cancelled groups will have on the Maui economy, what the future of event planning and corporate travel might look like, and how he's trying to sort out creative ways to navigate solutions for companies that travel with larger groups.