West Maui Community Appreciation for Mayor Arakawa

WEST MAUI COMMUNITY GROUPS DECLARE THEIR APPRECIATION FOR MAYOR ARAKAWA 

LAHAINA:  During the January 10, 2013, West Maui Taxpayers Association (WMTA) Annual Meeting at the Lahaina Civic Center, nine West Maui community groups proclaimed their appreciation for Mayor Alan M. Arakawa’s support for and interest in West Maui activities.  After a short business meeting to install WMTA directors, WMTA President Don Lehman asked the Mayor to come forward for a special presentation.  After President Lehman read a West Maui Mid-term Appreciation Proclamation for the Mayor, nine representatives of West Maui community groups came forward to express their thanks and to present lei to the Mayor and Mrs. Arakawa.  The Mayor seemed genuinely surprised and gratified.

The groups represented were Lahaina Bypass Now!,  Lahaina Complex After School Tutoring Project, Lahaina-Honolua Senior Citizens Club,  Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Lahaina Town Action Committee, Rotary Club of Lahaina,  Soroptomists International of West Maui,  West Maui Improvement Foundation,  and the West Maui Taxpayers Association.  The Proclamation is posted to the WMTA web site at westmaui.org, and the entire WMTA Annual Meeting will be rebroadcast several times on Akaku.

The Mayor thanked all the groups for what they do to make West Maui such a unique and extraordinary community.  He explained he was especially impressed by the effort to completely remodel the Lahaina Library with no public funding.  He continued his remarks with some discussion of his agenda for the coming year.  Senator Roz Baker and House Member Angus McKelvey followed the Mayor with their legislative updates.

In the special presentations segment of the WMTA Annual Meeting, Stanford Carr of Stanford Carr Development LLC gave an update on the Kahoma Village affordable housing project; Joe Pluta , President of the West Maui Improvement Foundation, gave an update on the West Maui hospital; and Charlene Shibuya from the State Department of Transportation presented an update on the bypass and the many DOT projects in West Maui.

WMTA is very proud to be a part of the West Maui community, and to be able to serve as a conduit of information to the community and  as an advocate for West Maui.  Learn more about WMTA by visiting our web site.  We encourage anyone who wants to join the effort to promote the WMTA Goals and Objectives shown on the web site to consider joining WMTA.  See the web site for more information.  The investment is small, and will be well spent.

group presentation to the Mayor of a Proclamation of Appreciation. The photo was taken by Joe Makarewicz of MSI. Pictured are (L-R):Joe Pluta-President of the West Maui Improvement Foundation, May Fujiwara, Lahaina-Honolua Senior Citizens Club, Mrs. Arakawa, Liz May-President of the Rotary Club of Lahaina, Mayor Arakawa, Lynn Donovan-Executive Director of the Lahaina Town Action Committee, Don Lehman-President of the West Maui Taxpayers Association, Vivian Ichiki-Lahaina-Honolua Senior Citizens Club, Theo Morrison-Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Bob Pure-Lahaina Bypass Now. Pat Endsley & Richard Endsley-Lahaina Complex After School Tutoring Program, Ruth McKay-Secretary of Soroptimists International of West Maui (Photo credit: MSI Maui)