[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]NOVEMBER 2020 HRA Executive Director Message
With Thanksgiving a week away, I would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to everyone that supported the Hawaii Restaurant Association & our foodservice industry this past year.
First, a big Mahalo to the people that made the Hawaii Restaurant Card possible. Governor David Ige, Chair Sylvia Luke and Kurt Osaki who presented his idea to Sherry Menor-McNamara from the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii. Gwen Yamamoto Lau, Executive Director, Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority & John Ward, American Savings Bank. The $500 restaurant card is supporting the foodservice industry by allowing us to bring back our employees & resume purchasing from our suppliers. Revenue is now pouring back into the food service economy.
We are also thankful for the various campaigns and donations companies have contributed to the foodservice industry.
Angels by the Sea Hawaii has aided many restaurants across the islands with their donation of 30,000 Reusable Face Masks on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Kona, and Hilo. Having these masks are helping local restaurants keep their PPE expenses down.
There are also other donation campaigns we can look forward to. The Star Advertiser selected our unemployed restaurant employees to receive an Aloha Harvest / Y Hata Food Box. We will be providing 300 boxes of food to our restaurant employees. The event will be on Sunday, December 6th @ 10:00 a.m. The distribution site will be Chef Zone. You must pre-register and we are looking for volunteers. The registration links will be coming soon!
Many of our projects would not have been possible without the help of our volunteers. We appreciate the time and effort volunteers contribute to our projects such as the Hawaii Dining Out Directory, our face mask distribution & the upcoming Aloha Harvest event.
A special thanks to Speaker Scott Saiki & Bank of Hawaii CEO and President Peter Ho who have been leading the State House of Representatives Select Committee on COVID-19 since March 11, 2020 and have tirelessly dedicated their focus on rebooting Hawaii’s economy. Their efforts are aiding our food service industry struggling from closures, unemployment, and lack of customer traffic.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention your hard working HRA Executive Committee & Board of Directors. This is our largest group of volunteers who carve out hours from their business schedules to jump on numerous media calls, reply to a huge volume of emails and the weekly Zoom and conference calls. If you are interested in making an impact in our industry, submit your name to join our Board of Directors. email : info@hawaiirestaurant.org
There are many many more heroes that I have not mentioned. If I didn’t mention you, I am so sorry, there are so many of you and I give you my heartfelt thank you for your support.
It’s important to recognize and appreciate the many groups and individuals who help us get through the turbulent climate in which we currently find ourselves. I hope our expression of gratitude for their time and effort reaches them this holiday season.
May you & your loved ones continue to be safe and healthy![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”20410″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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