downtown mattersdowntownhilo.com/wp-content/uploads/hilo_dia_newsletter... · 2015. 9. 19. ·...

Downtown MattersDIA • Hilo Downtown Improvement Association • www.downtownhilo.com • NEWSLETTER, WINTER 2015

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Th e Hilo Downtown Improvement Association (DIA) is the only collaborative voice representing the interests of our downtown. Formed in the aft ermath of the 1960 tsunami to help steer restoration eff orts, DIA is now 50+ years strong. DIA’s vision: to preserve and revitalize our historic waterfront district for all who visit, work, live, and shop in downtown Hilo. DIA is staff ed by a 12-person volunteer Board of Direc-tors. Our work is funded by membership dues, grants and

special events. DIA has six committees working to address diff erent projects in our downtown: Beautifi cation, Events,

Membership, Marketing, Planning and Gov’t Aff airs and Safety.

Want to get involved? Have talent you can share or a particular area of interest? Our com-mittees would love to have your involvement! Visit www.downtownhilo.com and click on

Contact Us to see what’s happening. Join a committee or sit in on a meeting. Your participation is warmly welcomed!

What is the Uptown of Downtown? As I sit and ask myself the proverbial question, “Where has the time gone?” I will digress and share some of the high-lights of my term as DIA President this past year. Th e experi-ence of leading this 53 year old organization has been a great opportunity to see what we are doing, what we are not doing, and how we as an organization remain relevant to our com-munity. Th e possibilities for how we may revitalize and improve downtown are never ending. Ultimately we as an organiza-tion have reinvented our mission.

Th e last 12 months have been busy with the fulfi llment of an AmeriCorps grant and pursuing two new grants from the County of Hawaii.

We are thrilled to announce that DIA received the fi rst of these grants from Research and Devel-opment. It is titled the “ExperienceAloha Marketing Campaign.” Th e launch of a new social media cam-paign, website development, and arebranding initiative with Sig Zane and company are now the new

components that will drive the DIA this year. Th e second grant is still pending and, if received, will provide funds to allow DIA to create four legacy events for downtown. In the meantime, the World Peace Festival, Black and White Night, First Friday’s, and projects like Benjamin Moore’s Main Street Matters award, are still a large part of our mission in partnership with our business community.

Patience, persistence, and positive energy have been a constant for all of us and our commitment to downtown remains strong. Our Board of Directors has led this charge in the spirit of volunteerism and team work with all of our member-partners. Th e local business community, the Re-search and Development arm of the County of Hawaii, and a generous and committed list of Founding Partners have helped make this a reality. It truly has been an honor and great experience serving the Downtown community this past year. I recently came across an African proverb that says it well: “If you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to farther, go together.

Mahalo and Aloha...Steven Markham

Painted and Pretty Proud! Our historic bayfront is looking GOOD! Benjamin Moore’s Main Street Matters project brought a fresh coat of paint to the fi rst story of over 40 busi-nesses last January. But the beauti-fi cation didn’t stop there... HPM of-fered paint deals and color schemes as incentives and about a half dozen property owners have taken the lead and painter their upper stories too. Hilo has never looked more beauti-ful and our pride-of-place is busting out all over town! To each person that paints, fi xes, cleans, picks up trash, or tends a fl ower box – Mahalo and aloha for your kokua. What an amazing collective diff erence we have made!

President’s Message


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Committee Reports, 2014Planning and Government Affairs has found a beautiful new meeting space, upstairs at the Mokupapapa Dis-covery Center. Our lively group of concerned DIA member businesses, property owners, residents, and county officials meets at 5:30pm the third Thursday of every second month. County Councilman Aaron Chung joins us on occasion. We tackle issues and ideas big and small. For 2014 much of the discussion centered around: a left turn for north-bound traffic into Hilo from the Bayfront Highway and a cross-walk at Waianuenue to access the beach, lighting up downtown Hilo, bike lanes into downtown, rear-angled park-ing, better drainage in downtown, signage, and garbage cans where people need them. We are working to get better mapping of all the ex-isting public parking lots downtown – there are more than you probably realize. We are thinking out-of-the box to create more parking. We are advocating for a bus that goes in a loop, connecting downtown Hilo to UH Hilo, the airport, and the port. We have asked Public Works to hold off on repaving Keawe Street and Waianuenue Avenue until the Kamehame-ha Street construction project has been completed. It appears that they will be responsive to that request--though we have yet to get the answer officially. We are excited to have some input with the new urban planning team that has just been hired by the County Planning Department to improve some mobility and parking issues in downtown. We spear-headed a Campaign Forum for the District 2 County Council Seat at the Hawaii Museum of Contempo-rary Art last July. We are working hard to bring new lighting to downtown Hilo streets and parks, and will work with the DIA Events Committee to Light Up Hilo for First Friday, De-cember 4th, 2015! If you have ideas for making our downtown more in-viting and easier to move around in; if you like being connect-ed to people that make decisions in this town... and if you are a good listener that plays well with others, then this is the DIA Committee that will make you feel empowered. Join DIA to-day--if you haven’t already, and give me a call at 808 960-8826 so I can reserve your spot at the PandGA table. Mahalo, Christine Mingo

DIA Membership Committee We entered 2014 with 88 paying members, and ended the year with 122. We’re asked a lot what membership dues pay for. Dues monies go into our general fun, our only operating capital outside of grants and donations. From this fund we pay a nominal fee for shared office space, insurance, phone ser-vice, a part-time bookkeeper, tax accountant, our PO Box, membership related printing and mailing costs, and un-sponsored events like our Annual Membership Meeting, town halls, candidate forums, etc. At present revenues are about $10,00 per year, without which DIA could not exist. Mahalo to our members!! For more info email chairper-son Leslie Sears at [email protected]. To become a member of DIA, visit www.downtownhilo.com

DIA Public Safety Committee meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Do you have safety concerns or ideas? Call Sita Gonzales at 217-3793 for the next meeting. A recent project has been working with property owners to make more parking available in town. Now available: pub-lic parking on lower level of the Ben Franklin’s parking lot, and on Ponahawai by the Salvation Army.

Events Committee 2014 events included First Fri-days, Chinese New Year Festival, Pride Festival, Free Hair-cuts and Vision Screening for Keiki, Experience Aloha Workshop, and our signature event, Black & White Night. Events are self-supporting, monies raised through events go into the fund for future events. DIA is currently seeking a county grant to allow us to develop several legacy events that would become self sustaining in future years. While still in the works, being considered are: a Celebration of Hula, a Farm-to-Table event featuring all local products, Black & White Night, and a Holiday Lights event. Details will be announced soon! If you’d like to volunteer with the Events Committee, please email [email protected] and we’ll let you know about the next meeting.

Marketing Committee Read all about our rebrand-ing and marketing project for downtown Hilo! Want to join in? Chaired by Bruce Omori, we meet the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 6 pm at Cronies. Email us at [email protected]


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Black & White Night, a “HUGE HIT”!A letter written the next morning by board member Kanani Aton to the rest of the DIA board...“Last night was amazing!!! what a huge hit! awesome work all of you. So proud of you for fulfilling the vision with perseverance and keeping your eyes on the prize. And Hilo loves you for it! So happy that from what I was able to ob-serve, people were out to enjoy themselves, have fun, and spend/make money! Some highlights for me: The perfect

timing of the add-ed ambiance of the yellow moon rising with all of the excitement, Dragon Mama’s Japanese kara-oke singer’s lyrics sheets in kanji...KTA bbq aromas drifting on coun-try music while patrons indulged their taste buds and ears, how juxtaposed I felt watch the rockin ‘awa crowd! One

Gallery blues band with patrons dancing in the store, the door greeter at the candy store dressed in formal attire, Ka-pohoKine Adventures’ band was off the chain! The sweet young girl selling her handmade jewelry on a small table outside the surf store, Clark Little autographing calen-dars and inspiring my daughter!! Oh, and the college boys mooning each other much to her surprise! The Michael Jackson song playing at the Palace in the lull between sets as the room was prepared for the Ball...i forgot how much I love his music...and seeing all of you. There was so much more and not enough time to articulate, but I’ll close with this: as I was leaving the Pal-ace at midnight, a very young college couple stopped and asked if I knew who put on the event, and after hearing of our Board, the boyfriend said, “awesome! please tell them mahalo for a great event, aloha...”

Founding Partner ProgramWe can’t do it without YOU! It’s not too late to be a Founding Partner. Sign up before our new website is launched and you’re part of an exclusive group.

FOUNDING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP BENEFITSFounding Partner donations of $1,000:•Free first year of DIA membership (existing members will re-ceive a one year extension of their membership)•Premium advertising space on the DIA website for 1 year•Social media promotions/engagement on DIA pages for 1 yr•Permanent acknowledgment of being a founding partner Alii Founding Partner donations of $2,500:•Free first year of DIA membership (existing members will re-ceive a one year extension of their membership)•Premium advertising space on the DIA website for 1 years•Social media promotions/engagement on DIA pages for 2 yrs•Permanent acknowledgment of being an founding partner •Discounted premium advertising space at a rate of 50% off for as long as your business is a paying DIA memberFounding Partner/Major Event Sponsor donations of $5,000:•Full benefits of $2500 Founding Partner sponsorship plus rec-ognition as a Major Event Sponsor, including:•Additional advertising and promotional cover on the DIA website. Plans are being crafted now that will include guaran-teed advertising time/space on our website, and print and me-dia coverage at events.Founding Partner/Exclusive Event Sponsor donations of $10,000:•Full benefits of $2500 Founding Partner sponsorship plus rec-ognition as an Exclusive Event Sponsor, including:•Additional advertising and promotional cover on the DIA website. Plans are being crafted now that will include guaran-teed advertising time/space on our website, and print and me-dia coverage at events.•Exclusive sponsorship at one major event (Example: Black & White Night, brought to you by your company. Prominent dis-plays of your branding/logo on all event-related media.

We look forward to working with you as a founding partner as we spread the word that the true Aloha spirit that is Hilo!

To join us, email [email protected]


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A Marketing Vision for Downtown In early 2014, DIA board member (and extreme pho-tographer) Bruce Omori had an idea. He often heard from visitors to his bayfront gallery that, after disappointments elsewhere, they had found the “Hawaii” they were looking for in Hilo. And they wished they’d stayed here in Hilo, in-stead of just stopping in as they were driving through. Bruce’s idea: Get the word out that Hilo is the place to truly experience aloha. How? A marketing campaign to rebrand Hilo. DIA would create a stunning new logo to represent the diversity, culture, and spirit of our town. We would build a super-functional website to tell our story to the world. We would feed traffic to the site and engage our audience with social media. We would put on exciting lega-cy events in downtown to generate enthusiasm and sustain our social media efforts. DIA would be very busy! Bruce pitched his plan to the DIA board; then gathered together a team for his marketing committee and got to work. A plan of this scope would require significant fund-ing, so Bruce applied for a county grant. The grant required matching contributions, and the grant funds alone were not enough for all he wished to do. So Bruce created a pack-age for Founding Partners; sharing his vision for Hilo and pledging advertising promotions on DIA’s future website and at future events in exchange for support. In a leap of faith, enthused by the vision of what could be created, and inspired by the town we all love so much, over 20 Founding Partners came forward with pledges for financial support and in-kind donations. In the summer DIA got the grant, called in pledges, hired a web team, hired a social media expert, and gave the go ahead for the graph-ics to be created. The graphic artist: Sig Zane. Hilo’s new logo was presented to the DIA board early this year. It is striking and bold, and symbolizes the braid-ing of history, place, culture, tradition, and all that creates the fabric of Hilo. The image is a beautiful gift to Hilo.

A New Logo, An Incredible Gift! At the end of the presentation of the HILO logo, Sig asked that in lieu of payment, DIA make a donation of any amount to the Merrie Monarch Festival to honor the ongo-ing contribution it brings to Hilo and to Hawai’i. A few days later Bruce presented Luana Kawelu, Execu-tive Director of the Merrie Monarch Festival, with a $5,000 donation. DIA is deeply grateful to the County of Hawai’i Research and Development, to Sig Zane Designs, and to DIA’s Founding Partners.

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Merrie Monarch Festival 5000.00

Jan. 22, 2015

Five thousand dollars and 00/xx

Donation

Hilo Downtown Improvement AssociationPO Box 37 Hilo HI 96721808-935-8850www.downtownhilo.com

Mahalo to our Founding Partners: Aloha Grown • Kealii Beck • Rochelle Augustin Beck Big Island Candies • Blackstar Construction • Café Pesto • Dolphin Bay Hotel • Emery Plumbing

Extreme Exposure LLC • Hara Building • HomeStreet Bank • Imiloa Astronomy Center KapohoKine Adventures • Kapuahi LLC • Lapidary Copy • Mahina Media • Markham Insurance Services

Jeffrey & Sally Mermel • Paradise Helicopters • Takashiba LLC • Volcano Winery • Sig Zane


MEMBERS ONLY!

DIA Membership has its privileges! Shopping local just got better with the DIA “Member to Member” club! It’s easy and we all benefit. Businesses–offer specials for DIA members (like a ka-ma’aina discount, but for folks who support our downtown). Tell DIA what you will offer card-carrying members, and DIA will promote your business.

The Hilo Downtown Improvement Associationthanks YOU for supporting downtown Hilo!

www.downtownhilo.com

DIA MEMBERExpires _______________

Your Name HERE!

Members–tuck your membership card into your wallet, shop in downtown, and ask about specials for DIA. Some ex-clusions apply and new specials are added often, so ask!

Here are some of the great current Member-to-Member Deals!

Garden Exchange: 5% off most everything in the store.Café Pesto: FREE dessert with your meal on your Birthday! Mermade Spa: 15% off all services.Extreme Exposure Gallery: Ask about changing specialsKnR Consultants: 20% off hourly consulting or fixed design fees (up to $1000 off)Aloha Grown: 10% off Aloha Grown in-store merchandise. Papa’a Palaoa Bakery: Free cookie with $5 purchase.Pineapples: Free coffee, tea, or soda with your meal.The Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo: 10% off one regular item.

Unique Marketing Opportunity Here’s a way to attract new customers. Offer an incentive (freebie, spe-cial, discount, etc.) to card-carrying DIA members and DIA will promote your offer in our newsletters & email blasts - FREE!!! Contact: [email protected] to hold your space in our next newsletter.

15% Off All Services atMermade Spa for DIA!

Lavendar facials? Essentail Oils? Yes! Iris Huddy will rejuvenate your skin and soothe your soul, and with your

DIA Membership card you’ll save 15%.

Free Dessert at Café Pestoon Your Birthday!

Just for special friends of the Café, and of course the DIA. Tell them it’s your

day, show your DIA Membership Card, and dessert with your meal is on the house! Happy Birthday!

Deals for DIA Members at Garden Exchange!

Garden Exchange will give you 5% off of most everything everything in the store just for

showing your DIA Membership Card! Thank you Garden Exchange!

FREE COOKIE with $5 purchase for DIA members.

Free Beverage with your Meal from Pineapples!

Coffe, Tea or Soda? It’s on the house with your meal purchase and your DIA membership card, only at Pineapples!

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