This year was the second year in a row team “H&P for Priory” participated in the half marathon team relay.  H&P competed against 49 teams, finishing in 13^th place! St. Andrew’s Priory raised a total of $5,900, the third highest amongst all Hapalua relay teams! Go Priory!

Ashley Kierkiewicz, Account Executive at Hastings & Pleadwell, has taken a seat on the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board (HIEDB).

HIEDB is a non-profit corporation that partners with federal, state, county and private resources to support balanced private sector growth on Hawaii Island. HIEDB focuses on the areas of agriculture, astronomy, education, clean energy, research and tourism.

“It is a testament to Ashley’s keen intellect and her rooted sense of Hawaii Island that she has been named to this prestigious board so early in her career,” said Barbara Hastings, Partner at Hastings & Pleadwell.

Other HIEDB board members include business leaders such as James Takamine, President and CEO of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union, Mike Kaleikini of Ormat, David Honma from First Hawaii Bank, Greg Chun, Ph.D., Kamehameha Schools, Jacqui Hoover from the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, Roberta Chu of Bank of Hawaii, LeeAnn Crabbe of Queen Liliuokalani Trust, Nahua Guilloz of Parker Ranch, Richard Ha from Hamakua Springs, Richard Henderson from RSM, Inc, Jay Ignacio from Hawaii Electric Light Company, Marvin Min from The Gas Company, Barry Mizuno of BTM, LLC, Mike Sayama, Ph.D. from HMSA, Barry Taniguchi of KTA Super Stores and Bill Walter from W.H. Shipman.

Congratulations on your appointment Ashley!

For more information about the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board visit: http://www.hiedb.org/

For more information about Ashley visit our team member page here

Barbra Pleadwell, Congresswoman Gabbard, Kristi Lefforge, Leslie Miasnik

Barbra Pleadwell, chair of the YWCA of Oahu board, gave U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard a tour of the YW’s Fernhurst facility where, in collaboration with U.S. VETS, the facility offers the first and only transitional housing in Hawai‘i specific for female veterans.  There’s only one other in the nation.

Gabbard has served on active duty in combat in the Middle East so Pleadwell was most happy that the Congresswoman took the time to visit the safe haven at the YW’s Fernhurst. She is one of two female combat veterans to serve in Congress, both newly elected.

Pang asked a question, which pertained to creatively relaying information to the public via social media.  Hastings explained that in the field of public relations, we should view social media as a “tactic.”   Using the “Gangnam style” viral video as an example, Hastings supported the use of social media and relying less on traditional media.

When asked about top skills a prospective employee should portray, Hastings insisted on good writing skills.

Good job, Barbara!

Dave Erdman, Kitty Lagareda and Barbara Hastings, guest speakers at the PRSA Hawaii "View from the Top: PR Outlook for 2013" Conference.

THK

Slavery ended 147 years ago, right?  Unfortunately, no.  Girls, as young as 12 years old are being sold numerous times for repeat profit, stripping them of their childhood and their freedom.

In Hawai‘i, 300-400 children are reported missing every year, Where are they?  Many of the missing children end up on the streets with no parental supervision/guidance and become an easy target for “pimps”. How can we let this happen to our community, on this beautiful island we live on?

Prior to my internship with H&P, I worked with children for the past four years.  This video has reaffirmed my belief that our keiki have an important role in our future.

Courage Worldwide is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build homes around the world for children rescued from sex trafficking.  For more information visit www.courageworldwide.org/hawaii

THK

Raising funds to build a house here in Hawaii, Courage House Hawaii sold T-shirts, CD's and jewelry.

Congratulations, Suzanne!

Suzanne Jones Wins National Industry Award for Recycling

Jones is the recycling branch chief for the City’s Department of Environmental Services.  She has been at the helm of Hawaii’s recycling efforts since the program’s inception in 1989.

Members of the H&P team, Tweetup attendees and Mayor Carlisle "checking-in" on mobile app foursquare to generate 100 votes each

Mayor Carlisle lead a group in a physical challenge of push-ups at the event in celebration of the park breaking into the top 25 on the leader board.  The contest by Coca-Cola was geared towards promoting a healthy, active lifestyle and improving the spaces we play in.

H&P did a whopping 30 push-ups with Mayor Carlisle during the physical challenge. Great form everyone!

E komo mai, Colleen!

As an account coordinator in the Hilo office, Colleen works on varied aspects of projects and accounts with an emphasis in writing, design and production as they relate to overall communication strategy. She has extensive experience as a corporate writer and graphics specialist for large mainland companies such as American Express and JPMorgan Chase.

Having spent her formative years in O‛ahu, Colleen finally made her way back to Hawai‛i in 2006. She used her considerable powers of persuasion to convince her reluctant husband to move to the Big Island and build their dream house. Now kama‛aina, she and her husband have since become firmly entrenched in their community, where Colleen works with local businesses to develop and support their brands with clear and effective marketing collateral.

Colleen has dabbled in various other fields prior to joining the H&P team.  Her array of experiences include being a reporter, working in publishing and advertising, a dog trainer, as well as a confectionist specializing in cookies and cupcakes.  

Colleen and her husband, Jim, in Hilo

                                 Welcome to the team Colleen!

E komo mai, Dawn!

Dawn Hunt is an account coordinator new to the Hastings & Pleadwell Honolulu office. Dawn focuses on client relations and assists with building strong client campaigns exhibiting innovative marketing and public relations strategies.  Dawn has previously worked for various small firms with an emphasis in sales and customer relations.

Dawn is a born and raised Hawai’i girl come home after seven years of being away.  She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Communication Studies.  Post college she moved to Park City, Utah, where she resided for three years.  Here she mastered how to snowboard in the winters and mountain bike in the summers.  She developed a deep appreciation for the fine cuisine the magical town of Park City has to offer. Dawn helped to host events during the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, 2010, and 2011 mingling with celebrities, producers, and executives from Google. 

Dawn and her dog, Nalu, enjoying the snow in Park City, Utah

                                     Welcome home Dawn!

Ryan Ishibashi with his parents, Ty and Kimella celebrating his graduation from HPU

Maile Thompson has just become an Active member of the Junior League of Honolulu.  Maile and her pledge class spent three months planning and executing a clean up of the Mayor Wright Housing Family Library in Kalihi. During this time, she learned the ins and outs of the Junior League and genuinely states, “I am proud to be apart of an organization that empowers women and allows me to give back to the community”.

Family Library Open! Maile Thompson and her Junior League sisters helped to revamp the Mayor Wright Housing Family Library in Kalihi.

Rachel Seachris will be leaving the Hastings & Pleadwell team after two school semesters with us.  She has just graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Shidler College of Business with a B.B.A. in international business, marketing, and management and a minor in German.  Rachel has been accepted to the Disney College Program and will be relocating to Florida.  Seachris has high hopes for acceptance into the professional internship program in corporate marketing with an emphasis in management.  She aspires to one day be a top executive and manage a park.

Rachel Seachris adorned in H&P plumeria leis

The story: A H&P Oahu client requested to meet all H&P team members over lunch. The lunch meeting would serve as a platform to discuss H&P’s progress on a public relations campaign. Ashley’s role was to bring her neighbor island perspective to the table and talk about campaign expansion possibilities.

Ashley was unsuspecting of what the team was up to even with a series of close calls.

Congrats Ashley!

To view photos of the surprise, view the slideshow below or visit our image gallery.