ALP Class XV: Seminar 3, Day 4: Moloka‘i

10/25/15   4:00 a.m.  I began our last day of the trip in pre-dawn quiet calm under comfort of the waning moon and a blanket of stars, with the sound track of wind rustling the trees and an occasional snore in the darkness.  I’ve never slept out in the open before, one of many firsts I feel … Read more

ALP Class XV — Seminar 3, Day 2

First stop-Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar (HC&S) We met with Rick Volner, Jr., (ALP Class IX) General Manager, HC&S and Garrett Hew, (ALP Class XIII) President of East Maui Irrigation (EMI) Company, to discuss HC&S operations and challenges. It is amazing to learn about the history of this 140 year company and how they manage the … Read more

ALP Class XV: Seminar 3, Day 3: Maui and Moloka‘i

Day three is always my favorite day of the seminars. By day three, everyone has caught up with each other. We’ve set a theme for our seminar. Our minds have settled into learning mode. Even though we started day three “late”, I was up early and ready to go. We started the day by heading up country … Read more

ALP Class XV: Day 1, Seminar 3 ~ Maui

Early morning arrival at UH Mānoa’s Cooperative Extension Service Office on Maui and met with Cynthia Reeves, County Administrator for CTAHR. It has been about 3 months since we saw each other and catching up with everyone while getting quick breakfast. They said every good leader needs to negotiate, but doesn’t have to do it … Read more

Moving Along the Windward Side

CTAHR Waimānalo Ag Research Station Dr. Ted Radovich and Steven Chiang took us on a tour of the CTAHR Waimānalo Ag. Research Station and discussed about the GoFarm program.  The program is designed to provide students with practical skills and the knowledge necessary to become a successful agricultural entrepreneur. Here students are able to be mentored and learn through there own … Read more

Day 2 of Facilitative Skills Workshop — Training for Collaborative Leadership

Building on Day 1 of our workshop with Donna Ching, we continued learning and practicing techniques for working productively with individuals and groups that have divergent views on important issues.  At the end of our day together, we joined forces with youth leaders from the Future Farmers of America (along with their teachers, parents, siblings, … Read more

Facilitative Skills Workshop Day 1

“Legitimize immediately and often.” A mantra and must-do for every successful meeting. We started off Friday morning off with just this by everyone introducing ourselves and sharing the best advice we have been given on leading: Keep composure in spite of impatience Best way–> role model behavior Learn to be happy with partial success Active listening– … Read more

Seminar 2 Kick-Off on O‘ahu!

The ALP Class XV cohort is together again and we dove right into another informative Agricultural Leadership Program Seminar today! Our second seminar, focused on Oahu’s urban agricultural scene, kicked off with field trips highlighting soilless agriculture facilities as well as interactive panel discussions and presentations with Oahu ag professionals. We started our first day … Read more

Field Trip: A visit to a rare plant nursery

On our last seminar to Hawai‘i Island, we had the special privilege to visit a rare plant nursery on Hawai‘i Island — the location is strictly kept a secret because of vandalism and theft — to see the efforts of horticulturalist extraordinaire Patty Moriyasu and her staff to save plants native to the island. This … Read more

Field Trip: How KTA supports local farmers, ranchers

Everyone who shops at KTA Super Stores in Hilo knows Derek Kurisu. That’s apparent just following the executive vice president through the flagship grocery store in Puainako. He smiles at every shopper, waves and shakes hands like he’s running for office. But there’s no hidden agenda here. Kurisu truly loves what he does — and it … Read more

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Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai‘i
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Kailua, HI 96734