Aloha! 

I write to you as the new 2010- 2011 MPI Aloha Chapter President on the cusp of what I anticipate to be a fantastic year for our chapter!  According to all indicators, this year will better financially than last for our industry, and particularly within our islands. I look to the future with great expectations for all of us! 

We will build upon the vision of further developing Hawaii’s global meeting industry community and re-emphasize our organization’s mission to make our members successful by building rich human connections through the exchange of knowledge, ideas, relationships and expanding marketplaces. After much thought, I have chosen to focus our attention this year on unity, or, in Hawaiian “Kukahi,” for the chapter and include it as an underlying theme in all that we do.  We have already employed this theme in our 2010-2011 board of directors, which for the first time in the history of the chapter has a representative for all the 4 major islands. We will expand upon this theme in our educational events, community outreach initiatives and  chapter business exchange events. 

In particular, the MPI Aloha Chapter leadership team's focus will be concentrated in the following three key areas: Education, Communication and  Volunteerism. 

In our Educational endeavors, we seek to provide a higher level of education than ever before - specifically for our planner members. By conducting a planner-based focus group, we will truly gain a better understanding of the needs of our planner members and address them in programs that are positioned to enrich our membership and deliver a return on investment for all attendees. With unique venues and top level speakers our Education Committee will raise the bar on the quality of programs that we as a chapter offer the industry in our islands. 

Our Communications Committee will continue building upon the creation of newsletters, blogs, social media engagement and an upgraded MPI Aloha Chapter Website that is current, informational and topical. 

Perhaps the area I am most passionate about is Volunteerism.  This year,our chapter has a board of 15 highly engaged members in addition to approximately 10 MPI - AC members who serve on various committees. We have some 100 members at any given time. That means that only 20 -25% of the membership is involved in the chapter from a volunteer standpoint. As a board and a chapter, we will need to grow this engagement  to meet and exceed the goals we have set for the future. 

The greatest ROI one can get from his or her membership is through avid volunteerism, and  the greatest service  a chapter can offer its members is the opportunity to become involved and contribute. As a chapter, we will actively pursue and honor those members who wish to volunteer. We will create opportunities that match their commitment level - no matter how large or small the time they can offer. Moreover, we will have a commitment to our volunteer effort headed by our president-elect that will match volunteers' skills, and the skill sets they want to develop, with our committees' needs. In doing so, we will grow in unity and continue to offer our members the opportunity to build rich human connections.. 

For those of you already involved in our chapter as a volunteer, I thank you and am       grateful for your continued hard work and dedication. Your contributions are essential to the chapter achieving its goals for the future. However, we will need to grow our volunteer base to keep our organization fresh. I sincerely encourage those of you who are not involved become engaged in the chapter as a volunteer at any level. Being an active part of the chapter, industry and community are great opportunities to not only make a difference, but are an ideal opportunity to improve your membership ROI. 

In closing, I look forward to a sensational year! I welcome you to reach out and let us know how the MPI Aloha Chapter can meet your membership needs as never before!   

Mahalo! 

Frank Robinson 

President 

MPI Aloha Chapter