Outdoor Circle
Outdoor Circle
Identity issue
Since the early 1980s there has been confusion about the roles of the Kona Outdoor Circle and the Kona Outdoor Circle Sadie Seymour Botanical Garden Foundation because many of the members of the Kona Outdoor Circle were the founding members of the foundation and instrumental in building the Education Center that now stands on Kuakini Highway near Lako Street and is owned by the foundation.
Over the past years there have been many questions from the community as to what was what and who was who but now that is about to be clarified, at last. The Kona Outdoor Circle, while spearheading the building of the Education Center, found the parent organization of Kona Outdoor Circle, The Outdoor Circle, could not let one of its branches own property for liability and other reasons. The choice was made, by the Kona Outdoor Circle, to begin the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to own the Education Center and for Kona Outdoor Circle to continue to be a branch of The Outdoor Circle.
To add to the confusion, for many years almost the same people were involved in the board of Kona Outdoor Circle and the board of the foundation but in the past few years the boards have grown further and further apart; partly with the economic downturn; partly with different missions and also the new positions by the Internal Revenue Service about the intermingling of nonprofits.
The Education Center will now become the Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens & The Kealakowaa Heiau and still the same phone number 329- 7286. The thrift shop will continue to operate and provide funding to staff the office, maintain the building, gardens and the heiau.
The Kona Outdoor Circle will be like every other branch of The Outdoor Circle and not have an office but focus all efforts on keeping Kona clean, green and beautiful.
Keep informed by visiting the Kona Outdoor Circle website at konaoutdoorcircle.org or email at koc@konaoutdoorcircle.org.
Marni Herkes
Kailua-Kona
Racial distinctions
Learned behavior
There are three races: Caucasian, Oriental and Negroid. Period.
Micronesians and Marshallese and Hawaiians and Americans and Mexicans and Canadians are all Caucasians. So whatever is going on in Kona is ethnic not racism because they are all the same race.
This type of hatred is learned — probably at home or from their peers: Two places to start to stop.
Annette LaBonte
Waikoloa