2021-09-16 Leeward Exh A (Public Testimony re Item 1 SPP 21-227)

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meeting. This is to limit the participants on the screen in order to better manage the meeting and also minimize connection disturbance and noise. Okay, first up, we have Erin Kuo. KUO: Good morning and aloha my name is Erin Kuo and I'm calling in from Melbourne Australia so it's quite early for me here and there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with you all in the Big Island. So lovely to see you all and hear your stories this morning and the work you're doing for the community. I was a gymnastic coach and gymnast at Kona Aerial's beginning over 30 years ago and I've known Coach Nanette and her program for most of my life. What I know is that this program is a blessing and an asset to Kona and the Big Island community for its children, its families, and its future citizens. Gymnastics and the Kona Aerial's program is more than a sport. It's an arena where children learn to trust themselves, to trust their coaches, and to trust their teammates. There's nothing like taking a big physical risk to teach you to learn to trust your body, your instincts, and the people around you are guiding you as you learn. The kids learn to support one another, to cheer for one another, to comfort each other in competition and in practice. They learn camaraderie and sportsmanship. They learn how to win with humility and to lose with grace. They learn the invaluable skills associated with trying something new, taking risks, failing, and persisting. Today, where so many of us as parents are terrified of the many risks our children's face. Kona Aerial's gives kids a space that safe to take calculated risks to learn what happens when things don't always go as planned. That you can get back up, that you can recover, that you can try again, that you can persist at something and that you're stronger than you think. I personally have become who I am because of this sport, this program and of course, because of Coach Nanette. Nanette has not just been a coach to me she's been a mentor, a maternal figure, a role model, my boss, and my friend. And it's not just me that she's played these critical roles for she's done this for countless hundreds and thousands of kids and their families. She's been our extended family and she's made us feel part of a bigger community and it's because of programs like this and people like Nanette that children feel cared for, they learn their purpose and they become who they are meant to be. This has been true for me and what I learned from this program and Coach Nanette is that I had people coached and cheer for an invest in my development and in turn I've internalized a responsibility to give this back to others. It's always in my mind to find a way to be a coach, a teacher, a mentor, and to develop young people to give back more than I was given. So, I hope with all the testimony the Council hears that you'll understand how incredibly lucky the Big Island is to have Kona Aerial's Gymnastics and Coach Nanette as part of your community. Mahalo. VITOUSEK: Thank you very much. Moving onto Ayla Mossman. MOSSMAN: Aloha. VITOUSEK: Aloha. 2 EXHIBIT A