Laserfiche WebLink
<br />ImuaLawOffices@gmail.com <br />www.imualawoffices.com <br />P. O. Box 944 <br />Kailua - Kona, HI 96745 <br />(808)747-4844 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />BRIT BARKER <br />HI #10044 & CA #288445 <br /> September 15, 2021 <br />Leeward Planning Commission <br /> <br />Re: Kona Aerials Gymnastics Special Use Permit <br /> <br />To Whom It May Concern, <br /> <br />My name is Brit Barker. I am a private attorney in the local area with my main focus of practice <br />involving children, primarily but not limited to, with Child Welfare matters. I hope this letter <br />assists you in your determination to grant Kona Aerials Gymnastics a Special Use Permit. <br /> <br />I was born and raised in Southern California. I was a competitive gymnast for almost 20 years of <br />my life. At approximately 8 years old, I started training to be in the international competitive <br />group of my gymnastics facility in California. This type of training meant that vacations were <br />out of the question. However, my family believed in the whole well-rounded person as the best <br />form of child development and were able to come to a compromise with my coaches. The only <br />way my coaches allowed me to go on vacation with my family was if there was a facility I was <br />able to train at and have the coach sign off on my training schedule. <br /> <br />Thank you to Nanette in the late 1990s, I was able to come to this island on many Thanksgiving <br />vacations with my family. I was able to truly do what I loved as a child while falling in love with <br />this island. I eventually earned a gymnastics scholarship to U. C. Berkeley. This led me to <br />becoming a lawyer in California. My love of the island continued through college and law <br />school, as I frequently visited and stopped in to say hi to Nanette throughout the years. One of <br />those years, my college gymnastics coach and I volunteered at Kona Aerials while we were on <br />island. Having my two passions, making children happy and gymnastics, come together at one of <br />my favorite destinations in Kona was truly icing on the cake. <br /> <br />My love for the island drew me back to take the Hawaii Bar and receive my license to practice <br />law in Hawaii in 2013. Since then, I spent the majority of my law practice being a County of <br />Hawaii Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (with a focus on family criminal law to include juveniles), <br />a Reservist in the United States Air Force as a JAG Attorney, and owning my own practice to <br />focus on children. <br /> <br />I am not writing this to you for my own good. This letter is really to show you from my personal <br />diverse experience how important it is to have good businesses like Kona Aerials to continue on <br />in this community. This community needs more businesses like Kona Aerials and owners like <br />Nanette that truly care about our children and this community as a whole. Children need to have <br />healthy alternatives to spend their time. Gymnastics is an amazing opportunity for so many <br />children. It teaches young children and adults about self-awareness, developmental skills like <br />eye-hand and eye-foot coordination, body health, mental health and self-confidence, hard work, <br />and healthy competition through teamwork. It can even earn children scholarships to college! <br /> Page 1 of 2 <br /> <br />