HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0107.002 2000-2002 Mr. Chairman and members of the County Council, Cmod ARernoon
- ;
Thank you for the privilege of providing testimony, to sy, Qpoft t~~rmation of Jane
Testa, as the new Research and Develo~iQ~itf)6[t r F r'~
I have known Jane as a friend, and as a colle~ue for a number of yeazs, and during that
time I have come to truly respect her for her competence, dedicatioq and her ability to
work well with people Jane is a very principled individual, and she is a particulazly
strong advocate, when it comes to bettering the quality of life for members of our
community
The best example of this that I can cite, is the pivotal role she played in the Hamakua
community, following the closure of the Hamakua Sugar Company and the Hilo Coast
Processing Company in 1994 The closures affected the lives of over 1000 families
living along the coastline
Because of her facilitation skills and her knowledge of the strategic planning process, she
helped to identify leadership building and increasing the capacity of the community, as a
critical beginning point This kind of leadership building, helped to empower the
community take responsibility for planning its own future Through such an effort, many
options such as the diversified agricultural cooperative, the Ohana and Paauilo incubator
kitchens, the high tech computer centers, and other business initiatives were developed
Because of Jane's involvement in Community Based Economic Development, she was
able to assist and help provide duect~oq at an important time for the community. She
was also able to play a further role in securing funding, for some of the economic
initiatives that were developed by the community
During this period Jane worked with many other individuals, and I noticed three strong
character traits (1) her sincerity in truly wanting to help empower people, (2) her
facilitation skills and ability to get people working together on a common objective,
and (3) her integrity in ensuring that it was always the community people, who were
directing the various initiatives
I believe these same character trazts and background experiences, will serve her well in
her new position. I also believe that Jane's strong commitment to improving peoples'
lives, which she clearly demonstrated while working for the Office of Aging, is further
testimony to the tremendous potential she will bring to the job
I commend Mayor Kim for his selection of Jane Testa as Hawaii County's next Research
and Development Director, and ask for your favorable consideration in her co~rmation
Thank you very much for your attention
Dwight Takamine
cam. Na M~
Ref. To: F~
1 ~ ~i
Ref. Date