It‘s time for a new three-year strategic plan for this 55-year-old nonprofit organization serving our beloved, troubled state. How does one know, in changing, uncertain times, what Hawai‘i will need most from PBS Hawai‘i? How can we best serve our viewers and fellow citizens?

We take very seriously the feedback we receive from our Community Advisory Board Members, who live in communities across the state and who pay attention – to their island turf and to PBS Hawai‘i’s programming.

In a moving discussion, full of humanity, the Board told staffers that 1) We need to keep convening diverse voices in a neutral space, because common ground and solutions are getting harder to find; 2) We need to illuminate learning about the Hawaiian culture; 3) HIKI NŌ should expand its range to provide life, school and work skills to students in grade school through college; 4) We need to keep serving young children with curriculum-rich programming, since more than half do not attend preschool.

PBS Hawai‘i Community Advisory Board!

Family services leader Momi Akana wanted us to know that it’s not only a lack of affordability or geographical distance that keeps keiki from preschool. She said that parents who have been sexually or otherwise physically abused as children are very wary of leaving their little ones with adults they don’t know. That’s why many of these parents choose PBS KIDS to help educate their toddlers at home, Momi said. There was concerned silence as we all pondered this.

It’s a Board that keeps things simple and straightforward – and deep. Main thing, said advisors: “Keep Hawai‘i’s trust. It’s tough to earn, easy to lose.”

Aloha nui,

A Life Well Lived

PBS Hawaiʻi honors the life of longtime volunteer, Matsuko Kawana. Matsuko, or as we affectionately called her, “Grandma,” passed away peacefully in February at age 101. We will remember and miss her sweet smile, her stories of growing up on O‘ahu and Maui and her hardworking and humble nature. Rest in aloha, Matsuko.