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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, February 21, 2002

ISLAND VOICES
Helping visitors, one at a time

By Michael Grimes
Recent visitor to Hawai'i

I want to congratulate you on having a program like the Visitor's Aloha Society of Hawai'i (VASH). Most of you probably don't know of its existence since it is mainly for visitors, but trust me, when you speak of the aloha spirit, there is no better ambassador than VASH.

My wife and I were visiting in December on a 12-day trip. On the fourth day, she suffered a stroke. I was reduced to shuttling back and forth from our hotel to the hospital daily until her release three weeks later.

Long before her release, I was contacted by Scot Shimamura, a member of VASH who asked if there was anything he could do to help me in the way of lodging, food, airlines, etc. Very nice, I thought, wondering "How much does this cost?" I asked him and was surprised when he said, "It's free."

Mr. Shimamura later offered to buy me lunch, and at the meeting I was able to tell him I felt very lucky because the Hilton Hawaiian Village agreed to allow me to stay past my checkout and United Airlines agreed to allow me to change travel dates. However, according to Scot, not everyone is so lucky, and occasionally an advocate is needed who knows his way around in Hawai'i to help get things done. That is when VASH steps up to the plate and, with the help of donors and volunteers like himself, helps out in whatever way is necessary.

The only problem, I learned, is that because they are not funded by the state, money sometimes runs short, and they aren't able to help as much as might be necessary.

I wished I could have helped in some way but, with the added cost of staying longer than anticipated plus looming medical bills, I couldn't do anything financially. However, I did tell myself that I would try to figure something out that might help.

Well, this letter is what I came up with in the hope that the people of your great state will come forward with their aloha spirit and help this organization of good Samaritans continue to carry out their cause. They need donors and sponsors to help them fund their operations. In fact, if the governor happens to be reading this letter, a little mandate from the state would go a long way in helping these ambassadors of good will.

Well, that's about it, except to say to Scot and his friends at VASH, "Thank you for showing me that the best part of Hawai'i isn't the attractions or the weather. It's the people."