Posted on: Saturday, April 30, 2005

EDITORIAL
Public-spirited visitors deserve our praise

Those who set their private interests aside to work for the public good are the often-unsung heroes of our society.

Just last week, Hawai'i benefitted from such an example.

About 1,000 volunteers from Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant chain headquartered in Kentucky, invested a day's worth of hard labor in an effort that made a meaningful difference here on O'ahu. During the company's annual conference, employees painted and poured sidewalks at the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, the Kahumana Residential Treatment Facility & Psychosocial Program and the Ohana Ola O Kahumana Transitional Housing Facility.

But that's just one of the public-spirited efforts from corporations that deserve applause. In January, those attending the Professional Convention Management Association conference worked on the recreation and community center at Kalihi Valley Housing. And in March, the software group SunGard SCT Corp. raised money for the Aloha Harvest Food Bank.

It's a heartening trend. Habitat for Humanity, which arranges home-building projects for the needy around the globe, reports that Hawai'i is the destination chosen by an increasing number of visiting groups who come to work on home sites, especially since 9/11 put a damper on foreign travel.

All this, of course, is great for our visitor industry. And the heightened good will between visitors and residents is an added benefit