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How your office works for you... A Visit To HSGA H/Q Honoluluby Marjorie Scott and Alan Akaka "Are you sure members want to know?" Alan asks. "Yes", I reply, "we've added over 300 new members since 1993; we need to be more than disembodied voices on the phone, or signatures on letters and e-mail." Alan agreed. "A lot of work goes on here, besides playing steel guitar." HSGA's Board of Directors would agree with that. So here goes, folks, a guided tour through an HSGA Headquarters work week, day by day. Come on in, the weather's fine! A little history first. In 1993, after many years of hard work guiding HSGA into the Big International World with constant commitment to staying in touch with every member, Lorene Ruymar decided, and her Board of Directors agreed, it was time for HSGA to be headquartered in Hawai`i. Besides, Lorene was eager to give full time to writing her landmark book "Hawaiian Steel Guitar and its Great Hawaiian Musicians". She asked Alan Akaka if he would take over. Marjorie, who was already playing "tag team" with Alan for several years in his steel music business, said she was ready and willing to carry the office work load, and edit the HSGA Quarterly. (Marjorie doesn't play steel, she's happy just writing about it, and has a long career working with membership organizations, musicians, and large public events.) Several of President Lorene's long-term Board members agreed to resign, so that Alan could choose some HSGA Directors close by in Hawai`i to support HSGA's work. Alan was appointed President, in May 1993, to fill out Lorene's unexpired term, and Jerry Byrd came aboard as an appointed Vice President. Vic Rittenband stayed on as Secretary-Treasurer. In the Fall of 1994, at the Joliet convention General Membership Meeting, Alan and Jerry were officially elected to their first 2-year term, and Edward Punua, both a steel player (student of the late Alvin "Barney" Isaacs, Jr.) and a qualified accountant, was elected Secretary-Treasurer. John Marsden, well-known Hawaiian music historian and steel player in England was elected a Director to give HSGA's growing overseas membership in Great Britain and Europe the support it needed. And so the HSGA headquarters in Hawai`i was set to roll. Now for your tour of an HSGA office work week. weeks are typical, so we'll attempt to compress what happens, to give you a full view. Every day -- all seven of them -- Marjorie is at her home office desk by 7 a.m. Hawai`i time. The cat, "Koko" has been fed, and she's on her second cup of coffee. She checks her messages (sometimes 10 or more), sends replies, checks HSGA's website to see if John Ely has added any new copy, or there are questions to be answered in the "Talk Story Forum". Next it's Netscape's alt.music.hawaiian Newsgroup to see if there are Hawaiian music and/or steel guitar entries to add to. Then it's on to business of the moment. Monday -. phone message light is blinking. Paul Weaver - when can he get negatives back from the Joliet pictures he took. (Exposed rolls go to Alan or Marjorie to be developed in Hawai`i, so they're immediately available for the HSGA Quarterly.) Second message - a mainland person wants membership information sent. Breakfast break. Prepare Alan's "welcome" letters and Quarterlies to mail to new members. Post Office and bank run. Late lunch. Read mail & log more new members data/checks from Internet. Feed cat. Feed self. Fall asleep in front of TV. Tuesday- Usual morning routine, then time to organize Quarterly writing day. Phone rings. Joan at Ala Wai Golf Course wants to know if Alan has signed the contract for the May concert yet. Marjorie locates said document in the HSGA "to do" file basket and puts it in Alan's "meeting basket" for Wednesday's weekly meeting. Leaves message on Alan's beeper phone to remember to bring more printed HSGA address labels. Two Quarterly articles get written. Alan calls from the Halekulani around 5 pm. Frank Baum and wife are in town. Marjorie hurries to go to town and say "hello" and snap a few photos of Frank and Alan for the Quarterly. Wednesday - Marjorie must balance the check register for the previous month, so Ed Punua can prepare a Treasurer's report for the phone conference Board meeting, Saturday morning. Drive to Honolulu to hand copies of the register pages to Ed at the curb in front of DeLoitte and Touche's office, where Ed is an accountant. Off to the printer to pick up more HSGA brochures which get mailed to new members and folks wanting information. Write up Alan's performance schedule for "Steel Guitar Week" guest players at the Halekulani "House Without A Key". Get Alan's folder of correspondence to sign, e-mail messages to read and bills to pay ready for meeting. Alan calls, has rehearsal with his student chorus at Kamehameha, where he is Director of Middle School Music, and can the Wednesday meeting start around 6:30 pm instead of 5? Whew! More time to prepare. Alan meets with Marjorie in HSGA's office until 8 p.m. Yes, there's time "talk story, one or two good jokes and future planning. Thursday - Call Lorene Ruymar in Vancouver re: several long-time Canadian members who didn't renew membership. Process all outgoing mail and signed checks from meeting with Alan. Bring HSGA membership database and mailing label database current. Enter all the new and renewing member payments in the "Cash Receipts" register. Prepare bank deposit. Assemble list of new members for the "E Komo Ma`i" column in the Quarterly. Write a "MUST do" list of phone calls and writing for next day. Drive to Honolulu to the Hawaiian Regent to listen to Alan play with Auntie Genoa Keawe and take pictures of Bo and Betty Bahret, also in town. Friday - Alan's off to the Big Island to play with his brother Danny, Jr., Aaron Mahi and George Kuo at "Mauna Lani" resort, where Danny is Hawaiian historian. Write short column drop about it and fax to Ben Wood at the Honolulu Star Bulletin for his column. Go through stories and comments sent by HSGA members for next issue of Quarterly. Post Office and bank run -- it's been two days, and mail piles up. Get set up for Saturday's quarterly Board Meeting conference call at 7 a.m. (Marjorie takes notes, so Directors can concentrate on voting, decision making and discussion for the hour long call.) Greg Sardinha drops by to pick up cassette tapes Marjorie is lending him Saturday and Sunday - call Mike Scott, HSGA's Membership Chairman, after Board meeting for further discussion about coordinating the year's membership drive and what assistance Mike needs. Take call from Lilly deWilligen about the new problems of carry-on luggage on airlines, so "alert" can be put in Quarterly. Write, write, WRITE, as Quarterly issue is now on immediate deadline. E-mail Michael Cord and Aloha Joe to mail new ad copy for the Quarterly immediately. And FILE. Two deep stacks lined up on floor in front of 4-drawer cabinet. Alan returns from Big Island. On way home from airport, drops off new steel CD from Frank Baum, and printed HSGA labels. Also gives Marjorie list of musicians he hasn't heard from yet re: steel week, to call on Monday. Hands over a new membership from Naoto Nakamura and his wife, in town from Japan. Time off? For Alan - rare. He has regular gigs three nights a week after teaching school all day. Also recording sessions with artists he's asked to back on steel, extra rehearsals of his students for school concerts, special gigs to play, and some quality time at home -- especially when Melody and Mikey are home from college. For Marjorie, the beauty of a fully-equipped home office is freedom to take food and nap breaks (just like cat), whenever she wants. She does. Evenings are sacred. Phone is left on "message" and computer turned off. Listen to new steel CDs over dinner. Watch a TV basketball game or detective/spy story re-runs. And some days, she must spend time working on the activities of Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and Museum, now in its fifth year of exhibits and concerts. Can you help? Absolutely! Without YOUR letters and stories, there would be NO HSGA Quarterly. Without YOUR referrals HSGA would receive NO new memberships. Alan and Marjorie work for YOU, so please continue to give us something to do!
HSGA * HAWAIIAN
STEEL GUITAR ASSOCIATION Homepage URL: www.hsga.org (hsga@lava.net) Last updated: 07/23/02 by Gerald Ross (gbross@umich.edu) |