Kelly’s enormous Curious George collection makes news in the Honolulu Advertiser last year. Click the photo to read the story. Photo taken by me for the Honolulu Advertiser.
What can a little PR get your wife? Looking back through some old photos, the answer is a pretty cool birthday present in the Honolulu Advertiser on February 10, 2006. Right before the Curious George movie came out, I pitched reporter Catherine Toth (gotta check out her Daily Dish blog) on the idea of featuring Kelly and her collection of more than 300 Curious George collectibles. She loved the angle and Kelly made the front page (literally almost the entire front page) of the Island Life section of the paper days before her birthday. Definitely a fun and exciting moment. Oh yeah, I also managed to get my former co-worker Danielle into the story too…sweet! In case you’re wondering, most of the collection has been packed away down to make way for Ensen’s nursery.
Like Kelly and I, Ensen was excited to see Grandma (Rhonda) Kam back to visit tonight for the weekend. He’s grown up quite a bit in the few weeks since she last saw him. Grandpa (Gary) Kam unfortunately couldn’t make the trip…too busy being “retired” back home working four different side jobs. If that’s what retired life is like, I’m not sure I want to be retired. But mom says he “loves” it!
Besides an ice cold beer after a long day at the office, you have to love $9 fares on Hawaiian Airlines. This couldn’t have come at a better time with the birth of Ensen in June. With my parents on the Big Island and Kelly’s mom on Maui, this has enabled them to visit us at least once a month. But even if the fares were higher, I know they’d be here visiting their first grandchild anyway.
We’re looking forward to a fun weekend. I’ll let you know how the buffet at Tsukiji Fish Market in Ala Moana Center rates after we try it out on Sunday!
Ensen loves spending time at Aunty Kim and Uncle Glen’s house and hanging out with “Grandma” Carol Ishii (Kim’s boyfriend Glen’s mom…boy was that a mouthful). In previous photos, Ensen has sported his UH Warrior jersey. But after his college career is up, could the Raider Nation be his calling?
Look at how engaged the little fella is! Ensen (11 weeks old) loves the time we spend with him after his daily bath (usually around 9:00 p.m.), especially when Kelly and I read to him. He’s got a lot of books, but his favorites are the “Three Little Pigs,” “The Three Bears,” “Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge,” and ” The Poky Little Puppy.” Nothing like a fresh set of clothes, soothing pacifier, and some good storytelling before hitting the sack.
Today I woke up feeling ill…not sure that’s going on…but I decided to stay home today just in case. I got some rest and feel a lot better now. I’ll be back at work tomorrow. Like we do every evening, I turned on the TV to catch the news at 6 p.m…tonight it happened to be KHNL News 8 at 6 p.m.
As expected, the lead story was the Hawaii Superferry and how it cut its fares to $5, set sail earlier then scheduled on Sunday, is now been banned by a Maui judge to sail there, and how protesters greeted the ship on Maui and Kauai. Fine…it’s a free country and people have a right to freedom of speech and expression. But what the heck is happening on Kauai? Click here and view the link “Extended Raw Video: Superferry Protest on Kauai” to check out these disgusting protesters banging on peoples cars, flattening tires, and acting like savages as reported on KHNL News 8.
Seriously, what’s wrong with these people? I bet half these folks have no idea what they are protesting about.
To be honest, it was probably one of the better buffet’s we’ve been to lately. Very nice spread of hot entrees, seafood, sushi, prime rib, salads, made-to-order omeletes, a carving station of prime rib, and desserts.
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Upon arrival, Kelly immediately headed to the buffet line to pick up some steamed clams, bacon, sausage, potatoes, ham, omelete, some cheese, and fruit. I headed straight for the seafood section and got some cold oysters, crab legs, shrimp, then over to the hot entrees for pork chops, seafood ravioli, and prime rib. We went back a few times and tried just about everything. I couldn’t resist trying the warm bread pudding with vanilla sauce and a slice of pecan pie. All in all, very good and tasty.
Kelly and I left Plantation Cafe full and satisfied. Ensen enjoyed himself to, just napping away in his carseat. If you want to try out the Sunday Brunch yourself, call 808-955-4811 for reservations. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is $27.95 for adults.
Our cats Jabbey and Tikki have been a part of the family for many years. This is my first attempt at creating a short “movie” of them using the iMovie software on our iMac.
The McNeil Wilson Communication (MWC) PR team at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) after the live remote with clients and special guests. From left, me (Nathan), Jay Talwar (HVCB’s Sr. VP of Marketing), Rhegan Liwanag-Luat, Merrissa Uchimura, Laird Hamilton (professional surfer), Maria Quidez, Peter Alexander (NBC correspondent), Melissa Kim, Amy Hennessey, Sia (PCC client ), and Michael Ni.
There’s a number of reasons I love my job as a PR executive at Hawaii’s No. 1 PR agency. For one, I get to work with and learn from some of the most creative and talented colleagues anywhere in the industry. Two, I get to work on awesome accounts like the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB). And third, I get to work on some very cool projects. I guess it’s also why I’ve been at the agency for over seven years.
My latest project involved the NBC Today Show and its series “America the Beautiful,” which started counting down the nation’s top 10 most spectacular and stunning places on July 12. Yesterday was Hawaii’s turn to take center stage as NBC Correspondent Peter Alexander revealed the Aloha State as the fourth stop on the prestigious list live from the Polynesian Cultural Center. In short, it was an incredible piece about the state and specifically Kauai.
Anything I write about the segment here won’t do it justice, so I encourage you to take a look for yourself. It’s a seven minute piece that showcases Hawaii and Kauai at its best. If this doesn’t make someone want to visit, I’m not sure what will. To view the piece, click here.
My client, Jay Talwar (HVCB Sr. VP of Marketing), did an incredible job talking about the spirit of Aloha during the live interview with Peter Alexander. You only get one take during live TV and he nailed it! BTW, this was done at 2:20 a.m. HST. Click the image to check out the “America the Beautiful” segment.
In the world of public relations, we live and die by the kind of story placements we can get for our clients. The hit we obtained on the Today Show was HUGE…”the cream of the crop”…and not something that happens everyday. It’s the top rated national morning news program and reaches an audience of more than six million visitors (that’s a lot of eyeballs).
When I received a call from a the Today Show back in July letting me know that the Aloha State was on the list, the first thing out of my mouth was THAT’S AWESOME! And as they say, the rest is history. Working with NBC producers Richard Adams, Sandy Rivera, and Paul Nilson was extremely fun. National media can sometimes be difficult to deal with, but these three (and Peter Alexander) were true class acts and genuinely nice people. So how did we help you ask?
We recommended the use the Polynesian Cultural Center for the live remote. When you’re trying to make Hawaii look good in the middle of the night, this is just about your only option. And the team here at PCC is always willing to accommodate. After technical producer Paul Nilson saw the place, he agreed. Thanks to Ray Magalei and his team at PCC. LOCATION SECURED!
Our firm also represents the Kauai Visitors Bureauand Emele Freiberg and her team did a great job lining up the activities and guides you saw featured in the segment. They also provided some beautiful destination b-roll footage to supplement the stuff shot by the Today Show on island. End result, KILLER COVERAGE FOR KAUAI!
We provided some of the fun fact that Peter Alexander used to tease the destination.
And last but definitely not least, our awesome McNeil Wilson Communications team provided invaluable onsite support during the live remote on August 24. It was a shoot that started at 10 a.m. on Thursday and ended on Friday at 3:00 a.m. My team specifically (Michael Ni, Merrissa Uchimura, and Rhegan Liwanag-Luat) did an outstanding job getting the refreshments and lei for the production together, but most importantly were there to support our client and help out where necessary. Many thanks to Amy and her PCC team as well. It’s this is kind of dedication and effort that puts our firm on top of all others.
Here’s a few of “behind the scenes” photos and a video just in case you’re curious what it all looks like on the other side of the camera.
On set at the Polyesian Cultural Center. Amy Hennessey helps Laird Hamilton cover a cut on his face. Maria and Rhegan couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a photo with Laird at the end.
Quite on the set! A rehearsal run of the reveal prior to going live.
So what’s next? You’ll have to stay tuned. If all goes well, there will be another exciting TV project that the team and I are working on now that will be in this blog in October.
Hello all…this is Kelly…and it’s my first blog. I’ve been instructed by the blog master that I must take over the site tonight because he’s on a secret mission for work. Well here goes…Tonight is my first night alone with Ensen, and I’ve decided to use the Graco baby monitor that Willie (Aunty Emmi’s mother-in-law) gave us. So far we haven’t had to use it because Ensenhas been sleeping in our room in a bassinet (he’s still waking up for feedings). But tonight…since I put him to bed early, I figured I would take some time off. I can actually hang out in the other bedroom and know that he’s OK!
He’s snug as a bug…I haven’t heard one peep from him! Now, I just have to get rid of the urge to physically check up on him and use the monitor as it was meant to be used. Maybe on my next night off…
Hard to believe it’s been almost three months since Ensen (almost 4 weeks above) was born on June 12. With Kelly’s maternity leave coming to an end, and her return to work at Weyerhaeuser slated for September 5, it was difficult imagining that in a couple of weeks we’d be dropping the little guy off at a sitter. Even though we had a very capable one that we liked lined up, at the same time we were seriously talking about Kelly staying home a bit longer. I’m mean c’mon, he’s too small and fragile to send off to a sitter, right?
After thinking about it for awhile, Kelly approached her boss and requested an additional three months off. We’ve been anxiously awaiting his response which came today. The answer: YES!!!
This is great news for the family and especially for Ensen who will get to spend a lot more time with his mommy at home until December.
I think my mom (Rhonda) put it best when she e-mailed Kelly today after hearing the news saying “Ensen loves his mommy and I don’t think you’ll ever regret spending more time with him. Life is too short.”
I couldn’t agree more. Christmas came early this year.
As a client of the agency, I had the opportunity to take a “rehearsal sail” on the highly anticipated Hawaii Superferry named “Alakai” (Ocean Path in Hawaiian) and boy did it deliver. Set to begin service on August 28 from Oahu to Maui and Kauai, the ship is a massive 350-foot long vessel that can carry up to 866 passengers and 282 subcompact cars. More realistically, Superferry officials expect an anticipated load average of 400 passengers and 110 vehicles.
A mere three hours between the islands, the Hawaii Superferry will transform the way locals and visitors will be able to travel interisland. Aside from being able to take your car with you, there are tons of amenities on board including three lounge areas, three snack bars, a gift shop, more flat screen TVs than Circuit City, Wi-Fi Internet access, a children’s play area, and comfortable chairs to relax in and enjoy the ride. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect to enjoy:
From left: Cars check in at a security check point. The air conditioned holding area before boarding the ship. Passengers making their way up the steps to the top deck.
From left: Regular seating in the main cabin and various photos from inside The Hahalua Lounge ($20 upgrade to sit here).
Various views from the inside looking out during the cruise as we sailed along Oahu’s south shore, over to the west side, and back into port at Honolulu Harbor.
In all, a very fun day out at sea and something I can definitely see our family using in the future. In case you’re wondering, fares start at $44 for adults and $33 for children, seniors, and retired military. If you’re planning to bring a vehicle along, rates start at $59 for cars/SUVs/mini vans up to 17 feet long, $94 for large pickups/vans, and $34 for motorcycles.
