Hawaii on the Hill intiative in DC 'exceeded expectation' for Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii

The “Hawaii on the Hill” initiative last week, which aimed to showcase the 50th state to Washington, D.C., exceeded expectations, according to Sherry Menor-McNamara, the President of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

The two-day event kicked off with a reception dinner at Google's Washington headquarters for the Hawaii attendees from 48 participating organizations and businesses. The next two days were packed with tours of the Capitol building and meetings with various agencies, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

The “Hawaii on the Hill” initiative ended with the “Taste of Hawaii” exhibition at the Russell Senate Office Building on July 23, where more than 1,000 event attendees were greeted with orchid leis, boxes of chocolates from Big Island Candies and local music from the Aloha Boys and ukelele prodigy Aidan James.

Menor-McNamara said the event was one of the most well-attended state “taste” events to take place in Washington, D.C.

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Menor-McNamara said the chamber, along with U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office, will hold a debriefing soon to discuss the initiative and start talking about improvements for next year. She also said the chamber hopes to make next year’s event larger and more cost-effective.

“We’re hoping we’ll have the same businesses come back because they made the event,” said Menor-McNamara, “But we also hope to bring in more businesses and find other unique ways to approach Hawaii to insure everyone gets a very Hawaii experience.”

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