Grant Writing Guru

09/05/2026

Puerto Ricans Are Not the New Kids in Hawaiʻi

Today, Mari and I had the privilege of attending the special "La Casita Blessing & Celebration" at Hawaiʻi's Plantation Village in Waipahu.

The Plantation Village traces the history of the various ethnic and racial groups who worked on Hawaiʻi's plantations. It's, essentially, an outdoor museum depicting what plantation life was like in early 1900s Hawaiʻi, told through a series of buildings — a Chinese house, a Japanese house, a plantation store, and others.

Many people don't know that Puerto Ricans toiled on Hawaiʻi's plantations. The Village's Puerto Rican house, "La Casita," shows how early Puerto Ricans lived and worked on Oʻahu's plantations.

Today's cultural event and blessing celebrated the renovation of La Casita, carried out by members of the Puerto Rican Heritage Society, who maintain the house. (Mari and I are members.)

Puerto Ricans In Hawaiʻi: From Storm To Settlement

The Disaster. Hurricane San Ciriaco struck Puerto Rico on August 8, 1899, crossing the island in roughly six hours with winds over 100 mph, followed by a second hurricane on August 22. Twenty-eight days of torrential rain caused catastrophic flooding, killed an estimated 3,400 people, and left some 250,000 without food or shelter.

The storm was especially ruinous to the coffee industry — of the roughly $35.9 million in total losses, more than $18 million fell on coffee, with the harvest destroyed just before picking season. The collapse left thousands of workers unemployed.

The Recruitment. With the island's coffee economy in ruins and mass unemployment gripping the countryside, the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association — facing its own labor shortages — sent recruiters through Puerto Rico offering displaced workers passage to Hawaiʻi, an offer many took out of necessity rather than choice.

The Migration. Roughly 5,000 Puerto Ricans settled in Hawaiʻi across eleven voyages between November 1900 and October 1901, sailing to New Orleans, crossing by rail to California, then sailing again to Honolulu. The first group of 56 men arrived December 23, 1900, aboard the S.S. City of Rio de Janeiro and was sent to Pioneer Mill in Lahaina.

The Plantation Reality. Workers entered a racially stratified system: 10-to-12-hour days, six-day weeks, ethnicity-based housing and pay, and numbered identity tags. In these early years, Puerto Ricans labored alongside Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Native Hawaiian workers.

The Culture That Took Root. Puerto Rican families preserved their music (cuatro, bomba, plena, kachi kachi), food (pasteles, arroz con gandules, coquito), and faith traditions. Puerto Rican -- numbering more than 38,000 by the 2010 census across the four islands -- still organize today,

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

Mari is the new president of the Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) association. Last night, SME hosted its premier annual event — the "Salesperson of the Year" Gala — at the Sheraton Waikiki.

This year's honoree was Sherry Menor, President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Approximately 300 guests attended, including Governor Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

Villa Business Consulting was proud to serve as a co-sponsor of the event, and we had a reserved table in honor of Mari's involvement as SME's president.

It was a beautiful evening from start to finish. The night opened with an hour of networking before the venue doors opened for the formal program. Guests took their seats as the evening began with a "parade" of roughly ten past Salesperson of the Year honorees — a fitting tribute to the award's legacy. An outstanding hula hālau and vocalists provided entertainment throughout dinner.

A professional tribute video captured the breadth of Sherry's accomplishments throughout her career. Governor Green and Mayor Blangiardi each presented her with a proclamation, and Mayor Blangiardi officially declared the day "Sherry Menor Day" in the City and County of Honolulu.

Several speakers took the stage to celebrate her character and impact before Sherry herself spoke. Her speech was deeply moving -- humble and generous, giving credit to the many mentors who shaped her path, beginning with her parents. She spoke of her continued hunger to keep learning from others, no matter how far she's come.

Then Mari took the stage to honor her. She and Sherry have been close friends for nearly 20 years, and Mari was already in tears before she reached the podium. The two shared a warm embrace as the room looked on.

It was a truly touching night -- one that celebrated Sherry Menor not just as an accomplished leader, but as a role model so many professionals aspire to emulate.

09/03/2026

Mari and I are proud to have co-sponsored today’s Building Industry Association of Hawai’i’s’ Annual Membership Meeting.

09/02/2026

Attention Oahu Small Business Owners: Kona Low Recovery Funding is Here

If your business was impacted by the Kona Low storms this past March, help is on the way. Our company wants to make sure every eligible business owner in our network knows about it.

The Oahu Kona Low Business Recovery Grant Program, a partnership between the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce and the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), is distributing $3.35 million in grant funding to non-agricultural small businesses on Oahu affected by the March 10–23, 2026 storm event.

Grant amounts:
🔹 Tier 1 – Micro Enterprise Grant: $5,000 (revenue under $250K, 1–10 employees)
🔹 Tier 2 – Small Business Grant: $10,000 (revenue $250K–$5M, 11–500 employees)

Basic eligibility:
✅ Non-agricultural, for-profit business
✅ Fewer than 500 employees, under $5M annual revenue
✅ At least one Hawaii-resident owner, operating on Oahu before March 10, 2026
✅ Registered with DCCA before March 10, 2026
✅ Current on state and federal taxes
✅ Sustained material, economic, or physical harm from the storms
✅ Claims for unmet needs not already covered by insurance or other assistance

📅 Join the informational webinar:
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 | 10:00 AM HST | via Zoom
Applications are submitted online only (no mail-ins) at www.oahukonalowrecovery.org, and assistance is available in Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Tagalog, Hawaiian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

If you know a business owner still recovering from the Kona Low storms, please share this post — this kind of relief funding only works if it reaches the people who need it. 🤙

📞 808-210-6839 | 📧 [email protected]

08/29/2026

A Night to Remember: Hawai'i Black Business Roundtable

This past Thursday, I had the privilege of attending the Hawai'i Black Business Roundtable. It was an evening centered on insight, connection, and community.

Mahalo to Danielle Wills, Founder & President of the Hawai'i Black Chamber of Commerce – and her HBCC team -- for opening the door to this community.

These types of events remind me of why representation and relationship-building matter so much in business. I left inspired and connected.

Thank you to the incredible panelists who shared their wisdom and experience:

🔹 Alphonso Braggs, President, NAACP Hawai'i
🔹 Vincent Brathwaite, Founder & CEO, Gidens, Inc.
🔹 Danielle Wills, Founder & President, Hawai'i Black Chamber of Commerce
🔹 Ed Young, President, Blacks in Government (BIG) Hawai'i
🔹 Shervelle Hannah, President, WOW Productions – Arts and Theater

A special shout-out to Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, U.S. Representative for Hawai'i's 2nd District, for joining as a special guest speaker and championing small businesses across our islands. Her reminder that our work matters resonated deeply with everyone in the room.

This is what community in action looks like -- leaders, entrepreneurs, and change makers building, strengthening, and uplifting Hawai'i together.

Connection. Collaboration. Opportunity. Together we thrive.

08/29/2026

Last night, Mari and I were privileged to attend our second networking event of the evening -- the Hawaii Black Chamber's Black Business Roundtable at the Entrepreneurs Sandbox in Kaka'ako. And what an event it was…!

The Chamber brought together an incredible cross-section of Hawaii's Black business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders for an evening built around real connection and collaboration. The energy in the room reflected just how diverse this business community truly is.

A highlight was the 30-minute conversation with Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, who engaged openly and thoughtfully with attendees providing: special remarks; a moderated discussion; and genuine Q&A that gave the community a real voice.

It was the kind of candid, impactful exchange that reminds reminds our communities why these gatherings matter.

The evening rounded out with a dynamic panel of Hawaii's Black business and community leaders talking entrepreneurship, leadership, and opportunity, followed by community Q&A and a call to action to keep building on this momentum.

We mahalo the Hawaii Black Chamber for creating a space this welcoming, this substantive, and this well-organized.

Proud to have been part of it.

08/27/2026

I was privileged to attend the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s “Small Business B(AI)sics” workshop -- presented in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (CCH) -- this morning at the Entrepreneurs Sandbox in Kaka’ako.

About 40 people – of all ages and AI comfort levels – attended. It was a great introduction to AI basic concepts.

Sherry Menor, President/CEO of the introduced the workshop presenter Dean Ahlgren. I think each participant walked away with a new grasp of what AI can do.

08/18/2026

Hawaii's Federal Contracting Boom: A Model for Local Business Growth (Source: Pacific Business News – August 12, 2026)

In just the first two weeks of August, six Hawaii-based firms secured a combined $1.02 billion in Army and Navy contracts — proof that local businesses are more than ready to compete for, and win, major federal work.

A few standouts:

🔹 Laukoa (formerly Dawson) is part of a $699M IDIQ contract for petroleum, oil, and lubricants infrastructure work with the Army Corps of Engineers — building on more than a decade of design-build experience in fuel systems.

🔹 Hensel Phelps landed a $309.65M sole-source contract for construction on the Navy's Red Hill Water Treatment Facility, a critical project to safeguard O'ahu's drinking water.

🔹 Engineering Partners Inc. secured a $30M Navy contract spanning utility system design across eight locations — from Hawaii to Japan, Guam, and beyond — while also competing for a $9.9M Army electrical design contract alongside three other local firms.

🔹 Even companies with mainland roots, like Cayuse Native Hawaiian Veterans, are bringing federal contract dollars back to the islands through a Honolulu office and a $249M Navy ship repair contract.

What this tells us: the federal pipeline for Hawaii firms -- especially those with Native Hawaiian ownership, veteran status, or small business certifications -- is active and substantial right now.

The firms winning these awards didn't get there by accident. They built the certifications, past performance documentation, and capacity statements needed to compete.

If your business is eyeing federal contracting but isn't sure where to start -- SAM registration; 8(a) or NHO certification; capability statements; or proposal development – now is a good time to get positioned. Opportunities like these don't wait.

08/17/2026

About a month ago, during a golf tournament, my wife Mari won a dinner-for-ten at the Flair European Steakhouse (valued at $1,750) in Honolulu's Kakaako neighborhood.

As a board member of the Honolulu Executives Association (HEA), she decided to use the prize to invite fellow HEA members and their spouses to share the evening.

As luck would have it, the dinner landed on the same night Hurricane Lala's rain, wind, and storm surge were set to begin battering Oahu.

The restaurant staff was kind enough to place our party in a private room. Borrowing a line from the Post Office: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" was going to keep these intrepid business professionals from a steak dinner with ch*****ne, plenty of w**e, great fellowship, and a lot of laughs.

By the time we finished our dinner, the restaurant was packed with other diners brave enough to dine out as the storm approached.

We did run into some rain on the way home. But it was nothing the w**e and ch*****ne we had beforehand couldn't handle.

Best part: Everyone made it back safely, just in time to settle in for what turned into a very long, very noisy, and very stormy night…!

Now Mari’s scared to plan any other dinner parties…LOL!