MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALEXANDER & BALDWIN FOUNDATION GIFTS $100,000 TO Hawai‘i MARITIME CENTER'S FINANCIAL FREEDOM CAMPAIGN
HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Maritime Center opened with great fanfare on November 16, 1988 on Pier 7 in the Honolulu Harbor. It also opened with nearly $2 million in debt. The HMC Financial Freedom Campaign was kicked off earlier this year to eliminate this debt, with tremendous support from businesses and individuals.
Bob Krauss spearheaded the campaign under the leadership of Bishop Museum president Dr. Bill Brown. Krauss initiated the campaign with a personal pledge of $100,000 if others would join in to save HMC from a financial shut down. In response, Alexander & Baldwin President & CEO Allen Doane presented a $100,000 gift from the A&B Foundation to Bishop Museum Chairman Mark Polivka, President and CEO Bill Brown and Krauss. Thus far, donations and pledges have exceeded $500,000.
With the hard work of generous, dedicated individuals and corporations, and the steady leadership of Dr. Brown, it is now anticipated that by 2004 year-end, the debt will finally be repaid.
“The value of the Hawai‘i Maritime Center as a resource for the Pacific at large is truly irreplaceable, said Bill Brown, President & CEO of Bishop Museum. “With the support of Bob and others within the community, the future of this treasured institution is strong.”
Those wishing to donate to the Financial Freedom Campaign should make checks payable to the Hawai‘i Maritime Center and specify they are for the Financial Freedom Campaign. Checks can be mailed to Dr. William Brown, Hawai‘i Maritime Center, Pier 7 – Honolulu Harbor, Honolulu, HI, 96813. Hawai‘i Maritime Center celebrates Hawai‘i ’s rich maritime history through exhibits, displays, and rare maritime artifacts. Currently, it is home toHokule‘a,a replica of a Polynesian voyaging canoe; Falls of Clyde, the world’s only surviving four-masted full-rigged ship; Navigating Change, an interactive exhibit centered around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; 150 Years of Waterfront Reporting, a permanent exhibit that covers news reporting on Hawai‘i ’s waterfront from ancient times to present day; and the world’s only two humpback whale skeletons. As a sister institution of Bishop Museum, the Hawai‘i Maritime Center offers visitors a look back at Hawai‘i ’s extensive maritime history – from its discovery by Polynesian navigators 1500 years ago, to contact with the western culture, to the effects of whaling. Located at Pier 7 at Honolulu Harbor, the Hawai‘i Maritime Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call 523-6151 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.