New Officers Appointed
President - Barbara Moore
Vice President - Evelyn McCarthy
Treasurer - Denise Salomie
Secretary - Julia Fairchild
We have room on the board for four new members....anyone ready to serve?
As a newly appointed Board of Directors, we have high hopes and great expectations of working together as healers for community and strategic alliance one with another. We hope that in the near future, besides sharing the awesome website presence that we already have, wouldn't it be great if we could eventually afford our members group health and dental benefits, liability insurance, and other benefits, such as advertising alliances, etc.?
Please share with us other ideas you may have as to how the HIWTA can benefit us all, as we pool our resources and stand together as one.
About the HIWTA Website
PLEASE! visit our website at
Check to see that you are listed in at least FIVE categories, and if not, please renew your HIWTA membership. Thank you!All you need to do to choose up to FIVE categories for listing, and pay your dues, can be found here.
This is the best deal in town - don't miss out on it.
Paid Your Dues Already?
And Now.....a letter from our President
Aloha Dear Members and Friends of HIWTA,
How many of you recall the excitement we experienced when we came together and met at the Mauna Lani three years ago? Thanks to Susanne Sims spearheading this organization, we all began interrelating with team spirit supporting one another. We owe a debt of gratitude to Susanne for being our inspirational guide.
At the end of 2007, when Susanne left the Big Island, she stepped down as President in October, while the organization was still thriving. There followed an awkward period of of 6 months time when the organization did not have enough volunteers to make a board, no financial records were kept, our budget was depleted, and payment of our taxes lapsed. I am happy to announce that the difficult time is now history. If any of you wish to understand details of that unfortunate time, you can go to www.HIWTAmemberforum.com where you can read about our struggle to regroup.
In May of 2008, I was elected president when eight new board members volunteered to help. Through a tremendous amount of perseverance by Denise Salomie who was Vice President and is now Treasurer, Evelyn McCarthy who was Treasurer and is now Vice President, and Julia Fairchild who has been secretary and creator of our valuable connecting tool, the online member forum—we are now up and running again in fine form. My hat is off to these dedicated women for keeping the vision!
As board members, we believe in the importance of our alliance. To best serve you, we decided to
(1) clarify what has been happening and how we can now move forward
(2) thank you for your patience and understanding, and
(3) ask for renewed solid support from all of you who see the possibilities of working together in unity.
Clearly, we need to have members understand that HIWTA (BIHWA) is now alive and well, and that our organization is here to work for you, especially by making your business available to the public through our effective website. We are presently providing a quality website (soon to be improved) that is linked with Big Island Visitors Bureau to increase business for our members. To continue and improve that valuable service, HIWTA needs to have members pay the nominal fee of $75 a year for dues. We are also calling for volunteers to serve on the board.
One of the most powerful aspects of being a member of HIWTA is having the opportunity to easily connect with other health care professionals. As president of HIWTA, I have had the opportunity to make strong bonds with extraordinary people on the board and in the association who are now my dear friends. I use their services and send them business when, before HIWTA, I did not know about them or their services. By posting events and writing for our Big Island Health and Wellness Newsletter (that we intend to create soon with your contributions), we can keep informed of one another's offerings.
Another valuable reason for being a part of our organization has to do with learning and sharing. In November 2008 we had a HIWTA meeting at the Dragonfly Ranch with Susanne Sims when she returned from being the keynote speaker at an international wellness travel conference in New Zealand. We all learned an amazing amount of information about the wellness arena happening around the world.
At the end of that meeting in Kona, we shared even more information with each other. Joyce Marvel-Benoist, for instance, taught us about celiac disorder (which 20% of us suffer from after the age of 60). Joyce wants to hold classes, using the HIVB to help advertise the event. Being a member of HIWTA gives us access to effective HIVB publicity like Jessica’s “What’s Sizzlin’ on the Big Island” to promote valuable functions.
In addition to paying much-needed dues, we are looking for volunteers to come forth as board members to help guide the future of HIWTA. We need four new board members to help us morph out of HIWTA (which was confused with a private organization called Hawaii Wellness Travel Association), into a new beginning as
Big Island Health and Wellness Alliance (BIHWA)
As of June 1, we have been assured that the Big Island Visitors Bureau (BIVB) will start linking to our new name using our new and improved website (thanks to Julia). All members who are current with their dues will be included in that BIHWA.com website, with that direct connection to the BIVB website (a link for “healing vacations” that gives our site many “hits”).
Award-winning Roxanne Darling who does the webisode called "Beach Walks with Rox,"
http:/www.beachwalks.tv/ has told me she would like to come over and teach HIWTA members how to do webisodes. Webisodes are a great marketing tool. At HIWTA we can put the webisode on our site to help you increase your business. I will gladly help you do a webisode that our editor Rasha made for the Dragonfly promotion of workshops using my Illuminarium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLE704zSrBU We will put your youTube on our site and you can use on it on your site to increase business.
It is our wish to help our members serve tourists as well as locals who want services that improve their health and well being. We strongly support our members being of service and prospering. In turn, we look forward to your support of our fine organization.
Please feel free to update your membership on line at Renew Membership Here
where you can re-read our high-minded purpose and well-thought-out goals and guidelines.
Call if you have questions. We will be contacting you soon with a survey soliciting your input for our future direction. If you wish to become a board member, please let us know immediately.
Wishing you good health and prosperity. It is an honor to be serving this
association of healing arts professionals and those in related services.
In unity,
Barbara Moore
President of HIWTA (soon to be BIHWA)
PS
We are happy to announce that Susanne Sims is moving back to Hawi, gloriously celebrating her 50th birthday. Because our dear founder has been a gift to us and given us the gift of this organization, we wish to honor Susanne by gifting her a lifetime membership to her/our association.
Thank you!
We are beginning a new fiscal year as of July 1, and would encourage each of you to renew your dues so that we can move ahead in getting the website up and running, and meeting the other obligations of the Association (like phone charges, taxes, etc.)
Please consider joining us in re-creating the vision we all held at that first meeting three years ago! Let's pull together once again, and pool our resources for the good of all!
Currently RENEWING Members listed on the HIWTA.org website
October 19
Meeting with Susanne Sims
New Zealand Conference
1) Damien O'Connor, NZ's Minister of Tourism is also the deputy Minister of Health. He opened the conference by reviewing NZ's tourism strategy 2015, which calls for sustainability on 4 fronts: Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural
2) Wellness Tourism fits perfectly into that model. NZ is a values based niche economy. Stay focused on the wellness values we offer the world, now more than ever. We offer solutions the world is looking for.
3) In my presentation, shared with them the model of wellness tourism that we developed for HIWTA and how our organization began and what we have accomplished. Told them what their advantages are.
4) Other presentations focused on:
•Tourism NZ, how to work with them resources offered in marketing, research, etc.
• Waiora, Hell's Gate Spa: NZ is endowed with Geothermal spas success of Rotorua Spa expanding internationally, NZ concept spa in Bangkok Thailand, (mention AlpinRose, Hawaiian Lomilomi Room )
• John Hull, Iceland example: Different temperatures, properties of minerals.
• Research of Retreats: Why do people retreat? Authentic versus contrived self.
• Access tourism, silver market gearing up for them.
• Training, Qualmark, Standards and Guidelines
5) Visits to the various wellness retreats. Many retreat centers, Mana Retreat. Developed a jet lag package for Cotter House
6) Possibility of teaching wellness tourism at AUT, consulting and researching.
OTHER AREAS TO COVER:
1) Wellness At Warp Speed
2) Deitrich's Green Hawaii Go Guides
Beneficial Alliances Renewed
Special offers and valuable discounts to HIWTA members are also being provided to assist you in growing your business. Read more about each offer below.
Submit Your Articles!
Articles pertaining to your services as a wellness travel provider are welcome, and will be posted to our HIWTA.org site as a service to our members. Not only will posting articles add valuable content to our site, enriching our search engine optimization, but it will also benefit your clients in reading about your services, and you, inviting new clientelle who are drawn to your articles.
Julia Fairchild is offering her writing and editorial services to assist in getting articles posted on the site. Once you have an article idea or outline, call her at (808) 987-0359 to discuss ideas for your article, and her service fees.
On October 19, a group of HIWTA members met at Dragonfly Ranch to listen to Susanne Sims talk about her adventure as the keynote speaker at the New Zealand Wellnes Tourism Conference. It wa a fascinating afternoon, and we all enjoyed it immensely.
Following is an outline of her talk, which we did videotape, and are looking for someone to edit the tape. In the meantime, Susanne has graciously agreed to flesh out the outline with more detail to post here.
---o0o---
Joyce Marvel-Benoist is preparing a one-day seminar for restaurants, caterers, and others interested in serving wellness travelers with special dietary needs, especially as regards wheat and gluten-free diets.
For more information, or to register, click here
Many members currently listed on the HIWTA website have been there from years past.
We are working to confirm your listing one by one - you can greatly help by checking your listing, and letting us know if it needs update, or renewal.
We encourage you to renew your membership as soon as possible, to insure that your listing remains on the website. If you have already paid, or need to make updates to your listing, please do so at the membership renewal page.
Hawaii Health Guide is Hawaii's #1 Healthy Lifestyle & Vacation guide, reaching over 5,000 visitors and residents a day, who are searching HawaiiHealthGuide.com's directories, events and news for your healthy services and products!
With over 50,000 daily page views, a Big Island Health guide in English and Japanese, and supporting events statewide, HHG is a part of the foundation of hawaii's growing Health and Wellness community and warmly welcomes HIWTA members with our Ohana Membership discount. Use this code:
"HIWTA-OHANA-$40" to receive a $40 discount on annual Directory image listings of $240/year.
Additional benefits include discounts on email blast announcements via the Hawaii Health-E Network, as well as booth & advertising discounts on the 2008 statewide Hawaii Healing Garden Festivals and Healthy Hawaii Expos.
Subscribe to the Health-E News on the Hawaii Health guide.com homepage and learn more.
contact: Hawaii Health Guide
(808) 638-0888 or email to
We are pleased to anounce that Hawaii Health Guide.com and Holistic Hawaii.com are once again official media sponsors of the Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association. As such, these two organizations will be helping us to get the word out about important news and events.
Holistic-Hawaii.com is pleased partner with the Hawaii Island Wellness Association by offering a annual web display listing at www.Holistic-Hawaii.com at no charge, under the categories of Resources and Directories, Vacations and Healing, Accommodations & Renewal Sites. You may change these categories or request additional ones that you may feel appropriate to the organizations mission.
In addition we will feature your organization on our front page of our award winning website, for one month, once you feel ready and send out 4 eBlasts [annually] broadcasting membership drive or annual meeting at no charge. Additional eBlasts may be purchased 50% of our regular price.
In exchange for these things Holistic-Hawaii.com and TotalWellBeingExpo.com would like to have our annual membership, sponsor logos on the HIWTA website and mention in any mass emails to your membership list.
Let me know if there is anything else that we might be able to participate in.
With warmest aloha,
Sharman O'Shea
Publisher
Holistic Hawaii ePublications & Promotion
Publishers of Holistic Hawaii Magnetic Marketing e- Zine, Holistic Hawaii e-Blasts & Holistic Hawaii e- Magazine, producers of Hawaii Total Well Being Expo and hosts of Hawaii's Premier Holistic website www.holistic-hawaii.com Winner of OmPlace "Conscious Living" Award and Healers ByRegion "Best of Websites" Award. Holistic Hawaii is a mission of Holomana 'O Hawaii a Hawaii nonprofit organization created to perpetuate the healing arts in Hawaii, contributing to a sustainable wellness industry.
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