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The President’s Pen I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. As we wrap up 2004 and welcome in the New Year, there are many things we will cherish, remember and await. First, I would like to thank everyone who has served on our Board of Directors past and present. Their dedication, leadership and commitment to our profession is second to none. To those who are serving on our committees I would like to thank all of them - Continuing Education, Fundraising, Golden Gala, Legislative, Committee on Inquiry, Kanaka Maoli, PACE, Public Relations, Filipino Social Workers, and Retirees. I would like also to thank our membership. You are all the backbone of NASW. Our Golden Gala Committee is working hard planning a wonderful celebration on March 4th! Thanks to Renee Furuyama, Palama Lee, Pi'ilani Kai, Gary Funasaki, Regina Junasa, Ah Nee Leong, Miyono Kunioka, Ethel Yamane, Riki Hiramoto, Bob Masuda, Denise Draa and Elaine Wilson for their time putting this together. If anyone has any silent auction items please contact us. Our legislative committee has been working hard on several issues. For the 2005 Legislative Session, NASW will continue its efforts on funding the safety net including funding for substance abuse programs, housing and welfare payments. There are also proposals being drafted that address the State social work classification issue, privileged communication, and other legislation which affect our profession. If you are interested in joining our Legislative committee, please call the Chapter office. We would like to thank Rep. Ryan Yamane and Sen. Brian Kanno for their assistance on our legislative issues. We have been meeting with the Department of Human Resource Development (DHRD), HGEA, the Schools of Social Work at UH Manoa, BYU Hawaii, and HPU. A final report is available with recommendations to continue to meet to address recruitment and retention issues for the State social work/human service professional positions. We realize that we must educate the public on the special set of skills we as social workers possess. It is our skills and knowledge of the profession that has led to our ability to work with different populations, a variety of social problems and in multiple settings. This is our strength as well as our weakness. As such we are a diverse profession with different levels of practice and have remained, for the most part, not clearly defined. It is our values and ethics that brings us together. For the next several years, NASW will continue to engage with the community to insure that our profession is understood and respected. I believe the classification issue with DHRD is a positive step in that direction. It will allow us to become organized and educate others about who we are. In the long run, we hope that it will lead to higher pay, lower case loads, and stricter qualifications (in both private and public sectors). Thanks to Dr. Susan Chandler, Dr. John Matsuoka, Dr. MarySheridan, Dr. Sharlene Furuto, Jackie Grassele, and Kevin Mulligan of HGEA for their commitment to working on this issue with NASW. As I write this letter, the images of the natural disaster in India and surrounding countries fill the news. Personally, I know of one social worker, a former student of mine, who is currently working in India as an International social worker. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and all of the people in that area. Lastly, I want to thank our Executive Director, Debbie Shimizu, for all her hard work, sacrifice, and patience (especially with me) this past year. She represents us on numerous community coalitions and committees, educates Legislators about who we are and keeps our Chapter going. She is truly a social worker for social workers! I am looking forward to a terrific year! Let's find something to celebrate everyday this year! It has been 50 years that NASW has been in existence! Join us to Celebrate 50 Golden Years of Aloha! Wishing all of you a safe and Happy New Year!
Darrin Sato,
LSW January 2005 |
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