Ron Fitzgerald

Name Ron Fitzgerald

Age 56

Town/Moku Mānana Uka

Island Oʻahu

Social Media Handle @kuhiawaho

Nominated by Shannon Bucasas

Leadership Category Education

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am a father, a papa and a husband. I am a student, a kumu, and a coach. I am a hunter, a farmer, a fisherman and a diver. I am a surfer, a musician, a woodworker and I shape stones. I am a storyteller, a writer, a reader, and a researcher. I am a moon follower and an explorer. I am mālama ʻāina and aloha ʻāina. I am a Kaʻōpua and a Fitzgerald.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?

My dad didn't want me to be Hawaiian, but I don't think he knew. My family is Mormon so I was raised with those beliefs...nothing Hawaiian in our house. So any bits or pieces of learning Hawaiian things that I got, I grasped on to it. It's like when you get caught in the current, it just takes you. This is how I feel about learning things Hawaiian. Some people don't care, but I do. I want to be able to get back into the waters of Pu'uloa. I want to have access to those resources. I don't want our people to forget that we had a Queen, and we once owned land from the mountain to the sea. This is how I live my life. I plant kalo, and I raise i'a, but, I also raise kānaka. It is important to grow good kalo, and important to raise good fish, but it is more important to raise good and healthy kānaka. Good and healthy kānaka, make good and healthy families. Our community needs hope, understanding and ʻike. Knowledge is mana.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.

I admire someone who is pono. Someone who shares ʻike and shows how to make things. Someone who keeps their ʻohana together. A person who gets his/her family or loved one through a storm (tough times). Through their examples, I celebrate great moments, and I deal with tough times and get through the storms.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?

Although I never met any of them, because they all (including my tūtū man) passed away at a young age, my kūpuna have always inspired me. I guess its because I still have their koko inside me, or maybe I am the reincarnation of someone or something. I always gravitated towards anything and everything Hawaiian. I like to learn things and make things. I am always trying to fill my ʻumeke.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?

Lōkahi (standing together in unity)

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?

Olakino (the overall health of our people and our ʻāina)