Lawyers' convention
set for Oahu

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

The American Bar Association will hold a national convention in Hawaii in August 2006, thanks to some effective lobbying by the Hawaii Bar Association and local tourism executives.

Sandra Moreno, Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau vice president for meetings, conventions and incentives, said the ABA rejected Hawaii three times as a convention destination, mostly because there was no convention center.

Now that the Hawaii Convention Center is open, Moreno said, the attraction is greater. It still wasn't easy to swing the vote in favor of Hawaii, where the ABA last met in 1989, she said.

A vote at a meeting earlier this year in Nashville, Tenn., went against Hawaii. However, the ABA's national board of directors, meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on Wednesday voted to override the earlier decision and approve Hawaii as the site. Hawaii representatives were on hand and made their pitch, she said.

State official Rick Egged said the "kuhina" (Hawaiian for ambassador) program also played a part. Launched in April, the program encourages local executives to urge their mainland and overseas counterparts to meet in Hawaii.