Hawaii works to secure Barack Obama Presidential Library

HAWAII (eTN) – “On the night he was first elected, in a time of growing challenge, President Obama offered an unmistakable message of optimism and hope.

HAWAII (eTN) – “On the night he was first elected, in a time of growing challenge, President Obama offered an unmistakable message of optimism and hope. He spoke not only to the crowd that gathered to congratulate him, but to Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, and to the citizens of the world watching and listening beyond our shores.

‘Our stories are singular,’ he declared, ‘but our destiny is shared.’ That conviction, rooted in his own experience, that citizens from all walks of life can come together to forge a brighter future for all of us is what drives Barack Obama. And it is what will shape the development of his Presidential Library.”

This is the introduction from the Obama President Foundation guidelines for a request for qualifications for hosting the Barack Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama may have attended Columbia University in New York, and he may have started his political career in Chicago, Illinois โ€“ both top contenders for the permanent Barack Obama Presidential Library. But those in and from Hawaii believe that it is only natural that his presidential library belongs in Hawaii. As the introduction to the guidelines for applications to the library states, his โ€œconviction is rooted in his own experience,โ€ and that experience of living among people of diversity โ€“ the state is known as the melting pot of cultures – who share a common belief โ€“ the Aloha Spirit – was born and bred in the Aloha State.

The Barack Obama Hawaii Presidential Center Initiative has the backing of such local political leaders as Hawaiiโ€™s current Governor, Neil Abercrombie, and Honoluluโ€™s current Mayor Kirk Caldwell. US Senator Brian Schatz and US Representative Tulsi Gabbard, along with members of the business community, including Bank of Hawaii Chairman, President and CEO Peter Ho; Kamehameha Schools CEO Dee Jay Mailer; and Blue Planet Foundation founder Henk Rogers are also among those that support having President Obamaโ€™s presidential library located in the state of Hawaii.

A team of museum consultants will be in Hawaii next month to meet with local officials about Hawaiiโ€™s plans to build the presidential library on property located adjacent to the Kakaako Waterfront Park. Currently, the Kakaako area is under development as a mixed-use area where people will live, work, and play. It already is a location that provides homes for local residents, with a park, a childrenโ€™s discovery center, and a university medical research center, along with places to shop, dine, take in a movie, and go to the beach. It is close to downtown Honolulu where so many local residents work, and is near major shopping hubs like Ala Moana Center, Ward Centers, Ward Warehouse, and just a hop away from the tourist mecca known the world over as Waikiki. In short, the location is ideal.

Hawaii already is a tourism state and a destination of choice. Air connectivity to Hawaii is abundant with Honolulu International Airport welcoming 27 international and domestic carriers and hosting more than 20 million visitors each year. And the stateโ€™s infrastructure stands at the ready with visitors having a myriad of options for getting around the island of Oahu besides in a car via trolleys, cabs, and โ€œTheBus,โ€ Honoluluโ€™s award-winning bus system. TheBus was twice named โ€œAmericaโ€™s Best Transit Systemโ€ in the past decade and is among โ€œAmericaโ€™s 100 Bestโ€ according to Readerโ€™s Digest, which stated: โ€œNew York hauls the most people, and Chicago does a fine job of moving its citizens through wind, sleet and snow. But TheBus, as itโ€™s known in Oahu, has them beat.โ€

For those that will choose to visit the Barack Obama Presidential Library, they will also get a vacation in Paradise. And for those that choose to take their holiday in the Aloha State, being able to visit the presidential library will become a must-visit and must-see stop in their travels.

The Obama family has been coming to the island of Oahu in Hawaii for their vacations ever since the President took office. It is a special place that nurtured this president who will go down in history for his unique achievements. It is only natural that these islands should be the home of the Barack Obama President Library. As the Obama President Foundation guidelines state it is โ€œa shared destiny.โ€

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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