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Here are our picks:

1. Understanding Public Relations
2. Public Relations vs. Advertising
3. How to Write a Press Release
4. How to Write a Fact Sheet
5. Connect with Your Publics

JOY: Alright, now, it’s time for us to talk about the last of our Hawaii holiday gift picks.

JENNY: And, the best part is that all of our gift picks can be purchased online, so it doesn’t matter where you live, you can give or get a gift straight from Hawaii!  And, we’ll be sure to link our gift picks on our blog, yourpubliciswaiting.com, Twitter, and on Facebook. Ok, our first gift pick is Banana Patch Studio’s Hand Painted Ceramic Tiles. They come in 4” and 6” sizes. The tiles are Hawaiian themed, in a variety of patterns all designed and made on Kauai by Banana Patch Studio.

They have all types of designs, such as a Hawaiian Quilt pattern, green sea turtles, the Hawaiian Islands, and more. Other tiles have cute sayings on them like “Mahalo, Please take off your shoes” or “Welcome, E Komo Mai” and of course both of these would be placed your front door. But, the one I like the best is a Hawaiian Blessing that reads: May there always be warmth in your Hale, fish in your net, and Aloha in your heart. I love that!

And, we got an email from them last week and learned that the tiles are fired in their kiln using solar power! So, this is also a very green gift too!

We also mentioned in a previous show that Banana Patch Studio owner Joanna Carolan and husband Dr. Carolan illustrated and wrote, respectively, the children’s book “The President from Hawaii.” The book was chosen to represent Hawaii at the Library of Congress Book Festival in Washington D.C., and that would make a wonderful gift as well.

JOY: Oh, those tiles are perfect for anyone, anywhere. What a lovely way to bring Hawaii to wherever you may be. And, I bought a few of “The President from Hawaii” for holiday gifts too. So, to order the tiles, books, and more go to www.bananapatchstudio.com.  Ok, I really love our next gift pick because not only would it make a great Christmas present, but it would be a wonderful New Year’s present too. It’s Nani Moon Mead’s Pineapple Guava Sunset Mead.

Nani Moon Mead is tropical honey wine and is the only Meadery in Hawaii, located in Kapaa, Kauai.

So, the Pineapple Guava Sunset Mean is a luscious blend of honey, guava, and pineapple from the Hawaiian Islands.  It’s a semi-dry honey wine crafted to be light bodied, with mild acidity and filled with pleasant flavors.  I tasted this recently and it was wonderful! First, the smell of this mead is so tropical, and then when you taste it…it’s really a great balance of flavors and tannins. Stephanie, the owner, told me that the tannins come from the tea, which was I thought was such a smart idea.

Oh, and one of the best things about the mead is that it’s made without sulfites or preservatives and are crafted to be enjoyed right off the shelf, no aging necessary.  So, Stephanie says enjoy the mead chilled, in the same style as a white wine, with pupus (appetizers), and fresh island cuisine or on it’s own while watching an island sunset or moonrise.  

Currently, Nani Moon Mead only ships to: California, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York,  and Washington D.C. You can find out more information about the mead and purchase it at www.nanimoonmead.com.  

JENNY: Sounds delish! I have to try that soon.

JOY: Alright, now, it’s time for us to talk about some of our Hawaii holiday gift picks.

JENNY: And, the best part is that all of our gift picks can be purchased online, so it doesn’t matter where you live, you can give or get a gift straight from Hawaii!  And, we’ll be sure to link to our gift picks on our blog, yourpubliciswaiting.com, Twitter, and on Facebook.

JOY: So our first holiday gift pick is Malie Organics Holiday Gift Sets.

Malie’s products are all from Kaua’i.  They’re luxurious natural products for home, body and spirit. The gentle, soothing essences of their wild-crafted and organic ingredients flow through pure Hawaiian hydrosols, the therapeutic floral waters that infuse each product. They’ve got some great gift sets including:

Soy Candle & Luxe Cream Soap $40

Organic Body Cream and Body Wash $50

They’re beautifully gift wrapped and ready to give and available at malie.com. And, right now, they’re offering free shipping, so that’s a deal! Anywhere you can get free shipping is awesome, especially for us here in Hawaii.

JENNY: Alright that’s great and their right down the road from our studio.  Our second gift pick is brought to us by Dawn Sakamoto, Director of Sales & Marketing at Watermark Publishing and this is for a book called Kau Kau: Cuisine and Culture in the Hawaiian Islands. Kau Kau is Hawaiian pidgin word meaning to eat, food, or meal. In Kau Kau, author Arnold Hiura—a writer with roots in the plantation culture—explores the rich history and heritage of food in Hawai‘i, with little-known culinary tidbits, interviews with chefs and farmers, and a treasury of rare photos and illustrations.  Dawn says that Kau Kau is about the intertwined relationship between culture and cuisine here in Hawaii, and covers our food history going back to the first Hawaiians all the way to modern day Hawaii Regional Cuisine and the locavore movement.  “Kau Kau” will be in bookstores in January.  But, it’s currently available for advance purchase directly from the publisher, at bookshawaii.net.  You can learn more about the book at the Kau Kau Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kau-Kau-Cuisine-Culture-in-the-Hawaiian-Islands/191006435015 ). And, you can view a short book trailer on YouTube.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yo_pG3-wBw).

JOY: Last of all we’re picking books from the award winning Molokai-born author, Lois-Ann Yamanaka. Her books can be found on Amazon.com. (http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=lois-ann%20yamanaka&index=blended). Lois-Ann Yamanaka ia a Japanese-American poet and novelist. What’s unique about her is that many of her critically acclaimed literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confront themes of Asian American families and the local culture of Hawaiʻi.  Her list of titles include Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre, a book of poems written in Hawaiian Pidgin (1993), Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (1996), Blu’s Hanging (1997), Heads by Harry (1998), Behold the Many (2006), and many more.  Any of these books would be terrific reads for people interested in real-life Hawai`i and the cultural intricacies here.  And while they’re profound, they’re also written with a lot of humor. What’s nice is that there are not too many novels out there written about real Hawaii life, and using pidgin. So that’s cool.

JENNY: Joy’s going to read an excerpt from Yamanaka’s book “Blu’s Hanging”. So, here’s the synopsis of the story. Joy and I have both read it.

On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, life goes on for the three young Ogata children after the death of their mother and subsequent emotional withdrawal of their grief and guilt-stricken “Poppy.” The eldest at 13, Ivah is now responsible for the safety and well-being of tiny Maisie, vulnerable and mute since their mother’s passing; and for Blu, her uncontainable brother whose desperate need for love has made him vulnerable to the most insidious of relationships. Ok, Joy, share the excerpt w/ our listeners.

JOY: Ok. Here it is:

Poppy tells me, “Ivah, I gotta work the graveyard shift at Del Monte from now on. Straight from the school, I coming home for bathe and eat, then I going to the truck barn. You going be in charge of dinner.”

The last things I bought on Poppy’s charge were a jar of Best Foods, a pint of Malolo strawberry syrup, which I diluted 7 to I instead of 5 to 1, and three cans of Spam.

“You heard me? You going be in charge of dinner.”

From now on.

Poppy shows me the fast way to make a hot dinner.

I cook a pot of hot rice, lots of rice. There are two things I can make from this: if the hen has laid eggs in the last three days that nobody ate, as soon as the button on the rice cooker pops I crack the three eggs right in the pot and stir it up with shoyu. Poppy says, “Just like the ole days, my madda made that for all us kids. Thass Japanee soul food, raw eggs on hot rice. Tamago meshi.”

The other thing I make is cream-of-mushroom soup on the hot rice. Don’t add any water. It tastes like gravy. I serve it right out of the rice pot with the soup ladle.

Poppy doesn’t care. He comes home from the school full of chalk dust and the fine dirt from the dust mop that he pushes across the gym floor at the end of the day. He smells like Pine-Sol all the time.

Poppy says I’m the best cook in the house.

Saturday morning, I saw my brother Blu gather eggs outside. He had two. I made them for him sunny-side up, and he licked the yolk off his plate.

Poppy brought home cases of dry saimin that somebody bought for him from the Swap Meet in Honolulu. So I got good at making fried noodles:

Boil the saimin and drain. Chop Spam, green onion, and fried egg and mix with the saimin. Sprinkle the soup stock over the fried noodles for flavoring.

I also make regular saimin. And one day, I come home from school and Blu and Maisie are eating dry saimin sprinkled with the soup stock. “Taste like potato chips,” Blu says, and Maisie nods.

It was getting pretty bad around the house. I saved a stick of Wrigley’s spearmint gum that Evangeline Reyes gave me on Monday until Saturday. I felt funny every day asking Evangeline to give me a stick of gum from the PlenTPak stash that she had in her patent-leather white bag.

I stuck my gum to the bureau at night, and after I brushed my teeth in the morning, popped it back into my mouth. I figured the plaque would stay out and the spearmint would taste fresher, longer. But the gum got so full of grit that it felt like fingernail crumbs until the gum and the grit stuck to my teeth like melted taffy. And that’s when I threw it away.

JENNY: Wow! I love listening to that. Thanks, Joy. So, that was an excerpt from Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s “Blu’s Hanging.” Ok, so we’ve got some excellent gift choices from Hawai`i! Remember to check on our blog, facebook, and Twitter for links to these products.

December 3, 2009

JOY: Mee too. Alright, now, it’s time for us to talk about some of our Hawaii holiday gift picks, which we’ll be doing for the next few weeks as we approach the holidays.

JENNY: And, the best part is that all of our gift picks can be purchased online, so it doesn’t matter where you live, you can give or get a gift straight from Hawaii!  And, we’ll be sure to link to our gift picks on our blog, Twitter, and on Facebook.

JOY: So our first holiday gift pick is the Alii Kula Lavendar’s lavender lilikoi jelly. I actually got this as a gift from my friend Miki last holiday season. The passion fruit used to make the jelly is grown on Maui and is infused with Alii Kula Lavender to create a tangy, sweet jelly. What I liked about the jelly is that the lavender was not too strong so that you don’t feel like you were eating some spa product…it’s just the perfect hint of lavender. I love it on scones. Alii Kula Lavendar’s website says you can even use it as a glaze over Cornish hens or ham or add two scoops in a pan when frying shrimp and to create your own version of sweet sour shrimp. 

JENNY: Mmm….sounds yummy.  Alii Kula Lavendar is a 10.5-acre lavender farm in the uplands of Maui nestled in the skirt of Haleakala.  In addition to the lavender lilikoi jelly, Alii Kula Lavendar sells all types of culinary products from lavender marinades to tea, chocolate, brownies and more, as well as apparel, aromatherapy, and bath and body products.

JOY: They really have a huge offering of products online! Visit and shop with them at www.aliikulalavendar.com, that’s a-l-i-i-k-u-l-a-lavender.com.  They even have a handy holiday shipping schedule on their site, so you’ll know when to order your gift to get it to the recipient on time. So Jenny, what’s your Hawaii holiday gift pick?

JENNY: My pick is the Island Soap and Candle Works Surfer’s Salve. I love to use it on my lips, but it’s excellent for sunburns, minor rashes, bug bites, chapped lips and dry skin.  I use it on my daughter all the time because she’s really prone to mosquito bites.

JOY: And how does it work?

JENNY: It definitely reduces the reaction from the bug bite. And, she doesn’t complain when I put it on because it doesn’t hurt.

JOY: Oh, good to know. The Surfer’s Salve is made in Hawaii using all-natural ingredients such as, olive oil, plantain leaf, comfrey leaf, beeswax, aloe, rosemary, lavender leaf, vitamin e, lavender essential oil, and tea tree oil. It comes in a 4 oz tin or as a stick. And you don’t have to be a surfer to use it!

JENNY: Right! Island Soap & Candle Works has 5 retail locations that are also working factories around Hawaii and uses the finest ingredients to craft handmade soaps, candles, and bath and body products.

JOY: And, I just have to mention that I LOVE their all-natural lip balm. I traveled to the mainland a few weeks back and when I returned, my lips were sooo chapped. I used the lip balm and in a few days, my lips were back, and even better, than normal! The balm comes in several tropical flavors, but the one I’m using now is called Island Passion that has a yummy passion fruit flavor to it. My friend really loves the Pineapple Paradise one. I really like how the lip balm is not heavy, it just glides on and feels so natural on my lips, and I even put it on under lip stick or lip gloss.

JENNY: That’s great! And you can buy these lip balm sticks separately or in a 4-pack.

JOY: Both the Surfers Salve and the lip balms are great stocking stuffers and easy to keep in your purse or pocket at all times, especially for those of you in the cold winter climates where your lips can get so dry.

JENNY: So, you can find those online at Island Soap and Candle Work’s website at islandsoap.com. And, we just wanted to remind you about something we talked about a few weeks ago: The Gilded Fork cookbook.  It’s not from Hawaii, but we think it’s such a perfect holiday gift.  If you’d like some really fresh and unique recipes and great holiday entertaining tips, get yourself a copy of Chef Mark Tafoya’s The Gilded Fork cookbook or buy it for someone else.  We’ll put a link to it on our Facebook page and in our blog, Yourpubiciswaiting.com.

In this episode of From Hawaii With Love, you’ll meet New York City blogger Chef Mark Tafoya. Chef Mark has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, Fox Business Channel and more. He’s a personal chef in New York City, world traveler, self-taught gourmand, and author of The Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home.  Tune in today at 1 p.m. (HST) or 3 p.m. (PST) on From Hawaii With Love to hear what this New Yorker says about Hawaii food. And, with the holidays right around the corner, The Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook is the perfect party resource or gift for your fave party host. Check it out!  If you miss today’s live show, remember that you can subscribe to our From Hawaii With love podcast for free on iTunes or download past episodes at www.FromHawaiiWithLove.com.

Yes, folks, according to Nation’s Restaurant News, “Chili’s Grill & Bar is firing up its ‘Baby Back’ ribs jingle, which has been on sabbatical since 2006, to help the 1,400-unit casual-dining chain drive traffic and introduce new burger and rib cooking techniques.”

Pairing a proven jingle to market a new cooking method is brilliant as it eases uncomfortable, uncertain feelings about change. We think this is a great move, and one that will keep Chili’s top-of-mind (Speaking from experience of having the song run over and over in my mind for days on end).

Looking forward to those commercials!

“Pack to Fly” is a term heard often in Kauai restaurants and stores, usually referring to the packaging of food being taken on an airplane.  Most times, this food will be presented as omiyage (o-mee-yah-gay), the Japanese tradition of gifts given to co-workers, family, and friends upon returning from a trip.  Omiyage has been adopted by Hawaii and Kauai locals and usually involves food.  Anyone can take on this custom by buying and giving locally-made favorites from the places that they visit.  

Kauai visitors know that the island presents a multitude of ono (Hawaiian for delicious) omiyage food choices.  Here is a list of some of the best.

• Aunty Lilikoi Products offers a variety of passion fruit mustards, jellies, butters, syrups, dressings, and sauces that are sure-to-please gifts for those with tropical fever. The Passion Fruit Butter is divine to lather on a scone or dollop on ice cream. Notably, Aunty Lilikoi’s Passion Fruit Wasabi Mustard garnered the gold medal and title of Grand Champion at the 2005 Napa Valley International Mustard Competition. Visit their store in Waimea or pick up their products at grocery and specialty stores island-wide.
• Deli & Bread Connection is a sandwich emporium located in the Kukui Grove Shopping Center. Owned and operated by a Kauai family, Deli & Bread Connection’s sandwiches are an island favorite custom made to order using the company’s fresh baked bread. You can’t miss the comforting aroma of the baking bread as you approach the eatery. Purple taro rolls and bread loaves (wheat, white, sour dough, and sweet) are sold in-store and make wonderful gifts to take home to friends.
• Hamura Saimin Stand, a 2006 James Beard Award winner, is a small, family-owned restaurant that has been serving hot ramen out of an unassuming, wooden building with old-fashioned counters and stools for more than 40 years. Tucked in the armpit of Lihue, Hamura Saimin Stand is open for lunch and dinner. Their famous noodles that are made fresh daily are available for purchase (dry) to take home with you. Also made each day are manapua, steamed bun filled with pork, and lilikoi chiffon pie. Boxes of noodles, manapua and lilikoi chiffon pie are repeatedly spotted as carry-on luggage on airplanes departing Kauai.
• Kauai Chocolate Company creates premium chocolates on-site in their quaint shop at the Port Allen Marina Center in Eleele. Savor rich tropical truffles, fudge and homemade ice cream all while watching these sweets being made. A must-buy is the Chocolate Opihi, the company’s most popular item, a shortbread cookie, caramel and a whole macadamia nut covered in chocolate. A box of Chocolate Opihis is a luxurious gift for a special someone.
• Kauai Cigars are certain to hit the spot after a satisfying meal. The cigars are made with premium, all-natural, sun grown Kauai filler tobacco, and are perfect for a business associate. Dark and light varieties are available at nearly 30 locations on Kauai. Visit their website for a list of retailers.
• Lawai Menehune Food Mart offers a variety of Kauai-style pastries. Much loved by locals are the plain or cream-filled malasada, a deep-fried, sugar-coated Portuguese donut; manapua, a steamed Chinese rice cake; and gooey, sweet cascaron, a deep-fried Filipino dough ball. The deep-fried sweets are good to bring along on short jaunts to neighbor islands as they are best eaten on the same day that they are produced.
• Mark’s Place Lawai is located directly next door to Lawai Menehune Food Mart and is a take-out restaurant offering gourmet plate lunches, marinated meats, and poke (seasoned, raw seafood). Mark’s Place Lawai also has an omiyage section boasting freshly made cookies, mini cakes, snack mixes, prune mui, and lavosh, which is available in hot chili pepper, Hawaiian salt, sesame seed, and macadamia-coconut flavors.
• Pono Market is a locally-owned, family business that has been serving Kauai’s Kapaa town for decades. Offering espresso, take-out lunch, sashimi, poke, Spam musubis (Spam wrapped in rice and seaweed), and more. Pono Market is a busy stop for hungry locals throughout the day. A favorite omiyage item from Pono Market is their fresh manju, a bite-size Japanese pastry filled with one of the following: red bean paste, coconut, Okinawan sweet potato, or apple. The manju are made daily and ready for sale at 8 a.m. Arrive early as they sell out quickly, and ask them to “pack to fly” to protect these delicate confections from air travel.

These are just a few of the most popular Kauai food omiyage that are regularly packed to fly.  Uniquely-Kauai omiyage can be found in all corners of the island, and the County of Kauai has a Kauai Made Program that represents items made on-island, using products from and by the people of Kauai.  View its entire directory of vendors at www.kauaimade.net.

This article can also be found on 52perfectdays.com.

Contact Information for above mentioned businesses:
Aunty Lilikoi – www.auntylilikoi.com
9875 Waimea Road
Waimea, HI 96796.
Toll free 1-866-LILIKOI

 Deli & Bread Connection
Kukui Grove Shopping Center
3-2600 Kaumualii Hwy #F05
Lihue, HI 96766
(808) 245-7115

Hamura Saimin Stand
2956 Kress St.
Lihue, HI 96766
(808) 245-3271

Kauai Chocolate Company – www.kauaichocolate.us
Port Allen Marina Center
4341 Waialo Road
Eleele, HI 96705
808 335-0448

Lawai Menehune Food Mart
2-3687 Kaumualii Hwy
Lawai, HI 96765
(808) 332-8641‎

Mark’s Place Lawai
203687 Kaumualii Hwy.
Lawai, HI  96765
(808) 332-0050

Pono Market
4-1300 Kuhio Hwy.
Kapaa, HI 96746
(808) 822-4581

The report also revealed that the top five drivers that motivated consumers to read labels included eating healthy, concerns about what’s in their food, food freshness, managing their weight, and checking where ingredients come from.

“Consumer food purchase decisions are becoming more and more complex,” said Hartman. “Marketers struggle with explaining increasingly complicated stories to consumers about what a food product is and how it’s good – from diverse standpoints ranging from health to ethics.”

Everyone from marketers to manufacturers, and even the government are jumping on the labeling bandwagon. A few years ago, the EPA, the specialty pesticide industry, environmental groups, and state and local governments started the Consumer Labeling Initiative to make chemical labels easier to read and understand, and with their “Read the Label FIRST!” campaign, encourage consumer label reading. FDA officials are debating whether changes in food labels might help consumers make healthy choices. And, legislators across the country are signing bills into law that force companies to increase their level of transparency regarding product ingredients and origins.

What can you learn from this? Know that your consumers want more information than ever before about what you sell. That means you and your employees have to learn more about your products and be able to impart that information as clearly as possible to customers. Tell your story and provide more details and your consumers will thank you for it.

Are you abiding by the first rule of fundraising?  Do you have faith that when times seem the worst they can be the best?  Are you remembering oft forgotten target publics?  What improvements can be made in your organization’s PR?   Is there a business or entity that you can inspire to care more about your organization?

Check out FMPR’s Top 5 PR Articles for Nonprofits below and see how you can apply our advice and observations to your nonprofit business:

1. Rule #1: Ask
2. When the ‘Iniki Effect’ is a Good Thing
3. The Passion of the Faith-Based Public
4. PR in Your Own Back Yard
5. PR Cares