Remembering PIC’s First Leaders and Founders
A letter from David Heʻakoelekauiakalani Kalama Jr.:
More than 34 years ago Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) was established by a varied group of volunteers who shared the vision of public media that included programming by and about Pacific Islander Communities. These brave individuals spent hours, days and weeks crafting out the initial structure, mission, values and programs of what they hoped would be a successful organization. Grateful appreciation must be given to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for providing direction and funding to achieve our goals and the immense work contributed by the initial founders of PIC. This began with the Pacific Islander Task Force, which transformed into the Pacific Islander Media Working Group, and then the original Board of Directors of Pacific Islanders in Communications.
The efforts of these individuals are generous and impactful as we recognize them below:
Kilali Alailima, Solomona Aoelua, Martha Sue Carrell, Catherine Cruz, Mark Forbes, Heather Haunani Giugni, Carol Ann Ibanez, Sandy Ilaoa, David Heʻakoelekauiakalani Kalama Jr., Lurline Wailana McGregor, Monica Okada, and Puhipau.
In addition, these persons were active in each of the development steps:
Solomona Aoelua, Martha Sue Carrell, Heather Haunani Giugni, Sandy Ilaoa, D. H. Kalama Jr.
Puhipau passed several years ago and now Martha Sue Carrell has died on July 21, 2024, in Las Vegas, after a long illness. They were the oldest. I do not have immediate knowledge, and as others may also have passed, I apologize for any omission.
Puhipau is still well respected in the Hawaiian Community and his dream was for a Native Hawaiian owned and operated Media Center. Some would say ʻŌiwi TV is mission accomplished.
Martha and I spent many exhausting hours working together developing large portions of the administrative structure of the organization, the nuts and bolts work. We became good friends through the countless hours of argument and compromise. We shared common ground in the personal tenderness of the special needs of her sister, and of my son.
I can remember there was always very active discussions by the full group, particularly in the name of the organization and the original headquarters.
We were both very pleased with the organization created and although we had a rocky start, everyone should be honored by the accomplishments of PIC and the programs created by grantees.
Many of us in the original development group are producers and eventually we all stepped aside allowing new groups to move the organization forward. I have applied for and received several PIC grants.
Although Martha never applied for a PIC grant, she was very proud of her groundbreaking work on Mele Hawaiʻi – a PBS Hawaiʻi special series in the 1970s along with Nino Martin. This old format (4x3-SD) TV show presented many significant kupuna – Rosalie Lokalia Lovelle Montgomery, James Kaʻupena Wong, George Naʻope, Kahauanu Lake and many more.
There are no survivors for Martha except the extraordinary wealth of friends across the country. She befriended everyone from the valet parker to the famous.
Martha Sue Carrell's Obituary:
Martha Sue Carrell was born Sept. 12, 1942, in Honolulu: her father was Christy L. Carrell and her mother was Marian Guerrero Frank Carrell. Martha was a graduate of Roosevelt High School and held a BA and MA from the University of Hawaiʻi. Although she never lost touch with her roots, Martha was a citizen of the world, traveling widely with her late husband, Robert E.L. Tolbert, and living in many places across the United States—New York, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles—before retiring in Henderson.
Her resume is wonderfully eclectic. She was a featured hula dancer, touring with a professional company that performed in Hawaiʻi, New York and Europe. Anyone who was lucky enough to see her dance, even in her later years, could not help but be moved by her graceful and elegant dances.
But her major career was in communications of all kinds. Her University of Hawaiʻi BA degree was in Speech and her MA degree was in Speech Communications. She held positions as a director, producer, program development director, training coordinator, literary agent, grant administrator, and in public relations over her long career. She worked for many public broadcasting channels across the United States, and for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting , (CPB) in Washington, D.C. She was one of the founding members of Pacific Islanders In Communications, a non-profit supported by CPB to promote programs from Pacific Islander Communities. She was especially proud of a PBS documentary she produced about Hawaiʻi in the 1970s – Mele Hawaiʻi. She was never happy with the ending, so she performed the final scene, as a hula dancer in silhouette against the setting Hawaiian sun, herself.
She was a teacher and coach of debate, and of speech communication skills, both in high schools and universities.
Her volunteer activities covered the gamut--from teaching decision-making skills to inmates in the Delaware County (PA) prison system to mediating disputes for non-profit organizations in Los Angeles.
In her retirement years, her passion was the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), a program at more than 120 universities across the country for adults who want to continue learning through non-credit courses.
Martha’s UNLV classes were a forum to explore new ideas in science, technology, philosophy--anything fascinating and stimulating. She challenged her students to explore those ideas in open discussion, skillfully controlling the conversation without being controlling.
Her forums were one of OLLI-UNLV’s most popular offerings. Her students were devoted to her, and she developed a large core group that took every class she moderated.
She spent countless hours researching class topics. Her late husband supported her passion by providing the technical support needed to produce her classes. She also served on the OLLI board.
Martha loved playing all kinds of games, especially word and number games, and was a fierce competitor. She and her husband loved to gamble, and on Kentucky Derby Day one could find them at the local sports book early in the day, handicapping and studying the horses. At one point, they were part of a group that purchased a racehorse. She loved the penny slots. She belonged to many book clubs. She was a woman of wide-ranging interests.
Mahalo to everyone who believes in cultural heritage.
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