Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - March 1, 2023

MARCH 1, 2023 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
Chapman Proud Of Mark He’s Left On Journalism
FROM PAGE 4
jobs at East-Oregonian and The Mercury News (in San Jose), Chapman got on his career path early. But he nev- er dreamed it would take him to the Aloha State.
ering everything from politics and sports to entertainment to the talk of the town.
Father. He also was awarded Sports Story of the Year from SPJ in 2009 for his coverage of The Eddie.
wai‘i Cystic Fibro- s i s Foundation and Kalihi-Pāla- ma Health Center.
The year was 1979, and a colleague told him about a job posting for The Honolulu Advertiser, which was look- ing for a columnist in sports and for a daily three-dot col- umn.
“I married a local girl and had two kids who are part Ha- waiian and then I got custody (becoming a single dad) and I couldn’t move them off this island,” he explains. “Plus, I got pretty attached.”
“One of the things of which I’m most proud is the quality of people I was able to bring into this profession I love so much,” he says. “It takes a special kind of person with di- verse skills to be a profession- al journalist, and if I was good at anything it was identifying those people, and hopefully mentoring and encouraging them along the way.”
When his daughter was looking to join a volleyball club team but there were none in his Windward neigh- borhood, Chapman posted a notice in a community news- paper about a volleyball orga- nizational meeting at Kailua District Park, and hundreds showed up and signed up.
“The ad included a cartoon by legendary editorial car- toonist Harry Lyons, depict- ing a guy wearing aloha shirt, shorts and straw hat sitting under a coconut tree at the beach with a typewriter on his lap, a mai tai in one hand, and a hula dancer in the back- ground,” remembers Chap- man, who applied for both positions. “Buck Buchwach, the Advertiser’s senior editor, said my application was the 300th of 300 received. I got the dot-dot-dot job.”
In 1994, Chapman joined MidWeek, proudly serving as editor for 22 years. Under his leadership, the weekly pub- lication grew from a “little shopper to a credible news magazine, featuring local and national columnists with (political) opinions from both the right and left.”
In addition to making his mark in the journalism in- dustry, Chapman has also had a positive impact in the community. He was a vol- unteer adviser to the student newspaper at Moanalua High School, honorary chair for a fundraiser dinner for Hele- mano Plantation in 2004; and served on the board of direc- tors for the Hawai‘i Judiciary McGruff Committee, the Ha-
“There’s a quote ... people may or may not remember what you say, people may or may not remember what you do, but people will always re- member how you made them feel,” says Chapman.
Besides rooting for his favorite sports teams, Chapman spends retirement getting in quality time with his grandchildren: Cameron, 4, and Kylie, 8. PHOTO COURTESY DON CHAPMAN
He wrote many of the widely read cover stories, in- cluding some that turned into books. They include books about Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum (which earned him a Society of Profession- al Journalists award), and on Larry Mehau titled The Good
“I hope over the years, people I’ve worked with — both people on staff and people I’ve covered, I’ve left them feeling good ... feeling they’d been treated fairly, positively and professional-
Initially, he thought he would be in Hawai‘i for just a few years and then return to
the West Coast, but he ended up staying at The Honolulu Advertiser for 13 years, cov-
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Last year was a license renewal year. Island REALTORS® (HIR) is located There were over 20,000 licensed agents in Hilo and has about 680 members in the State of Hawaii at the end of while the West Hawaii Association of 2022. As of Jan, only 17,540 agents REALTORS® (WHAR), located in Kona, renewed their license. This means about has 926. Some agents choose to belong 2500 folks can no longer do business in to both. This is primarily because HIR Hawaii. Besides an individual license, and the Kauai Board of REALTORS® own every agent must be associated with a our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). brokerage(eveniftheyarethebroker). BelongingtoHIRprovidesthemasayinto
When the brokerage does not governance of our MLS. There are three renew, any agent working under MLS systems in Hawaii (Oahu, Maui and their license can no longer Hawaii Information). Besides payment of
practice. Quite a few did not fees, renewing our license requires 20
renew. Of current licensees, hours of continuing education including only about 60% belong to a a yearly update of new laws plus ethics professional organization. Agents training. Agents must also complete a
who belong to an association under the “good boy” questionnaire which requires umbrella of the National Association of disclosure of criminal or civil actions. REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code Obtaining a license requires a 40-hour of ethics. There are two professional class along with passing a rigorous test. organizations on Hawaii Island. Hawaii By comparison, a cosmetologist receives
600 hours of supervised training underscoring the need for agents to work closely under a competent broker. After all, most new licensees presumably have very basic knowledge. Unlike general contractors, real estate agents are not required to include their license number on signs or business cards but it’s simple to check license status by visiting our state DCCA website. Remember, our license gives us the right to sell all over the State so it’s good to ask your agent if they are geographically qualified. After all, knowing the area is just as important as passing a test. Just one of the things you didn’t know you needed to know when you begin the search for likely the biggest purchase of your life! .
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