Building Industry Magazine - August 2014 - (Page 49)

Aloha and Mahalo to BIA-Hawaii's KAREN NAKAMURA As she steps down after 16 years as CEO, Nakamura talks about role models, her legacy and what direction the industry should take H awaii's First Lady of Construction says the last 46 years have been a great ride. Though no one really expects it to end soon, Karen Nakamura in November will step down from the post she's held for 16 years-CEO of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii (BIA)-and tackle a few other projects she intends to take on. Nakamura, 70, grew up in Kaimuki during the late 1950s and early '60s when girls were seldom, if ever, seen on a construction site. She became a cosmetologist like her mom, then went to work in her mother's beauty salon. But by 1968 she had joined her father's contracting business, and hasn't looked back. The granddaughter of a conscripted Japanese farm worker and his picture bride, Nakamura is a relentless advocate for the building industry, the first woman in Hawaii to receive a general contractor's license and an outspoken critic of the state's permitting process, which she describes as draconian. Among her legacy: Waipahu's Construction Training Center of the Pacific, completed in 2009 and designed to ensure quality training and development within the industry. "We are building partnerships and bringing new technology and building systems to construction workers in the Pacific," she says. A plethora of Nakamura's past honors and awards include National Remodeler of the Year; Hawaii Business Hall of Fame; BIA Builder of the Decade; Girl Scout Council Distinguished Alumnae Hall of Fame; YMCA Woman Entrepreneur and Leader in Construction; and U.S. Department of Commerce Firm of the Year (Retail, Minority Business Development Agency). Nakamura and her husband, Bert, spent most of last month vacationing in Spain celebrating Karen's birthday as well as their 50th wedding anniversary. Another celebration on the horizon will commemorate BIA-Hawaii's 60th year and its charter in 1955 with the National Association of Home Builders. Building Industry Hawaii magazine invited Nakamura to sit down and share her thoughts-about her career, about Hawaii's construction industry and about her next challenge. www.buildingindustryhawaii.com | 49 www.buildingindustryhawaii.com | 49 http://www.buildingindustryhawaii.com http://www.buildingindustryhawaii.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Industry Magazine - August 2014

THE BIG ISLAND: KEEPING THE FAITH
INSIDE THE HICA
GET READY FOR WORK
CONCRETE MOVES FORWARD
INTERVIEW WITH KAREN NAKAMURA
NEWS BEAT
Datebook
Contracts Awarded
Low Bids
Company Profile: HPM Building Supply
Faces: ABC Hawaii Celebration
News Makers
New Products
Faces: Red, White and Blue
Faces: Hawaii Power

Building Industry Magazine - August 2014