Kaʻū News Briefs, Saturday, June 17, 2023

 Kaʻū's future rodeo queens often start building their passion competing in keiki events at the annual Kaʻū Roping & Riding Independence Day Rodeo, coming up July 8 and 9 at Nā'ālehu Rodeo Grounds. Photo by Brenda Iokepa-Moses

KAʻŪ ROPING & RIDING ASSOCIATION'S RODEO QUEEN CONTENDERS are out in the community seeking support. ShaniaLee Silva and Shaelia Freitas are the two running to reign over the Independence Day Rodeo July 8 and 9 at Nā'ālehu Rodeo Grounds. Both welcome sponsorships and are supporting the rodeo by selling $8 tickets.

Image from the Silva family

Rodeo Queen contender ShaniaLee
Silva, recently graduated from Kaʻū
High and will head to the Air Force
Photo by Julia Neal

    ShaniaLee Silva is a 2023 Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary graduate. She finished Magna Cum Laude, served as Senior Class Secretary and was named Senior Class Athlete. She completed CTE and was a member of the Health Occupation Student Association.
   She is 17 years of age and plans to enter the U.S. Air Force this Fall when she turns 18.
    Silva, of Hawaiian and Portuguese heritage, is the youngest daughter and second of eight children in the family of Mike and Wendy Silva in Pāhala.
    She grew up riding horses, competing in rodeo and taking care of the family cattle, goats and hunting dogs. She became a member of Future Farmers of America. Throughout school, she excelled in sports, including basketball and softball.        To help sponsor Shanialee for Rodeo Queen and to purchase rodeo tickets, call 808-928-8000 or see her sister Amery Silva's facebook.

Shaelia's sister Michaela Morales took the photos and sister
Sheri Freitas designed the poster.

     The younger Kaʻū Roping & Riding Rodeo Queen contestant, Shaelia Freitas, lives on a coffee and food farm above Pāhala and will be eight years of age by rodeo weekend. Of Hawaiian, Japanese and European heritage, including Portuguese, she is the daughter of Rodney and Marlene Freitas. Shaelia will be in third grade at Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences this coming school year.
    She is the youngest of five children, with three older sisters Jessica, Michaela and Sheri and one brother Ikaika.
    Shaelia is a born country girl, raised on her 'ohana's Ka'ili Ma'ile Farms. A statement from her family says that Shaelia loves anything outdoors, especially animals. "Her love of animals started at a very young age and has grown as she's gotten older." She has an ardent interest in horses and rodeo. Her wish is to one day have a horse to call her own.
To help sponsor Shaelia for Rodeo Queen and to purchase rodeo tickets, call her family at 808-987-2578 or message her mom Marlene Sauer Freitas.

Rodeo Queen contender Shaelia Freitas
 to attend Volcano School of the Arts &
Sciences. Photo by Michaela Morales 

    To support the entire rodeo, there are sponsorships for belt buckles and arena advertising, as well as opportunities for direct contributions to the nonprofit Kaʻū Roping & Riding Association. The group is raising money to purchase land to expand the rodeo grounds to include more parking. Call or text Tammy Kaapana at 808-854-7917.
    The annual rodeo starts with Slack Roping at 8 a.m. both days, July 8 and 9, with competition beginning at noon. Paniolo will vie for the titles of All Around Cowgirl and All Around Cowboy. Working and recreational paniolo from keiki to kupuna compete.
    Events include: Open Dally, Kane-Wahine Dally, Century Team Roping, Ranch Mugging, Double Mugging, Rescue Race and Po'o Wai U, Tie Down, Wahine Breakaway and Youth Barrels. Events for keiki include: Goat undecorating and dummy roping.
    Kaʻū Roping & Riding is considered the organization that puts on one of the most traditional family style rodeo experiences in all of Hawai'i.

   To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION CHIEF ISABEL GUZMAN FOCUSED ON HAWAI'I this week at the Hawai'i on the Hill Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. She said that there is a small business boom nationwide with 100,000 small businesses in Hawai'i alone and 50,000 applications to the SBA in recent years.

SBA chief Isabel Guzman and Sen. Mazie Hirono
at Hawai'i on the Hill in Washington, D.C.

    Guzman said she favors opportunity zones for stressed areas where businesses are incentivized to invest. She pointed to hub zones and said new federal mapping is coming up with the opportunity for expansion of hub zones into opportunity zones. She said that governors can ask for hub zones to be established.
    Guzman promised more SBA outreach into Hawai'i communities. She noted that an SBA ombudsman program helps businesses to qualify for loans. In order to make it easier to apply, SBA is creating a "single door entry online" to get full use of SBA services. She also talked about VET Cert to help veterans.
    Sen. Mazie Hirono, who sponsored Hawai'i on the Hill, gave a heads up, seeking public support for SBA. She said congress could cut the program funding by 25 percent or more. Guzman called it "devastating to entrepreneurial expansion." She said more resources are needed to process loans and to process applications for other programs. Lending institutions are now more dependent on guaranteed loans, like those guaranteed by SBA. Hirono said it is important for small businesses to be aware of what's going on in Congress, noting that 99 percent of all businesses in Hawai'i are small businesses.
    See the Hawai'i on the Hill Policy Summit at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Upv5nLSVRU

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.