Next week, HBA will welcome the Mainland Advisory Council to Hawaii during their annual visit to the school.

The Mainland Advisory Council (MAC) is a group of donors who support the school’s mission through monetary donations. The MAC was started by Stanley A. Sagert, who previously served as HBA’s President for 17 years. Sagert traveled to the mainland in hopes of finding financial supporters for HBA. Development/Alumni Relations Officer Carole Masaki said, “MAC began in 1977 with 54 donors. Their main purpose was to help HBA financially during the years when we had purchased the Pali Campus and were building the classroom building.” Since then, the group has grown to over 300 members.

MAC week is a time for students to interact with and meet the donors, many of whom don’t have any direct ties to HBA. The donors pay their own way to Hawaii and visit the school on their own volition every year. This year, the MAC visitors will come from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas. While here, the visitors will be taken on a school-wide tour led by students in the President’s Aloha Council (PAC), who are nominated by teachers. Masaki said, “The PAC was created to provide student hosts for our MAC members while they are visiting the campus. They are there to welcome and greet our guests when they come off the bus, escort them to the various activities they are participating on campus such as classroom visits and chapel, and to have lunch with them and share with them what HBA is doing for them personally. They have the opportunity to share with them first-hand what HBA means to them and what the school has done for them through their generous donations.”

MAC week will start on Tuesday, February 17 because of the President’s Day holiday on Monday. MAC visitors will visit HBA campuses throughout the week and attend a special chapel service on Thursday as well.