To the Community,

The misguided actions of Michael Fry do not reflect the intent or mission of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce or the individual businesses that are members. We apologize to the Hawaiian community for the unintentional desecration of their lele holding the Hawaiian flag.  Michael Fry has offered to step down as the President of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors has accepted his resignation. In addition, all charges filed against individuals relating to the 1,000 flag display have been dropped.

As longtime sponsors of Kailua's Independence Day parade, our intent was to find an alternative way to celebrate the holiday.  Hawaiian flags should have been allowed to fly together with the American flags in order to represent multicultural views of what July 4th means to different people.

Moving forward, we remain focused on our mission of helping Kailua businesses grow, thrive and connect. We are more committed than ever before to ensuring this organization is welcoming, inclusive, and representative of the diverse cultural backgrounds that make Kailua special. We are partnering with Hawaiian cultural practitioners to ensure that their voices are part of our discussions and decision-making in the future.

We know that an apology is not enough, but we are hopeful that lessons have been learned from this.  We sincerely ask that anyone rightfully offended not hold local Kailua business members responsible for the actions of one member of our organization.