Monday, September 26, 2011

Accolades for Our Founder

       When speaking about Edmund C. Olson, Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co. President and Partner Richard Schnitzler told Pacific Business News, “there are people out there, they touch things and they turn to gold, and I would put him in that category. It’s not all about the buck for him.” But Olson didn’t begin life as a wealthy man; his hard work, intuition and good investments have helped him become the self-made millionaire he is today. A man who, according to Schnitzler, “actually cares.”
       Olson has helped several local organizations and businesses; he revived Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co. which was in danger of going bankrupt, helped Hawai’i County buy 230 acres of oceanfront land in Ka‘u, and is selling another 500 acres to the county, which plans to use it for a public park. He also donated $500 thousand to The Nature Conservancy this year.
      After discovering that Ka’u coffee farmers were driving some 70 miles to mill coffee cherries in Hilo or Kona coffee mills, Olson began seeking out ways to help them. Olson began construction on the Ka’u Coffee Mill in 2010. Since then he has meticulously overseen every detail of the project, making sure everything is as he envisioned it.