The Olson Trust donates $200,000 to Pacific Tsunami Museum

A $200,000 contribution gives the Pacific Tsunami Museum an opportunity to find more investors and shore up a plan to revitalize the museum.

According to prior reporting, the Pacific Tsunami Museum announced at the end of November that it suspended operations, laid off its employees and could shutter for good due to the financial integrity of the museum.

Since closing, the downtown Hilo museum has been asking the community and potential investors for monetary donations that would go toward fixing parts of the 100-year old building and toward long-term solutions to help stabilize and re-imagine the integral and educational museum.

The Olson Trust, which carries out the vision of its founder, the late Hilo businessman and philanthropist Ed Olson, has since come forward with a $200,000 contribution to the nonprofit museum.

The first $100,000 was donated to the museum in January 2024, which helped the museum keep its doors open while they created a membership plan, implemented new events, and found some corporate sponsors, according to Executive Director Cindi Preller.

“They rescued us last January and gave us the ability to make it as long as we did,” Preller said. “They are saving us again with this second $100,000, which will give us the chance to refresh and revitalize the museum with new bylaws and new generation leadership.”

Preller and Associate Director Josh Bell, who had been laid off, are now back on salary and at this point, the museum’s only paid staff.

According to a story reported in the Hawaiʻi Tribune-Herald, the museum has grants to pay an outreach coordinator so there are still opportunities for schools and kids to visit.

The $100,000 contribution will also be used as a way to challenge the big companies and investors in Hilo to match them in the aggregate, which will help stabilize the museum and keeps things moving forward.

In the same story, Paul Alston, an attorney and trustee with the Olson Trust, said they “received a $25,000 commitment from Meadow Gold Dairies and a promise to help with working on rebuilding the facility, because they’ve got an affiliate that builds commercial air conditioning systems.”

Last Monday, Preller, Alston and his wife Tanya Alston, who survived the 1961 tsunami in Hilo, met with Hawaiʻi Island Mayor Kimo Alameda, who expressed his support and interest in keeping the museum alive and stable.

For now, the Pacific Tsunami Museum docents will continue to volunteer their time from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to open to the public. A calendar of special events or talk-stories can be found here and donations can be made here.

“We’re hopeful that we will get the support we need so we can roll up our sleeves and get to work, because there is a lot of it,” Preller said. “We’re very excited and my goal is to be open by Thanksgiving, which will be the 50th anniversary of the Halape tsunami.”

Preller is planning a grand reunion of Halape tsunami survivors and talk-story around Thanksgiving this year. For more information, survivors and their families call 808-935-0926.