Two new trustees join Parker Ranch Foundation Trust in mission to improve life in Waimea

The Parker Ranch Foundation Trust has appointed Samuel E. Ainslie and James M.K. Takamine as new trustees last month.

The Parker Ranch Foundation Trust is a supporting organization organized as a private, charitable, tax-exempt trust created in September 1992 by Richard Smart to support specified health care, educational, and charitable organizations in the Kamuela area of Hawaiʻi Island.

The four beneficiary organizations of the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust — the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Richard Smart Fund, Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy, Parker School and Queen’s North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital — led the yearlong selection process for the two new trustees.

The process included candidate identification by each beneficiary organization, informational meetings, formal applications, in-person interviews, and reference and background reviews. The final selections were unanimous.

Samuel E. Ainslie brings more than 30 years of experience in creating, developing, and operating residential and resort community real estate developments, including Hualālai Resort, Kukio Golf and Beach Club, and Nanea Golf Club.

Ainslie is a 33-year resident of Waimea and has served on numerous nonprofit boards and community organizations, which currently include the Waimea Community Weaving Hui (a Hawaiʻi Community Foundation advisory group for the Richard Smart Fund), Wild at Heart Ministries, and the Nanea Fund.

James M.K. Takamine is the president and CEO of CU Hawaiʻi Federal Credit Union and has more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry. A graduate of Kamehameha Schools and Macalester College, Takamine earned master’s degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Takamine is a longtime Waimea community member and is committed to community service. He serves on the boards of the Hawaiʻi Island Economic Development Board, The Kohala Center, and Community First Hawaiʻi.

Both new trustees join current trustees Timothy E. Johns, Michael K. Fujimoto, and Toby B. Taniguchi at a meaningful moment in the stewardship of the trust’s mission — maintaining and improving the unique quality of life in the Kamuela area through perpetual support for the designated beneficiaries engaged in health care, education, and charitable purposes.