Richard writes:

Hamakua Springs welcomes Charlotte and Rodrigo Romo, along with their two beautiful daughters, to Hawai‘i and to work with us at the farm.

June and I met Charlotte and Rodrigo, who were living in Tucson, on the first of our three trips to attend a course on greenhouse agriculture at the University of Arizona. Charlotte saw our names on the list of attendees and noticed we were from Hawai’i, and she came over to talk to us. We chatted for a little bit and liked her a lot right off the bat. When we met Rodrigo, we definitely got the impression that they loved it when they visited Hawaii. We were surprised to learn they knew Hilo and liked it so much.

By the third trip that June and I made to the University of Arizona, we all agreed that Charlotte and Rodrigo would come and work with us. It’s a big plus that they are closer in age to Kimo and Tracy, the next generation of Hamakua Springs.

Charlotte and Rodrigo both have a strong sustainable agriculture ethic. I was especially impressed to learn they had lived in Biosphere 2.

I just love young people who don’t know what they cannot do. I am a Vietnam veteran and I saw lots of young kids over there leading groups of men and being responsible for millions of dollars of equipment. They had no idea they were not supposed to be able to handle those kinds of responsibility; they just did it.

We are very pleased to have Charlotte and Rodrigo on board with us. We all have the same philosophy: “Not, no can–Can!!!!”

On their first weekend in Hilo, Charlotte and Rodrigo came to visit us at the Hamakua Springs Ag Expo booth and they ended up on the front page of the Hilo paper in a large, color picture. This must be a good omen. We cannot be more pleased.

Stay tuned for Part 2: What they’ll be doing with Hamakua Springs. Coming soon.