A little tour company I'll miss.
My wife and I got married in Hawaii.
Since it's a special place for us, every 2 to 3 years we would visit the islands. About five years ago, we were at Oahu and we booked a hiking tour around Manoa Falls with a little tour company called Aina Eco Tours.
It was a three person operation. There were two tour guides, Kyle (also the owner) and Mariko. The office manager was Etsuko (Kyle's wife).
Along with other participants, my wife and I had a wonderful time. As we hiked, our tour guide Mariko, explained the ecosystem of Hawaii in detail weaving in fascinating facts about the vegetation and animals inhabiting the islands.
What impressed me was Kyle and Mariko showing up day after day for visitors to share with them the beauty of Hawaii. To be of service for 20 years continuously. Next time I go to Oahu, I'd love to book another tour with them I thought to myself.
As I wait for the tidal waves of the pandemic to settle, I look forward to visiting Oahu again. I thought maybe we'll do another hiking tour with Aina Eco Tours. Launched my browser and tried to access their website. It wouldn't load. Maybe it was down. I tried again in a few more days. Same.
Maybe the company became a victim of the pandemic... I thought. I sighed inside. And life went on.
A few weeks later. An email from GoFundMe landed in my inbox. It was a fundraiser for Kyle organized by his friend Stephanie.
It turns out, unfortunately, Kyle was diagnosed with ALS in March last year.
Consequently, he had to closed his tour company because of the disease.
I am reminded of an essential and hypothetical question I would ask my clients on a branding project. What would the world miss if your company vanished tomorrow?
Except in this case, this question is no longer hypothetical.
The world will miss the tours he guides. Miss the human connections he makes. Miss the memories he and his team creates for visitors to the islands of Aloha.
Thank you Aina Eco Tours. Thank you Kyle.
P.S. You can find his Instagram account here. And the GoFundMe page here.