THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	47
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO RENAME A PORTION OF CORAL STREET TO "LEX BRODIE STREET".

     WHEREAS, "Thank you…very much!" is the legendary slogan of revered kama'aina businessman Lex Brodie, whose years of rendering and overseeing high quality automotive services made him a symbol of trust among Hawaii families; and

     WHEREAS, Alexander "Lex" Brodie is a keiki o ka aina, born on Kauai in 1914, part of Roosevelt High School's first graduating class, and a University of Hawaii track star; and

     WHEREAS, as one of the first Waikiki Beach Boys, in partnership with Duke Kahanamoku's brother Sam, Lex gave canoe rides and surf lessons to the well-to-do travelers and movie stars of his time, including famed crooner Bing Crosby; and

     WHEREAS, as a manager at the Dole Pineapple Company in the late 1950s, his stand on principle won him the respect and support of his workers; and

     WHEREAS, Kaneohe was the site of Lex Brodie's first ventures as an entrepreneur, where he opened a Chevron franchise in 1958 then started his Lex Brodie's Tire Company in 1961; and

     WHEREAS, the company moved to its current location at 701 Queen Street in 1964, and opened in Waipahu in 1972; and

     WHEREAS, in 1976 he founded Small Business Association of Hawaii, now known as Smart Business Hawaii, to advocate for and actively promote small businesses; and

WHEREAS, in 1979, Hawaii Business magazine named Lex Brodie its "Man of the Year";

     WHEREAS, Lex was a pioneer in business, being the first employer in Hawaii to offer his employees a profit sharing plan, with matching employer contributions, the 15-second television commercial in days when the norm was 30 seconds, and was one of the first business owners to appear in his own commercials; and

WHEREAS, Lex Brodie's Tire Company was so known for reliable auto care, that when he finally retired in 1991, he was easily and overwhelmingly elected to the Board of Education, which he served on for eleven years; and

     WHEREAS, the Lex Brodie's Tire Company is repeatedly voted Hawaii's best for tires and auto repair, received the 2010 Hawaii Better Business Bureau Award for Ethics and Trust, was the first company to win the International Better Business Bureau Award for Excellence in Customer Care, and in 2011, received the National Tire Business Humanitarian Award; and

     WHEREAS, ever the outdoorsman, Lex continued surfing until he was ninety years old; and

     WHEREAS, Lex Brodie bid aloha 'oe to our islands on January 11, 2013; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, respectfully requests the Council for the City and County of Honolulu to rename that portion of Cooke Street in Kakaako, between Queen Street and Halekauwila Street, on which Lex Brodie's Tire Company is situated, "Lex Brodie Street" in honor of this revered businessman and figure in our history; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the council members of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Lex Brodie; Request to Rename Portion of Cooke Street