Linda Mentzer

October 20, 2025 • Nate Goore • News

With a career in technology and a passion for preserving Hawaiian culture, Linda Mentzer brings both organizational skill and heart to her role with HIMELE

Linda's connection to HIMELE began through her husband, Dan, who started taking steel guitar lessons from Alan Akaka. As they attended festivals together, Linda naturally became more involved. When Dan began performing and giving presentations on the history of the steel guitar in Waikīkī and schools across the islands, Linda was often behind the camera, capturing the moments.

Her support grew into hands-on volunteer work-helping with festival merchandise sales and eventually taking over sales operations when longtime HIMELE volunteer Sandy Sardinha stepped down. Linda is always there at the festival merchandise booth to help festival attendees purchase items, answer questions about the festival, or just talk story between performers.

Linda is a strong believer in HIMELE's mission to restore the Hawaiian steel guitar to its rightful place in the islands' musical landscape. "Twenty years ago," she says, "you could hear lap steel everywhere – Duke's, the Marriott, Halekulani. Now it's rare."

She knows the key to reversing that trend lies in reaching the next generation – getting young people excited, trained, and ready to carry the tradition forward.

Please see the complete tribute here.