Amid clearing skies, 220-plus mayors from across the United States converged Friday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort to discuss possible solutions for a slew of common issues ranging from federal immigration policies to climate change.

Among those in attendance at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting were some of the nation’s newest big-city executives, including Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who was elected earlier this month.

Some of the mayors faced criticism for traveling to Hawaii instead of dealing with pressing issues back home, but conference President Steve Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, S.C., defended the group’s decision to hold its 87th annual meeting in the 50th state.

“The mayors in Hawaii have always been active leaders in the conference,” Benjamin said, noting that Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell sought to host the confab since he became mayor in 2013. “It’s only fair.”

Asked about the additional costs of holding the meeting outside the mainland, he said “it’s important … that we go west, we go east, we go north and we go south. Hawaii is one of our great states. Just because it’s a little bit farther away doesn’t mean we should neglect it.”

Last year’s gathering was in Boston, and next year the conference will meet in Austin, Texas.

Benjamin said there’s much to be gained from the annual event.

“The idea sharing, the best-practices sharing, the idea that they can learn from each other with the best data they have available — it’s an incredible opportunity,” he said. “It’s so important to build good, strong private- public relationships.”

The Hilton Hawaiian Village hosted the conference in both of its previous Honolulu gatherings. At the June 1963 meeting in Honolulu, President John F. Kennedy gave a seminal speech urging the mayors to embrace the civil rights movement or risk getting left behind.

On Friday, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon got a standing ovation when he announced the formation of a LGBTQ mayors caucus. Among those speaking today will be Caroline Kennedy, former U.S. ambassador to Japan, and Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence.

Meanwhile, three of Hawaii’s four mayors announced a partnership with the nonprofit Hawaii Community Foundation to create nongovernment funds to provide help where needed in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis on any of the islands.

“Strong” funds are being created in each of the four counties, and the foundation is providing each with $50,000 in seed money, said Micah Kane, foundation CEO and president.

“We’re hoping that others join us,” Kane said.

Caldwell was joined by Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino and Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami in thanking the foundation for its support.