Busy times in September

Welcome to our New Member!

Michael Whitney, Agro Crop.

LEARNING IS IMPORTANT

September 15 - District Training

It takes TRAINED Rotarians to help in our communities and around the world. Over 35 Rotarians gathered together to learn about writing and applying for district and Global grants. Monies raised by club members can be doubled or even tripled by strategic grants. GREAT WORK!

September 21 -
Hawai’i County Fire Chief Darren Rosario

speaks to our club

Rotary meetings aren’t always about what we can do to help people in our community. We also bring in interesting speakers to educate us. Fire Chief Darren Rosario wowed us with all the work our County Fire Department does. As a matter of fact, our County Department is the only one statewide that responds to all 5 areas of concern: Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue, Hazardous Materials and Ocean Safety! GREAT WORK!

DEVELOPING YOUTH

September 29 -
Waiakea High School Interact helps out

at the annual Alzheimers’ Walk.

Interact (Rotary Junior) club members get to the Walk early, help get everything set up, cheer on the participants and then help clean up and store all the supplies and equipment. These students are learning early that all people need to “give back” to our communities to ensure that needed services get to the people who need them. GREAT WORK!

A school year of reading to Kindergarten classes!

August to May, club members arrive each month in 14 local schools and read to nearly 470 Kindergarten students... leaving the book for the classroom and often leaving a copy of the book for each student. Learning to enjoy reading is critical to developing most all of the cognitive skills needed to succeed in life. And... it’s fun for our club readers, too. The kids wave and get all excited when the reader comes into the classroom. GREAT WORK!

LET'S END POLIO THIS YEAR! October 24 is WORLD POLIO DAY

Rotary International Started Polio Eradication

In 1988 With 350,000 Cases World Wide

1905 Polio recognized as a contagious disease by Swedish Dr. Ivar Wickman.
1916 Huge Polio outbreak in New York City kills 6,000 people, cripples more.
1955 Dr. Jonas Salk develops vaccine.
1960 Oral Polio vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, approved for use.
1979 Rotary International begins the fight by immunizing 6 million children in the Philippines.
1985 Rotary International and World Health Organization launch the Global Eradication Initiative with an estimated 350,000 cases in 125 countries.
1994 Polio eradicated in the Americas.
1995 165 million children in China and India immunized in one week.
2000 550 million children immunized.
2006 Only four countries in the world still report polio cases. GREAT WORK!

2018 Only 18 cases of polio WORLD WIDE!

14 in Afghanistan, 4 in Pakistan

Want to help? DONATE at www.endpolio.org/donate

Dogwood Initiative 2001 Update

In 2001 the Rotary Club of Hilo donated seeds and seedlings towards Hiroshima, Japan's Dogwood Initiative 2001 project. In 2004 these were planted along the Kyobashi-gawa River to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the U.S.-Japan relationship. Recently the club received this update of the success of this project to symbolize peace.

Busy, Busy, Busy in August!

FOUR NEW MEMBERS!

Katie Osborne, Y Hata

Chris Corley, Geologist

Danielle Bratton, Salvation Army

Jacob Bratton, Salvation Army

ROTARY WORKING TO FINISH UP KUA O KA LA IN TIME FOR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

August 4 - Work Continues!

Keiki (left) co-founder of the school, takes a moment to share “Honi” with hard working Rotarian Jeremiah Leonard as work continues at the School location.

August 4 - Last Weekend Work Day

Rotarians come together on Sunday - Benson Medina (South Hilo Club), Randy Hart (Hilo Club & Ass’t District Governor), Win Schoneman (District Governor) and Ron Cutler (Pahoa Sunset Club) take a moment to laugh.

August 8 - First Day of School

Elementary students start arriving and can’t wait to explore their new classrooms!

Pau just in time!

Our Sister Rotary Club from Japan!

Thanks to our beloved Russ Oda, the Rotary Club of Hilo has enjoyed a nearly 50 year association with the Rotary Club of Hiroshima South, sponsoring exchange students and visiting each others’ clubs.

August 6 - Memorial Flowers sent to Hiroshima as a token

of goodwill and friendship.

Since 1971, our club has sent flowers for the Cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in remembrance of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima.

August 17 - Hiroshima South members and students arrive at the Hilo Airport!

Our Club Members greet our visiting Japanese friends, presenting lei and posing for a group photo with a combined Rotary Club banner.

August 17 - Dinner at the Yacht Club

Posing outside (in the dark!) at the Yacht Club, our Rotary Japanese friends and our club members display a “Big Check” from our club to theirs to help in the recovery of the disastrous flooding in Japan.

August 18 - Fun at the Annual Steak Fry!

Rotarians chow down on steak, sushi, vegetables... and of course some liquid aloha at a packed party. Our Japanese visitors, many tired after a “rough day of golf”, mingle with our club members

August 18 - SHAKA and KANPAI!

Two of our fellow Japanese Rotarians salute our on-going friendship and mutual support with a sake KANPAI! and a local style SHAKA during the dinner. Golf winners were announced, food was consumed, fun was had by all.

August 18 - Meanwhile with the Students....

Despite an amazing amount of rain, our visiting Japanese students were joined by the Waiakea High School Interact Club (Rotary Junior!) for fun and adventures. Piling onto a sailboat, these international friends had a great time!

Rotary Sponsors A Christmas Craft Fair

Are you a local crafter? Want to join a large group of "kama'aina" folks who make and sell their own items. No re-sellers are allowed. And the booth fee is a very good deal. Email me (see the graphic) if you are interested.

Help Pahoa through Rotary d5000!

Rotary has the ability to handle large scale relief operations!

We're glad that so many people and organizations are donating to funds that are helping the People of Pahoa. Here's your chance to donate to a ROTARY fund that will help w-a-a-a-y beyond the immediate needs. Homes have burned, other homes are damaged by earthquakes, and still other homes are buried under lava. Donate now at: rotaryd5000.org. Look for the article about Pahoa with this image and use the DONATE BUTTON. Let's all come together to help Pahoa in a big way.

JULY begins a New Rotary Year

It all depends on our members!

Keith Okamoto, our new Club President for July 2018-June 2019 knows that it's our members who work hard and strive to "Be the Inspiration"... Rotary International's new theme for the new Rotary year. According to Keith, our members are a diverse group of business, community and civic leaders. Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. We welcome you to join us at our Friday lunch meetings or on our various projects.

And how could we do it without NEW MEMBERS?

Bobby Dugar, Coldwell Banker Day-lum Properties

Dan Turner, Pacific Tec Lending

Jim "Kimo" Becker, Financial Services

Aloha to one of our own.

Russ Oda

Russ Oda, a friend and our Rotary Club member for over 50 years, always had a smile and usually a great joke every time we saw him. A past President and the founder of our sister Rotary Club of Hiroshima South, Russ also had been an active member of the Sunao Wada Foundation that works to bring Japanese students to Hilo and to send Hilo students to Hiroshima.

Aloha, Russ, you will be missed by all of us!

Rotary is about FUN!

July 11 - Membership Mixer at Chapter 17

Yes, Rotarians are out in our community helping with projects, but it’s also about fun! These “mixers” not only allow potential new members to meet our group, it also gives us a chance to get to know each other.

Rotary is also about helping kids!

July 20 & 27 - School Supplies Gathered for Salvation Army distribution

Bags and boxes of pencils, erasers, and composition books brought in by our club members were presented to Danielle of the Salvation Army. Many of our island keiki are in need of school supplies!

And, of course, Rotary is about helping our community -

in this case, helping Kua O Ka La Charter School

Rotary Knows How to Help With Disaster Relief - Focus on Kua O Ka La

Many people may be familiar with Rotary International’s world-wide work helping endangered communities with clean water and educational support for children… among many other effective solutions to the problems of struggling communities. In fact, Rotary International rates 100% for financial accountability and transparency in administering donated funds by Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org)

So it’s no surprise that local Rotary Clubs here in East Hawaii have banded together to raise funds for Puna. The “Rotary Fund for Puna Lava Relief” was started within days of the first eruptions. Housed through the Hawai’i Rotary District’s Foundation, all donations are tax deductible as the foundation is a 501©(3) accredited organization. (donate at www.rotaryd5000.org)

So... the question for Ron Cutler (above) of the Rotary Club of Pahoa Sunset, was how to use the donated funds that would make a significant improvement to areas affected by the lava. Kua O Ka La Charter School was a large part of the answer. The school campus was overrun by lava. Where to have classes starting in early August? Kindergarten through 6th grade could meet at a building on the Nani Mau Gardens grounds, but major work to rehabilitate the run down building was needed. All 5 East Hawaii Rotary Clubs have been working to get the new “campus” ready by the start of school. Susie Osborne, Head of the School, (pictured above with Ron) is thrilled to have so many Rotarians help along side of her school staff and volunteers.

I mua Kua O Ka La!

Malama Honua
celebrating Our 95th Anniversary

The Hilo Rotary Club Foundation presents a donation to Pwo Navigator and Captain of the Polynesian Voyaging Canoe, Hokule'a, to help fund their educational programs on their Malama Honua worldwide voyage. (Left to right: Bruce Blankenfeld, Donald Demuth of the Hilo Rotary Club Foundation, and Club President, Wally Wong)

Edmund Olson is recognized with The Rotary Club of Hilo's Malama Honua award for his efforts in caring for our aina.

“Malama Honua” (to care for our earth) is the theme that we have chosen to celebrate our club's 95th anniversary. Along with Rotary International's theme -- “Be a Gift to the World” -- we are inspired as we start this new Rotary year.

President Wally Wong has sought out community service projects that will build a more sustainable community. Projects such as building a vegetable garden for residents of a shelter to clearing illegally dumped trash in a vacant cul-de-sac area in Hilo. We hope to be an example to other organizations and the community, that in order to stop and smell the flowers, we have to occasionally bend down to pull the weeds or pick up the trash.

These are just a few of the many projects that the Rotary Club of Hilo has planned as it follows the Polynesian Voyaging canoe, Hokule’a, on its Malama Honua sail around the world. On its worldwide voyage, the Hokule’a will grow and join the global movement towards a more sustainable world.

Two individuals who embody the principles of Malama Honua were honored at our Officer Installation: Bruce Blankenfeld, Pwo navigator and Captain of the Hokule’a for his leadership and efforts to educate our youth and Edmund C. Olson of the Edmund C. Olson Trust II for providing agricultural opportunities and building a sustainable future for Hawaii Island.