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Happy Holidays from the Rotary Club of Hilo! 🎄

As 2025 comes to a close, we're filled with gratitude for our Rotary ʻohana and the community we're honored to serve.

This holiday season, our members have been busy living out "Service Above Self":

🔔 Ringing Bells for Salvation Army Our Rotarians and Waiakea Interactors came together to ring bells for the Salvation Army—a tradition that warms hearts and supports families in need across Hawaiʻi Island.

🍲 Answering the Call for Food Security With food insecurity on Hawaiʻi Island reaching 40%—the highest in our state—our members showed up in force at the recent "Go Cook Um" event, donating cases of food. This is just one of the many ways our club is helping across multiple programs. We're so proud to be part of a community that shows up when it matters most.

Mahalo to District Governor Nancy Cabral and all of District 5000 for the inspiring work happening across our islands. Together, we're making a difference.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year filled with service, fellowship, and aloha.

Mele Kalikimaka! 🌺

Service Above Self—The Kazuo Todd Way

There are people who walk among us who simply make the world better by being in it. Fire Chief Kazuo Todd was one of those people.

As Rotarians, we talk a lot about "Service Above Self." Kazuo didn't talk about it—he just did it. Whether leading our fire department through a crisis or showing up to help with a club project, he was the same person: present, humble, and ready to pitch in.

People who knew him well talk about his "servant leadership" philosophy—the idea that a leader's real job is to take care of the people around them. But even those of us who only knew him a little could feel it. A kind word. A quick smile. The way he never seemed too busy or too important to help.

How many lives did Kazuo touch over his years of service? There's no way to know. The families kept safe. The firefighters he mentored. The neighbors he served—not because it was his job, but because that's just who he was.

We were lucky to call him a fellow Rotarian. We were lucky to see what a life of purpose and genuine aloha looks like up close.

Our club, our community, our island—we're all going to miss him.

Mahalo, Kazuo. You showed us what service really means.

Share Your Memories

Leave a comment with your favorite memory of Kazuo, or share a photo that captures who he was. This past August, our club got together to celebrate his birthday—one of those good days you don't forget. If you have moments like that, please share them. Let's remember him together.

Rotarians Answer the Call: Supporting Our Community's Food Banks

Our community is facing a critical moment.

With federal funding cuts and the ongoing government shutdown, local food banks are serving more people than ever before – numbers that exceed even what we saw during the height of the pandemic. The need has never been greater!

Rotarians are stepping up. The photo below shows cases of food fellow Rotarians dropped off at a recent "Go Cook Um" event – and this doesn't even include the many other programs where our members are contributing! We are incredibly thankful and proud to be part of a community that responds with such generosity.

How You Can Help - Lex Brodies is open and accepting donations as well as many other establishments around the county. Together, we're proving that when government support falters, our community's spirit of aloha rises to meet the challenge.

🎃 Rotary Club of Hilo — Service Above Self (and a Little Spooky Fun!) 👻

At the Rotary Club of Hilo, we take “Service Above Self” to heart — but we also know how to have a great time! Our Halloween meeting was full of laughter, creative costumes, and fellowship that reminds us why we love being Rotarians.

Amid all the spooky fun, we also celebrated something even more meaningful: presenting donation checks to three incredible local nonprofits — Aloha ʻIlio Rescue, YWCA of Hawaiʻi Island, and Friends of the Children’s Justice Center — made possible through the success of our annual Brewfest fundraiser.

From supporting our community to sharing smiles, we’re proud to live the Rotary spirit every day. Mahalo to everyone who makes it happen!

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