The Hawaii United Okinawa Association presented its Legacy Award to eight individuals — four from Hawai‘i and four from Okinawa — for their contributions to the Okinawan and larger local and global community. The awards were presented at a luncheon banquet at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom on Nov. 2.
Honored from Hawai‘i were Arthur and the late Lorraine Kaneshiro for establishing the “With Love From Lorraine” cultural grant program; HUOA past president George Tamashiro for his leadership in developing the Hawaii Okinawa Plaza project; and restaurateur and award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi.
Honored from Okinawa were Hawaii Okinawa Plaza fundraising committee chair Asami Ginoza; Akira Makiya, Okinawa Hawaii Kyokai past president and HOP’s first fundraising committee chair; and Choko Takayama, Okinawa Hawaii Kyokai immediate past president and an early student at the East-West Center. Zenki Nakazato, former vice governor of Okinawa, who was influential in the HOP fundraising effort, was also honored. He was not able to travel to Hawai‘i for the event, however.
All of the awardees were presented a plaque and honored with a cultural performance.
This year’s honorees were the 12th group of Legacy Award recipients.
