Community Focus

Jodie Chiemi Ching In celebration of their centennial anniversaries, Aloha United Way and Servco Pacific Inc. are teaming up to honor their legacies of service to the community with a collaborative initiative aimed at addressing the root causes of Hawai‘i’s systemic and persistent social welfare issues. The initiative is titled the Hawaii Social Impact Project.....

Erin Tanaka, a 15-year-old sophomore at Seabury Hall, was crowned queen of the 66th Chrysanthemum Festival last Dec. 8 at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku. Tanaka is the daughter of Lori and Kirk Tanaka of Wailuku. Selected as princesses were: • Lannie Hisashima, 16, of Ha‘ikü, a junior at King Kekaulike High....

Jodie Chiemi Ching For the first time in over 50 years, a presentation of Japanese kabuki will be staged in Hawai‘i. “Kabuki in Hawaii 2019” is being presented in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Honolulu Festival and the 150th anniversary of the 1868 arrival in Hawai‘i of the Gannenmono, the first Japanese immigrants....

Hawai‘i’s Little League Baseball World champions were guests of honor at a special dinner at Agu Ramen restaurant at Ala Moana Center on Sept. 24. Agu Ramen owner and president Hisashi Uehara hosted the championship team to congratulate the young champs. The ‘ukulele duo, Heart and Soul, also performed for the champs.

Chanterelle Couture, ‘Iolani and Ari South headlined Hui Makaala’s 49th annual Scholarship Fund Luncheon and Fashion Show on July 22 in the Coral Ballroom of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The three are all top-tier Hawai‘i designers who have been very successful in their careers. They shared a variety of their designs with the audience, showing....

The Rotary Club of Hiroshima South in Japan presented a $20,000 check to its sister club in Hawai‘i, the Rotary Club of Hilo, to support the Puna relief efforts resulting from the ongoing Kïlauea volcano eruption. The donation was made at the Rotary Club of Hiroshima South’s meeting on June 1. The funds will be....

The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii recognized five individuals for demonstrating excellence and high standards of achievement in their respective fields at its “Living Treasures of Hawai‘i” program on Feb. 10 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The Living Treasures luncheon also served as the closing activity of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii’s 106th annual....

66th CBF Queen Brings an International Perspective to Her New Role Gwen Battad Ishikawa Melanie Camille Michiko Carrié, the newly crowned Cherry Blossom Festival queen, has lived in places others have only dreamed of — and in less than a quarter of a century! Carrié was born in Antwerp, Belgium, to her Japanese American mother....

The 66th Cherry Blossom Festival got its official kick-off on Jan. 14 with the introduction of the 15 queen contestants at the New Year’s ‘Ohana Festival, presented by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. The Cherry Blossom Festival is sponsored annually by the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce. This year’s festival theme is Inspire.....

SPOTLIGHT BY Karleen C. Chinen Pamela Rotner Sakamoto came to understand the invaluable, but secret, work that soldiers in the Military Intelligence Service performed in World War II while writing her own book, “Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds,” about the family of MIS veteran Harry Fukuhara. So when....