The Herald Salutes

The East Hawaii Hiroshima Kenjin Kai presented scholarships of $1,000 each to Waiakea High School seniors Jairus Iwasaki and Deylyn Nekoba in recognition of their excellence in academic, co-curricular and extracurricular achievements. Kenjin Kai president Jon Arizumi presented the awards to Iwasaki and Nekoba at the school’s senior awards assembly on May 1.

Kipapa Elementary School principal Corinne Yogi received the 14th annual Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award from the Island Insurance Foundation. Yogi was presented the $25,000 award at the annual Public Schools of Hawai‘i Foundation banquet at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel on April 19. The award is named in honor of Island Insurance Company,....

Gov. David Ige appointed Troy Hashimoto to the Maui House seat previously occupied by former Rep. Joe Souki. Hashimoto’s appointment was effective immediately. Hashimoto has served as executive assistant to Maui County Council Chair Mike White since 2011. He was also chair of Maui County’s Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. “Troy will bring energy....

Stevenson Middle School teacher Ken Kakesako was selected Hawai‘i’s Milken Teacher of Promise Award by the National Milken Educators of Hawai‘i. Kakesako is currently in his third year of teaching science at Stevenson. The award annually recognizes a teacher who demonstrates excellence in the field and the highest qualities of a professional educator during their....

The Hawaii United Okinawa Association recognized 45 “Uchinanchu of the Year” at its annual ”Uchinanchu of the Year”/installation banquet at the Hawaii Okinawa Center on Jan. 20. The 2017 “Uchinanchu of the Year” were honored for their service to their respective club, the HUOA and the larger community. The honorees were:

Gov. David Ige has appointed Leonard Hoshijo as director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which oversees the workforce development, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and occupational safety and health divisions. Hoshijo had been DLIR’s deputy director since 2015 and acting director since December 2017. He succeeds Linda Chu Takayama, who was appointed interim....

Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce president Wayne Toshimi Ishihara was conferred an imperial decoration from the Government of Japan. With Ishihara’s wife Joy and their two adult children, Trevor and Jaci, and other family and friends looking on, Consul General of Japan Yasushi Misawa pinned The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays,....

McKinley Car Wash owner Yukio Yoshikawa was recently honored in the state House of Representatives for his contributions to O‘ahu’s small business community. The 92-year-old Yoshikawa started his car washing business in 1964 with eight employees and now has over 70 workers of various ethnic and racial backgrounds with family roots in Samoa, Micronesia, Vietnam....

Mariko Miho was recently named vice president of advancement for PBS Hawai‘i. In this key fundraising position, Miho will be responsible for building a blended-gifts program and coordinating a multimedia giving campaign for the statewide not-for-profit public television station. Prior to accepting the PBS Hawai‘i position, Miho served for more than 20 years as a....

Central Pacific Bank announced the promotions of Scott Kurosawa to senior vice president and senior strategic account executive, and Lance Ori- bio to vice president and senior manager – HELOC. Kurosawa had been vice president and senior strategic account executive. In his new position, he will be responsible for managing and growing a team portfolio....