The Herald Salutes

Tyler Tokioka has been appointed chairman of the board for Island Insurance Company, Ltd. Hawai‘i’s largest locally owned property and casualty insurance carrier. He succeeds Colbert Matsumoto, who will continue to serve as a board member. Tokioka, whose grandfather, Masayuki Tokioka, founded the company in 1939, has been with Island Insurance since 1999. He has....

University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa’s clinical professor and Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children pediatric emergency specialist Dr. Alson Inaba received the first Innovation at Heart Award on June 18 from the American Heart Association at the AHA Gold Heart event in Dallas, Texas. Inaba is known for figuring out that the Bee Gees....

Kevin Imanaka has joined the senior management team of the Honolulu Museum of Art (often referred to as HoMA) as its chief communications officer. He will lead the museum’s communications, marketing and branding initiatives. Imanaka previously held senior communications positions at Kamehameha Schools, Hawaiian Airlines, Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi and the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce.

Noboru Hayase and Dr. Robert N. Huey were recently conferred imperial decorations by the Government of Japan. The decorations were presented by Consul General of Japan Koichi Ito at his official residence. Noboru Hayase, who served as president of the Hawaii Meijikai from 2011 to 2018, was presented The Order of the Rising Sun, Silver....

Students in the Kaimukï Middle School Symphonic Winds, directed by Susan Ochi-Onishi, performed to four standing ovations in the 28th annual Music for All National Festival in March in Indianapolis, Ind. The Music for All National Festival showcases America’s finest high school and middle school music ensembles and student musicians. It spotlights outstanding music-making and....

The East Hawaii Hiroshima Kenjin Kai presented scholarships of $1,000 each to Waiäkea High School senior Meghan M.B.Y. Nagai and Hilo High School senior Kara Yoshiyama. The two were recognized for their excellence in academic, co-curricular and extracurricular achievements. Nagai, who is the daughter of Kenjin Kai members Sylvia and Michael Nagai, was a valedictorian....

Moloka‘i High School sophmore Mallory Go won first place at the Hawai‘i HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) National Leadership Conference, held from Feb. 26 to 27 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Go competed against other Hawai‘i high school students in epidemiology –– or the study of the distribution, incidence and control of disease in....

Kanoelani Elementary School principal Stacie Kunihisa was named the 2019 Hawai‘i National Distinguished Principal by the Hawai‘i Elementary School and Middle School Administrators Association at the Hale Koa Hotel on April 28. She will join the National Association of Elementary School Principals and awardees from the other 49 states in Washington, D.C., in October. Just....

Kuakini Health System president and CEO Gary K. Kajiwara was presented The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by Consul General of Japan Koichi Ito on Feb. 1 at the Japanese Consulate. Kajiwara was recognized for his contributions to strengthening and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the United States in the....

Gwen Fujie has been selected as executive director of the Hawaii United Okinawa Association, succeeding the late Jane Serikaku, who held the post for approximately 12 years before passing last summer. Fujie assumed the position on Jan. 2. Fujie’s ancestral roots in Okinawa are in Oroku and Yomitan. She is a member of Yomitan Club,....