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We've got some exciting news to share about our recent adventure at the Rotary District 5000 Conference 2023. From May 18th to May 21st, our club joined forces with fellow Rotarians at the stunning Grand Naniloa Hotel in beautiful Hilo, Hawaii. Five members from our club attended.  It was a time to reflect on our achievements, find inspiration, and have a blast!  The outgoing presidents, including our own Kecia King Sharpe,  were all introduced and thanked for their service.
We are excited to extend to you a warm invitation to a casual, no-host dinner, followed by an engaging TED Talk viewing. The Rotary Club of East Honolulu will be hosting this enlightening event on May 22nd, commencing at 5:30 PM
"A Night of Celebration: Sister Club Kyoto South's Visit to East Honolulu Rotary Club"
 
On the 17th of April, the Rotary Club of East Honolulu welcomed our sister club, the Rotary Club of Kyoto South, for a gala evening at the Eating House 1849. This visit marked another memorable chapter in our longstanding relationship and strengthened the bonds between our two clubs.
 
On Saturday, April 22nd, we celebrated Rotarians at Work Day and Earth Day with the Rotary Club of West Honolulu and the Farrington High School Interact Club! East Honolulu Rotarians Alissa Pranica, Kecia King, Kelli Chun, Laura Steelquist and Roxy Kiessling put their gloves on and got muddy! They gardened, planted a variety of trees (koa, ʻulu, mahoe, fruit trees), flowers and taro, and installed new compost boxes.
 
It was wonderful to see the next generation of Rotarians from the Interact Club organize, coordinate and execute this project for their community.
 
For our last project of the Rotary year, we teamed up with the Rotary Club of Diamond Head Kaimuki and Men's Leadership of Hawaii to help HUGS build a water reservoir lean-to at Sunset Ranch near their Koa Tree Memorial Garden. The Memorial Garden is a special place for families to honor their children who have passed away.
 
Men's Leadership of Hawaii built the lean-to with a gutter that feeds into a water storage tank, which will collect water when it rains. We then climbed up ladders and painted the structure to help protect it from the elements. Moving forward, it will be much easier to water the koa trees in the garden!
 
Jamie Apuna did an amazing job coordinating this project and the delicious lunch that followed our work day.
 
We joined the Rotary Clubs of Hickam Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Sunrise for a multi-club project at Kahauiki on Saturday, May 14th. Together we planted trees and shrubs in the area around the new Teen Center at Kahauiki. Joshua McDonough did most of the hard work and digging!
 
This completed the District 5000’s support of the Kahauiki Village of four years for a place where families will bond with their community and embrace the values of “generosity, trust, dignity, and honor”.
 

We are happy to announce our annual Sake Sushi FUN-Raiser that took place on Friday, April 29th was a huge success! Everyone enjoyed a night full of sake sampling, delicious food, entertainment and great company. All the proceeds raised will benefit projects in our local community and scholarships sponsored by the Rotary Club of East Honolulu. Thank you to everyone who came out to support!

Special shout out to Jamie Apuna (ticket sales chair), Cheryl Holdcroft (silent auction chair and decorations), Lauren Okinishi (sake sampling coordinator), Ashli Sasano (treasurer and 50/50 ticket sales), Laura Steelquist (all around busy bee), John Strandberg and Bob Yee (emcees of the night).

 

On Saturday, April 23rd, our club participated in "Rotarians at Work Day". Every year, Rotarians all across the world engage in hands-on service projects that help their local communities. Our project was a part of the statewide cleanup for District 5000's Ridge to Reef  Rotary Days of Service. We gathered at Kaimuki District Park to clean up trash in the area and maintain a healthy neighborhood wellness.
 
Mahalo to our community service director, John Strandberg, who coordinated this project and brought all the cleaning supplies.
 
We teamed up with the Genki Ala Wai Project and other Rotary clubs in District 5000 for a two-part project! On day one of the project, we got our hands dirty making Genki Balls. They were made of a mixture of clay soil, rice bran, molasses, water and EM•1 solution (Effective Microorganisms). After dehydrating the Genki balls for almost a month, we then threw them into the Ala Wai Canal to work their magic and remove sludge.
 
On Thursday, December 16th, we gathered for our last project of the year to decorate and fill bags with toys and treats for the students of Palolo Elementary School. Our district grant funds were used to make sure every student received a fun surprise this holiday season.
 
The following day we had the special opportunity to hand-deliver the Christmas bags to the students. They were overjoyed and filled with holiday cheer when receiving their gifts.