On August 22nd, President Ashli Sasano and Community Service Co-Director, Wendy Pang, joined Rotary Clubs of Hickam Pearl Harbor and Mililani Sunrise to pack welcome kits for homeless families moving into Kahauiki Village.
Ashli Sasano
Growing up my mom’s constant piece of advice was “Be a Leader, Not a Follower”. While it was her way of saying “don’t give in to peer pressure”, it resonated these last few months preparing for my year as the President of East Honolulu. Leadership was never a role I imagined for myself in Rotary; I was happy to follow the crowd and be a cog in the wheel. So what changed my mind? What made me accept the challenge and step up to not just spin the wheel, but to drive the machine? It was the great leaders that have come before me.
My Rotary story is different from most. I didn’t have a friend that invited me to a Rotary meeting or a family member that was a Rotarian. I found Rotary on my own and was accepted as one of your own. At my first meeting I was welcomed by name and invited to the next service project. Over the years I’ve been asked to serve on the board and have been able to learn from the best leaders Rotary has to offer. So this year, while I’ve always tried to live by my mom’s advice, I’m changing it up a bit by FOLLOWING OTHERS AND BEING A LEADER.
In turn, I challenge everyone out there to do the same. Past President, Wendy Chang, talked about “The Beauty of Discomfort” in her message last year and challenged us to get out of our comfort zone. Leadership can often be uncomfortable, but in discomfort we grow; we learn what we are capable of and while we may fall at times, we can soar to heights we never thought possible. Come soar with me this year as Rotary Connects the World.
Ashli Sasano, President 2019-2020
Congratulations for Lauren Okinishi on the sponsorship of her first new member! The Rotary Club of East Honolulu has had a great first month of the year with the induction of our third new member, Kecia King. Although she was just inducted last week, Kecia has been a part of our Rotary family for quite sometime now. We first met her at our Midsummer Night's Social where she was introduced to our second favorite pastime (next to serving the community): fellowship over wine. Kecia then started attending our weekly meetings and even joined us at our Change of Leadership Dinner. Prior to her induction she participated in her first RCEH community service project, the Back to School Supply Drive, where she broadcasted live to her Facebook followers. We are looking forward to getting to know Kecia!
We kicked off our first meeting of the year with a bang! On July 1st we inducted two new members. Chauntel Nakata and Roxy Kissing have joined us at a few recent meetings and came to celebrate our Change of Leadership Ceremony with our East Honolulu Hui. They are looking forward to joining our community service projects and we look forward to getting to know them.
The Rotary Club of East Honolulu Back to School Supply Drive is usually the first project that kicks of our year. This past Sunday, we gathered at Kahala Mall between Long's and Macy's and collected much needed school supplies for the children of Palolo Elementary. We had a few of our new members, Christina Davis, Chauntel Nakata and Roxy Kiessling join us, along with returning member Colleen Kojima. Soon-to-be-inducted member Kecia King, broadcast our drive on Facebook live. Together we gathered more school supply donations than we've received in the recent years. Thank you to our community service co-chair, Wendy Chang, for organizing our first project of the year and we hope you will all come out for our next project.
