rotary international
President — Sakuji Tanaka
district 5000
Governor — Chet Dal Santo
rotary club
of honolulu sunset
Club No. 31173 * District 5000
Chartered December 15, 1995
board of directors
2012-2013
officers
President
Beth Hoban
Vice President/President-Elect
Jan Reischel
Secretary
Cari Belczak
Treasurer
Jim Hoban
Immediate Past President
Paul Jurcsak
directors
Club Administration
Elle Zhang
Community Service
Harry Kubota
January 31
Gerald “Jerry” S. Clay
Jerry will share with us how
mediation can both resolve civil disputes faster, cheaper and
more completely, and in the
process, create a better society
in the process.
Last Week
Bonnie Hilory, Vice
President Development with
USS Missouri Memorial
Association.
International Service
Dan Murariu
Vocational Service
Matt Sutton
New Generations Service
Cari Belczak
Foundation Chair
Rich Zegar
Sergent At Arms
James Buchner
Membership
Jane Ferreira
Public Relations
Anna Fishburn
Web Master
Andy Arakaki
Bonnie told us of
the amazing and
sig nif icant USS
Missouri, and of
the array of membership and volunteer opportunities
available.
Many Rotary clubs
in Hawaii have ongoing service projects on board the
Missouri.
January 31, 2013
Page 2
Past RI President and Rotary Foundation
Chair Wilf Wilkinson visited our club last
week. He is shown at left with PDG Roz
Cooper, President Beth, and Eric and Kathy
Jones from New Zealand.
Last week, Lynn Mattson from Colorado
and Oliver Chang from Taipei were among
the visitors to our club.
Past RI President and Rotary Foundation
Chair Wilf Wilkinson presented PDG
Ayman El-Dakhakhni with recognition as a
member of the White Hat Society, for having
donated at least $5,000 in one Rotary year.
President’s Message
Beth Hoban
Last week-end, I was at an International
Convention--I felt like I was, meeting Rotarians and Rotaracts from 32
countries and more than 1000 attendees at the Peace Forum. The Hawaii
Convention Center welcomed Rotary
International’s 2nd Peace Forum with
movers and shakers of all nationalities
and backgrounds who shared their passion and expertise about the work that
they do. Workshops were interactive
and varied, catered to the young and
the more matured Rotarians. Speakers
were of high caliber, inspiring and motivational. Mahalo to PP Liz, who made it
all happen as Program Chair.
Talented speakers like Ash‘s son and Ayman’s daughter made their fathers so proud.
Ash’s son spoke of his journey as director and producer of short films, sharing
some of his work at a workshop. Ash acted in one of the videos--could be an Oscar
nominee at that! Ayman’s daughter,
Amanda, received a standing ovation
after sharing her story about “Jews and
Muslims Finding Common Ground.”
The Saturday banquet with keynote
speaker, Nobel Laureate, Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, brought many dignitaries
together from the community. The
ballroom was filled with Rotarians and
non-Rotarians who listened to Daw
Not to be outdone, Past President Harry
Kubota is also a member of the White Hat
Society.
Four Way Test
of things we think, say or do
1
Is it the Truth?
2
Is it Fair to all concerned?
3
Will it build Goodwill
and Better Friendships?
4
Will it be
Beneficial to all concerned?
Aung San Suu Kyi’s talk about her vision of
the future for Burma. There may be future
potential partnerships and collaboration with
Rotarians sharing that vision.
I heard the inspiring story of how one person,
Muhammed Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, changed the lives of the Bonsai People,
especially women, through a microcredit
program and offering business solutions. He was able to tackle problems and improve
healthcare, education and energy needs in that community.
As all great things must come to an end, this
Peace Forum is just the beginning as strategies were developed and ideas exchanged
to bring peace globally. The Peace Forum
Committee offered a gift of ideas to the
Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hokule’a that
they will take on their 3 year-world-wide
journey in June 2013.
Those were all snap shots of my own experience last week-end. I will remember RI
President Sakuji Tanaka’s comments about
working with the young and his emotional
closing remarks that were heartwarming.
The next District event may not be like the
Peace Forum, but it is one I encourage you to
attend. The District Conference and Awards
Week-end is on May 17-19. Jim and I are
co-Chairs of this event and look forward to
a record number of our members at Turtle
Bay. Shhh . . . you are the first to know that
Nainoa Thompson from the Polynesian
Voyaging Society/ Hokule’a has agreed to be
one of our speakers.
In the next couple of weeks, we are going
to have our fund-raiser, Mardi Gras. This
fun-filled evening of jazz, fun fortune-telling, delicious cuisine by the Plaza Club
Chef, silent and live auction needs our help.
Please support our only fund-raiser, so we
can carry on our service projects locally and
globally. Ticket sales and soliciting for the
silent auction are needed. If prior commitments keep you from attending, donations
are welcomed. Let us share this fantastic
evening with our friends, family, neighbors,
co-workers who will thank you for the opportunity to make a difference in Rotary.
See you at our next meeting to hear Jerry
Clay’s story.
Malama pono. . . take care.