August 3rd – Hahaione Elementary School Front Office Renovation Project
On August 2nd Hahaione Elementary School students, parents, teachers, and staff returned to their familiar school, only to be greeted by a brand-new, ultra-functional front office that was professionally done thanks to the partnership of the Hahaione PTSA, the Hawaii Kai Lions Club, Quality Carpentry and Painting, LLC, and In Line Flooring, Inc.
It was almost a year ago since the Lions and Principal Shannon Goo first discussed the possibility of replacing a worn-out, outdated, unstable, and less than optimum functioning work space. The question was how to bring this improbable dream to reality especially with soaring material costs and supply chain issues — the answer was a partnership. The PTSA provided the bulk of the funds. The Lions Club provided the balance of the funding, manpower, and finish-carpentry expertise thru its member Eric Kvick, owner of Quality Carpentry and Painting, LLC. New laminated flooring and installation was generously donated by In Line Flooring Inc. and its President, Hawaii Kai resident Taryn Miyamoto.
The office staff, along with a handful of parents, also stepped up by spending a day adding a fresh coat of paint to the office space. Although this project ended up being more expensive and taking longer than first envisioned, the dramatic result spoke for itself.
Principal Goo was blown-away by the results; “Through this high-quality partnership, our front office received an amazing renovation. The hard-working Hawaii Kai Lions Club members created a personalized cabinet/counter/drawer system with each system handcrafted and custom-built into our unique office space. Projects such as this has taught our school that the value of service is very strong in our community and our students have great role models of compassion!”
PTSA Co-President Greta Gallardo was also overjoyed with the results, saying: “We are forever grateful for the hard work the Lion’s Club has put in to make our school office something we are now so proud of. It looks absolutely beautiful! The amount of time & energy that the Lion’s club has spent on this project goes above and beyond what I ever expected of them…. This project has been such a gift for our school and the timing of it finishing just before the school year begins is incredible!”
Lions participating in this project contributing 387 manpower hours included Silvia Ardila, Gabriel Argotte (Leo and son of Silvia), Ellsworth Fujii, Bill Kern, Eric Kimura, Eric Kvick, Frances Lum, Ken Nishibun, and Tom Ono.