President’s Message: September 2014
Aloha Lions and friends,
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend! Your Hawaii Kai Lions Club Board members have been busy coordinating many activities coming up this and next month, and we hope you will participate in as many activities as you can!
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the following people as new members to the Hawaii Kai Lions Club. Welcome Sandy Gomes (sponsor Jeanne Alices), Eric Kimura (sponsor David Iwana), Ken Nakagawa (sponsor Marty Jorgensen), and Stephen R. Young (sponsor Peggy Oyama)! These people are members starting September, and their induction and new member orientations will be scheduled as soon as possible. If you haven’t met them yet, please be sure to introduce yourself to them, and make them feel welcome!
August was a busy month, with the Hawaii Foodbank tour and meeting postponed until September 18th and the Heart Walk postponed until October 4th due to Hurricanes Iselle and Julio. New sign-up sheets for these rescheduled events are posted to the club website, so please sign up online.
Regarding the hurricanes, we learned that our fellow Lions on the Big Island have been busy working to help restore order. We’ve been asked to make our donations to the Hawaii Lions Foundation Disaster Relief fund, and it will be appropriately delivered to our friends in Puna. If you still wish to make a donation, please make your check to Hawaii Lions Foundation, and I would be happy to forward it on. Mahalo!
Looking ahead to September and October, we have seven vision and hearing screenings, so please sign up online. If you’re new and would like to learn more about the screenings, please sign up, and you will be trained on the spot. Thank you, Cynthia Chun, for leading the vision and hearing screening efforts again this year!
The Foodbank Tour and club meeting was rescheduled to September 18th, and an environmental project to clean the swale at Koko Head School with Malama Maunalua is scheduled for September 27th. The Heart Walk is rescheduled for October 4th, and October 19th is the Moilili Community Center painting and cleaning project that we’ve been invited to join in with other clubs.
We were recently approached by the “Hawaii Strong” organization (sanctioned by the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board) to join them in the Hawaii Kai emergency preparedness program, and attend their informational sessions on Sept. 9th and October 15th. A few representatives from our club will attend on Sept. 9th, but anyone interested is welcome to attend, so please sign up online if you wish to go. We will also have someone from Hawaii Strong be a guest speaker at our club meeting, once we have more details.
Finally, with regard to next year’s Lions Club International Convention being held in Honolulu from the middle to end of June (June 16 to 30), Ken Nishibun (Manpower Chair), Merv Wee (Advisor), and Peggy Oyama (Transportation and Hospitality Chair) were busy the week of August 23rd to 30th with visitors from Chicago and Japan, hammering out details of Hawaii’s role in the event. Thanks to District Governor Jim Bryan and Ken Nishibun for providing details and training how to sign up to volunteer at the August 21st club meeting. We really need your support, so please contact any one of us if you need help doing the online sign up.
Mahalo for your willingness to volunteer with the Hawaii Kai Lions, and I really appreciate your flexibility with changing schedules.