Aloha to all our members and visitors!

 

Well, as of 10:00 a.m. Friday, August 24, 2018, as I sit here sheltered in my ohana in N. Kihei, the brunt of Hurricane Lane hasn’t hit us on Maui yet—but a steady rain has begun. I’m beginning to feel like that cartoon Prairie dog who pops up from his hole in the ground, looks around, then scoots back down. Makawao and Pukalani and Hana have gotten rain and wind and, of course, our Flash Flood warnings are coming regularly.

 

The good news is that Maui and Oahu and Kauai appear to be well prepared for this storm. Throughout the day, we get TV programming interrupted on the hour with updates—as well as ‘Net information. "Whatevah" we get as rain is supposed to be here in the next 24 hours. Lane is now slowed to 5 MPH from 9 MPH just a few days ago, leaving more time to dump more rain. We’ll see.

Ma’alaea is hunkering down, and the highway from there to Lahaina has just been closed for a few hours, but just reopened. And to add insult to injury, there have been two raging brush fires in Lahaina—across the street from Lahaina Intermediate school and in Ka’anapali—both mauka side, as I write this. Now is when we need the deluge there!

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LOL:

A comic relief moment just a few minutes ago: an Oahu newswoman was just showing 20’ waves with some surfers on them she said was in Makawao. Nope, not unless all of Paia is under water! Perhaps she doesn’t know Hawaiian and Makawao, as a place name, means ‘eyes—as in open your eyes and be aware’—you are leaving the realm of man and approaching the realm of the Gods up on Haleakala! Come with offerings, prayers, and oli—chants! But no cool surfing waves!

 

Our canceled Wed, 8/22 meeting seemed prudent then and now as storms are unpredictable no matter what the computer algorithms nor forecasters tell us.

And yes, we canceled our Monsanto Tour yesterday and Saturday’s bench painting project for Hale Kau Kau. We’ll revisit these on another date.

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I have an “Ask” of those off island: 

 

Can you email me when you left Maui and your anticipated return date? I’m creating a year-long calendar to see when we are a ‘small’, ‘medium’ or ‘large’ club to maximize our projects and know when we have more helping hands on the island. Mahalo in advance for this!

 

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Another “Ask” of you:

 

And “Ask” #2: again to those off island—please contact friends, neighbors and colleagues on Maui whom you think might be interested in membership and invite them to our first Talk Story with Rotary—Meet & Greet gathering at Mulligans this coming Thursday, 8/30 from 6-7:00 p.m. Let me know their names and cell #’s and I’ll follow up to welcome them and answer any questions prior to that event.

And for our ‘on island’ members—this is our kick-off gathering, one of a half-dozen over the next months. Please support this effort and bring one person who might be interested in joining. We will NOT have an open bar tab, but some simple nibbles.—but you’ll be able to purchase your favorite drinks. Please plan on attending with a prospective member. Mahalo!

 

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Here are a few photos and information you might find interesting:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday evening at a new restaurant in Lahaina, Moku Roots, about 30 Rotarians from all over Maui, congregated for vegetarian pupus and lavender-flavored lemonade and other food and drink to greet our DG, Win Schoneman. Lots of Talk Story as he makes the rounds to our clubs. We chose to cancel our own meeting this past Wednesday due to the threatening storm, so I’m working on another possible meeting with Win—a Board meeting, if I can arrange it and get tucked into his schedule next week.

 

UHMC Dental Hygiene program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaylee Pagan and Sabryna Yates (not pictured), at UHMC, received $500 each from us. (We couldn’t bear to just award only one!) These two exceptional young women already have major accomplishments under their belts. Sabryna was awarded a BS in Biology from the University of Nevada-Reno. As she reflected on a negative childhood, dentistry experience, Sabryna realized she wanted to go back to school and gain an A.S degree as a hygienist—who would be more compassionate with children. Not the usual educational trajectory, but just right for her.

Kaylee has a resume filled with community service already and wants to pursue a B.S. degree and eventually begin a dental mission project. The $500 award will pay for the mandatory fee each semester (including their summer classes) for disposable supplies as they learn their craft.

These are exactly the next generation we seek. The Dental Hygiene students have been pivotal in creating the dental lessons on brushing/flossing for our first graders in Kihei. I’ve had conversations with these remarkable women and have encouraged them to stay in touch with us and to consider Rotary membership when they progress to their goals. We will keep in touch with our recent awardees to continue this conversation. And, hopefully, UHMC will resurrect their Rotaract club this semester—another avenue to membership.

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Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea awards Seabury Hall students Scholarships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darby Mulligan, the recipient of a $5,000 Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship from the Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea, is at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state. She attended a celebratory luncheon at Tante’s restaurant along with the other recipients in Maui County several weeks ago. This $5,000 award was one of 51 awarded throughout the state to deserving students going to four-year colleges. She attended a celebratory luncheon with her dad, John, at Tante’s restaurant.

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Another Scholarship Award

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clair Peck, who we also interviewed at Seabury Hall, received $2,000 from several of our members. He arrives Saturday, 8/25, at New York University working on his BA degree in Film/Video Production.

 

We have great hopes for these young adults—not just as they pursue their own careers, but in how we know they’ll ‘be’ as community service partners.

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Music, Music, Everywhere!

 

Thank you, Stu, for reminding us at our 8/8 meeting about the concert the Cornell University Chamber Choir was to give at the MACC on Sunday, 8/12. About 40% of their program was a repeat of the week before in Makena. No matter—it was a joy to hear each note once again. As I listened in Makena to their opening song, the following words came to me so strongly I had to write them down. Hope the prose will sing in your mind as you read this…

 

Clothed in black, they stand, barefoot,

bedecked with black, kukui nut lei on the altar steps of the Keawala’i Congregational Church.

 

Six of the Chamber singers carry large, crystal, wine glasses into which is poured a measured amount of water.

I muse that these musical instruments might factor in the piece we will hear as they are filled to different levels.

 

After the room becomes silent, moist, measured fingers swirl around the rim of the glasses as ringing, in perfect harmony, fills the air like angels singing, joined by vocal chords of perfectly pitched notes as voices and soul music soar and enter our cells.

 

And so it continues, sparkling harmonies support lyrics, voices reaching, baritone and soprano voices blended as the wine-glassed, star-like pitches in perfect harmony crescendos—then diminishes into whispered vocal ending—with the silver glass-tones ringing—clearly mirroring the grandeur of the setting sun on the sea beside this historic church.

 

Mahalo to all our members, on and off the island, who help in many, many ways! I think we got very, very lucky in Maui County with minimal storm damage this week.

 

Joanne