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At our 5/2/2023 meeting, Hawaii County Parks and Recreation Director Maurice Messina, pictured here, was our guest speaker. Mr. Messina spoke of the current state of many parks and how they will be maintained and upgraded.
Our guest speaker for our 4/18/23 meeting was our very own Keith Marrack who spoke on the topic of finance.
 
At our April 4, 2023, meeting, our featured speaker, shown here, was Lorraine Davis, Chief Operating Officer of the YWCA in Hilo. Lorraine is responsible for the Sexual Assault Support Services Program and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program at the YWCA and is also past president of the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay. Lorraine spoke of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse and Neglect, Victim Rights, and Denim Day which takes place on the last Wednesday of April. This day of action and awareness is an event in which people are encouraged to wear denim to combat victim blaming and educate others about sexual violence. Governor Josh Green has proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Hawaii.
On March 21, 2023, our guest speaker, seen here, was Rotarian Virgina Juettner who spoke about the Rotary Foundation. Virginia is a member of the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay, serves as club trainer, and is the Paul Harris Society Co-chair, for Rotary District 5000. She has been a Rotarian for 23 years, in three Rotary districts and has been a club president twice and chaired two District 5000 conferences.
At our March 7, 2023, meeting, former State Senator Laura Acasio and former legislative aide Micah Alameda, shown here with club President Cat Rehberg (center), discussed how legislative bills are introduced and the process they travel to get passed into law or rejected by the legislature.
At our February 21, 2023, meeting, Club President Cat Rehberg entices members to be creative in an interactive game like Truth or Dare in which members engage with each other to answer questions from another or ask the creator to elaborate… great fun.
At our February 7, 2023, meeting, District Governor Randy Hart inducts new members Micah Alameda, Pono Kekela, and Glenda Mitchell.
At our February 7, 2023, meeting, our guest speaker was Kristine Kubat, who was born and raised in Southeast Pennsylvania and has lived in Hawaii for the past 40 years. She feels blessed to live in close proximity to her two children and five grandchildren who reside in and around Hilo. Kristine brings a lifetime of experience as an environmental and social justice activist to her current position as Executive Director for Recycle Hawaii. She spends her downtime making art, gardening, and practicing yoga.
At our January 17, 2023, meeting, guest speaker Steven J. Santiago, recently retired from the Department of Transportation as the Hilo International Airport District Manager and with an impressive 25 years in the Hawaii Army National Guard as Master Sergeant of Operations, gave a presentation on the state of our airport.
At our December 6, 2022, meeting Dr. Kimo Alameda, Vice President of Business Development with Hawaii Island Community Health Center, spoke of an alarming and deadly issue in our community, the rise in fentanyl use in Hawaii County.
At our November 15, 2022, meeting, we welcomed guest speaker Brittany Zimmerman, CEO and Chief of Innovation at Yummet, a world-wide group of scientific innovators who are taking on major environmental issues such as carbon sequestration, green energy, clean water, and the teaching of innovative technology to youth, all major areas of concentration for Rotary International.
At our November 1, 2022, meeting, Sam Kalanikupua King II, a descendant of Samuel Wilder King, the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii, addressed, via Zoom, issues surrounding the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, OHA, the Thirty-Meter Telescope project, and other matters of interest to native Hawaiians and the public.
At our October 18, 2022, meeting, guest speaker Michele Carvalho addressed Project Pilina. Project Pilina recruits and guides resource caregiver (foster parent) applicants through the first steps of the general licensing process to foster in Hawaiʻi. There are over 1,250 children and youth in Hawaiʻi’s foster care system and 50% are Native Hawaiian.
At our October 4, 2022, meeting, David Anitok, a healthcare and community activist, discussed via Zoom the fresh water needs of the Marshallese Community in Oceanview.
At our September 20, 2022, meeting, District Trainer and two-time past president of our South Hilo Rotary Club, Benson Medina, talks of Aloha Based Leadership and how to Serve with Aloha.
At our September 6, 2022, meeting, Guest Speaker James Akau spoke on Hawaiian Canoes and their cultural connection to the ocean.
OSMD Hawaii Foundation founder Daryl “Sammy” Sampaga and Rotary District Governor Randy Hart address our August 16, 2022, club meeting. Sammy spoke of living with muscular dystrophy and about his foundation. Randy outlined Rotary's structure and vision.
Rebecca Moore, Hilo Medical Center Stroke/STEMI Coordinator, addresses our July 2, 2022, club meeting, speaking of expanding stroke and cardiac services to the Big Island.
Magin Patrick, Project Hawaii, Inc., co-founder addresses our Club's July 19, 2022, meeting while co-founder Cliff Kama, Sr. and President Cat Rehberg follow along. The children present were attending summer camp and broke away to join us.
During its July 5, 2022, meeting, Rotary Club of South Hilo welcomed three new members, L-to-R, Michael Hauben, Laura Acasio, and Gerry Baldwin.
Newly inducted Rotary Club of South Hilo President Cat Rehberg asking the audience to breathe during her July 1st, 2022, acceptance speech.
Newly installed District Governor Randy Hart swearing in new presidents Connie Ichinoise, Rotary Club of Hilo; Cat Rehberg, Rotary Club of South Hilo; Susie Osborne and Ron Cutler, co-presidents of Rotary Club of Pahoa Sunset
Outgoing Rotary Club of South Hilo President Benson Medina and his wife, Zeda Medina, blessing the July 1st, 2022, District Governor Change of Command event.
Since our first in-person/hybrid meeting on July 6, attendance has been steadily growing both in person and online.  Yesterday's meeting featuring United States Coast Guardsman Peter Wilson, was attended by sixteen of our members in person and six more online.  As our club continues to rebuild from a year where COVID-19 shut down most of our activities, it's been really encouraging to see people participating again.
 
Among the attendees yesterday was Karen FitzGerald, the wife of our late member John FitzGerald.  She came to let us know that she will be having a Celebration of Life for John on Saturday, August 28th.  John was one of our most active members and his ranch in Hakalau was the site of many Rotary functions.  More details on this function will follow.
 
Join us next week when our own Elena Cabatu will be our speaker and will give us an update on COVID-19 and the new Delta variant.
 
Speaker Peter Wilson, his wife Megan, daughter Pohai, son Gunnar, Marissa Guerra, Zeda Medina and Karen FitzGerald after the meeting.
 
Legacy Member Valta Cook with Past President Rosemary Linden and guest Michael Hauben
 
South Hilo members Keith Marrack, Doug Adams and Tom English join our meeting online.
 
Club Secretary Tracy Klask and Past-President Tom Yeh
 
Past President and Zoom Master Benson Medina trying to keep all the technical pieces of a hybrid meeting moving.
About Our Club
Welcome to the Rotary Club of South Hilo
South Hilo

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
71 Banyan Drive
Hilo, HI 96720
United States of America
Phone:
(808) 286-6559
We meet the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at Noon at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
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