Weekly Newsletter 04/15/2026

The Rotary Club of Hilo Bay: Meeting Notes – April 15, 2026

Call to Order

President Tim Hansen brought the meeting to order at 7:02 AM. 

 

Opening Activities

The meeting opened with Bob Juettner leading the Pledge. This was followed by an inspirational moment from Mike Carroll delivered by Janell Kuamoo: “  In death, the family is not destroyed, it transforms, a part of it goes into the invisible. We believe that death is an absence, when it is also now a discrete presence in all our lives.”

 

Trivia and Notes

When is Earth Day? April 22nd.

 

Guests, Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Inductions

  • Birthdays: Patrick Bodell and Lorraine Davis.
  • Anniversaries:   None
  • Inductions: James Tyrin and Toby Taniguchi.
  • Guests: Lisa Williams (3rd visit) and Nellie, soon to be, Hopkins.

 

Club Announcements

  •  Please make checks payable to HRYF and U of H Foundation for the nursing scholarship. Checks may be given to Janelle or mailed to Richard Cunningham at 252 Kaiulani St. Hilo 96720. Thanks to all who have supported Hilo Bay Scholarships. Richard will be returning at the end of April.
  • Big Mahalos to Patrick Bodell and the Rotarians who participated in the Merrie Monarch Parade! A link to the parade can be found on the club website or Live Broadcast: 2026 Merrie Monarch Royal Parade.
  • April 18th is the D5000 day of work at the Queen Liliuokalani Gardens. James Tyrin has all the information and is looking for volunteers.
  • May 16th, the Food Fight to End Hunger. The goal is to raise $6,000 to be distributed to the Food Basket, the Salvation Army and Hope Services. The Eastside Rotary Clubs will be competing on a per capita basis for the most money raised to support these program and bragging rights for the year.
  • Virginia Juettner announced that she, Patrick and Fanny would be doing Birthday Books at noon today.
  • Alan Okinaka is updating the club members’ contact information still. If you have not received an email from RCHB in a while see or call Alan.
  • Virginia Juettner was called upon to make a Paul Harris Society presentation to our own Tim Hansen. He is now a Paul Harris Society level 4 which signifies his ongoing financial commitment to the Rotary Foundation.

  • Board of Directors meeting will be held tomorrow morning at 7 am via Zoom. Check your email for the link and documents.

  • Alan Okinaka reported on the tribute to Richard Miyashiro at Café 100. Richard was a veteran of the 100th Infantry Battalion who upon his return celebrated his fellow Nisei veterans by opening Café 100. It took four tries and three tsunamis before he got the current Café 100 established.

 

Happy Dollars

$20 - JoB -  Celebrating Merrie Monarch Emoji

 

$20 - Patrick Bodell - New and first ever Detroit Lions aloha shirt for my birthday!

 

$10 - Kumiko Usada - I am happy to come back to the Rotary meeting.  Sorry to skip so many meetings.

 

$10 - Alan Okinaka - Happy for the Kolea returning to Alaska! Aloha! The Godwit bird --record breaker - flying from Alaska to New Zealand!

 

$5 - Anita Cunningham - Had a lot fun at the Merrie Monarch parade with Kathleen & Jan Abundo, twirling Kathleen's baton!

 

Guest Speakers—President Tim introduced Kathy Hammar and Maria Jampolsky of NAMI. Have you ever had one of those days when you just needed to talk to someone and went to a large agency looking for help like the VA and the first thing they wanted from you was your DD 214? If so, you realize the importance of a local mental health agency staffed by local volunteers. NAMI stands for the National Alliance of Mental Illness. As its name states, it is a national organization with state and local programs  staffed by community volunteers.

 

Kathy and Maria alternated present several slides packed with information that I am going to summarize as follows:

  1. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. NAMI is available  24, 7, 365.They man a suicide a crisis line. Dial or text 988 or call Hawaii Cares 1-800-753-6879.
  2. If you have a crisis situation and dial 911 make the operator aware that it is a mental health crisis. They should transfer your call to 988. Better yet, you should call 988 if you have a mental health situation.
  3. On Hawaii Island, one in four of the HPD officers are trained to respond to mental health crisis cals l and situations.
  4. For a complete list of services, their website is:namihawaii.org and their local number is 808-591-1297.

Did I mention that all of NAMI’s services are free?

 

Door Prize Winner: Alan Okinaka

 

Closing announcements

  1. Work day Saturday at QL Gardens.
  2. Next weeks speaker is Toni Bissen from the Pua Foundation.
  3. RI Convention in Taipei June 13-20.
  4. D5000 District Conference August 21-23 in Honolulu.
  5. Sister Rotary Club Visit to Japan, May 2027?
  6. Check your emails and the website, hilobayrotary.com, for the latest.

 

Four Way Test: Alan Okinaka