The Rotary Club of Hilo Bay: Meeting Notes – July 22, 2026
Call to Order
President Jan Haraguichi-Abundo called the hybrid meeting to order at 7:00. Eighteen, including one on Zoom of the fifty four members of the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay were in attendance which included two online.
Opening Activities
The meeting opened with Sandra Wagen-Wright leading the Pledge. Mike Carroll shared an inspirational message from Thomas Jefferson: “Do you want to know who you Are? Don’t ask it. Act! Actions will delineate and define you.”
Trivia, Joke & Japanese Word of the Day
Alan: Do leaves turn bright colors in the fall or are they there all time hidden by the green leaves?
Why didn’t the football players get hot during the World Cup? Because of all the fans.
Arigatoo Gozaimasu—Thank you.
Guests, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Inductions, Special Recognition
- Birthdays: James Tyrin and Art Taniguchi
- Anniversaries: None
- Inductions: Junichi Noumaru
- Guests: Jeff Gray, Leslie Yuen, Martha Rodillas and Mike Gleeson
Club Announcements & Community Service Opportunities
President Jan made the following announcements.
- Volcano Run Hydration stop, July 25th, see Mary Begier for sign up
- HRYF, Richard Cunningham told the group that HRYF was celebrating 50 years of scholarship giving on Sept. 10th in Honolulu. He was going to attend on his way to France. It is being hosted the Ala Moana Hote. Tickets are $150.
- Club Foundation organization is continuing with Alan Okinaka that the submission and the Board of Directors is active The next meeting will be on Aug. 13th at 2 pm at the Bank of Hawaii.
- Oktoberfest, 2026 planning is ongoing with Steven Sylvester leading the committee. President Jan wants to increase the visibility of the event well in advance of the actual date. The next meeting is on 7/30 at 5 pm. See Steven or James for more information.
- Food Basket is looking for volunteers to pack Kapuna Boxes on Wednesday, August 5th. See Janell for more information.
- District 5000 Conference is coming up in Honolulu. The conference is looking for sanitation kits for veterans. The Interact Club will be approached to assemble the kits.
- The Friends of the Children Justice Center will holding a gala event in conjunction with the Orchid Show. See Kathleen for more information
- Peace Day will be celebrated on Aug. 18th. For more information, see Art Taniguchi
- President Jan reported that the Relay for Life was last weekend and her team surpassed their goal of raising $1,000 by $133!
- Honpa Hongwanji Peace ceremony will take place on Aug. 2nd with Bishop Matsumoto as the guest speaker. The Peace Ceremony is held yearly as close to Aug. 6th as possible.
- Hilo Huli Luau, the annual fundraiser for the Rotary Club of South Hilo will be held at the Hilo Hawaii Hotel on Aug. 2nd 11 am-2 pm.. Tickets are available online.
Happy Dollars
$20 - Art Taniguchi - Thanks for the Birthday Song. Also, recommended the club pay for Richard Cunningham's attendance at HRYF Gala.
$20 - Steven Sylvester - 1) Art Taniguchi's 75th birthday, (money given by Keene Fujinaka) 2) Steven's son Wyatt sharing his ever expanding vocabulary. Tells me; "I don't know, I'm only 4 years old!"
$20 - Mike Gleason - Volcano Art Center Golf Tournament Fundraiser at Volcano Golf Course, Benefitting VAC's Education & Community Programs. Sept. 14, 2026, 7am check-in - start time 8am. Four-person scrabble teams welcome. $125 per person. 18 holes of golf, Carts, Range balls, Bento lunch, Awards and Door prizes. Hole Sponsorships Available.
$10 - Mary Begier - Crazy time @ son-in-law whiskey tasting in Seattle. Alaska/Hawaiian Air growing pains; lost 1/2 day on Friday and a whole day coming home Monday, but I'm home! Art Taniguchi & Mitch Roth kept me company at the Honolulu airport, until their flights home to Hilo.
$5 - JoB - The beauty of nature...(Sedona & Grand Canyon)
$5 - Sandra Wagner-Wright - Happy to be back from vacation to Sicily and Southern Italy.
$5 - Alan Okinaka - 1) Chicken apple sausages! 2) For a very long time, our American flag did not have an eagle. I placed a shiny cap on the flag.
$5 - Kim Keahialalo - My husband bought me a gavel to use at the next RCHB Foundation meeting.
$2 - Anita Cunningham - 1) Happy to visit Sharon Scheele, when I delivered the personalized photo-memory book, created by Virginia Juettner. Sharon was in good spirits and enjoyed the book. 2) St. Joeseph’s Interactor Tristen, notified me about his garage sale and offered 1/2 of the proceeds to our RCHB. 
Guest Speaker As this was a club assembly, there was no guest speaker. President Jan used this opportunity for some brainstorming which will be used to develop a new club strategic plan. Some of the comments from the group were:
501C3 nonprofit foundation looks good
We need to partner with other organizations
Kapuna services are important
Getting members to meetings, meeting should be fun
Long term partnerships lead to resillence
Micro lending and literacy
Stay tuned for more information and events in the future.
Door Prize Winner:[BJ1] Jeff Gray—a beer stein just in time for Oktoberfest
Closing Announcements
- July 29th will be the monthly social meeting. WE ARE DARK ON THIS DAY!
- The District 5000 Conference is August 21–23 in Honolulu.
- Travel to Japan to visit our sister club will take place in May 2027.
- RI World Convention in Barcelona in June 3027.
- Jan needs photos of Steve and Chester for the Celebration of Life at D5000 Conference
- Check your emails and the club website, www.hilobayrotary.com, for news and updates
Four-Way Test: Anita Cunningham
Door Prizes and Inspirations for July & August
Dark July 29
Anita Cunningham Aug 5
JoB. Aug 12
Aug 19
Tim H or Kevin R Aug 26
You can’t be a door prize winner without door prizes. Lorraine is looking for volunteers for door prizes and inspiration. Her calendar needs additional names and commitments.
[BJ1]Standardize formatting