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The Rotary Club of Wahiawa had the honor of marching in the Wahiawa Lions Club sponsored 73rd Veteran's Day Parade! It was a moving experience this year, because we saw so many more Veterans in the crowds of people. More than in the past. We were also very privileged to meet and shake hands with a WWII Veteran. We handed out American Flags, that were made in AMERICA, and waved to the spectators. Also present were elementary schools in the Wahiawa/Schofield/Wheeler area, high school Bands from the Wahiawa and Honolulu areas, ROTC units from multiple Oahu high schools, VIPs, and vehicles. All members had a blast! See you next year!The Rotary Club of Wahiawa had the honor of marching in the Wahiawa Lions Club sponsored 73rd Veteran's Day Parade! It was a moving experience this year, because we saw so many more Veterans in the crowds of people. More than in the past. We were also very privileged to meet and shake hands with a WWII Veteran. We handed out American Flags, that were made in AMERICA, and waved to the spectators. Also present were elementary schools in the Wahiawa/Schofield/Wheeler area, high school Bands from the Wahiawa and Honolulu areas, ROTC units from multiple Oahu high schools, VIPs, and vehicles. All members had a blast! See you next year!On Friday evening, October 4th, members and one Hubby, Mike Butts (12), from the RC of Wahiawa-Waialua, held their annual Dictionary Project labeling party. The party was held at Kate Butt’s house that had a humongous garage to do the labeling in. The labeling party consisted of attaching two labels, one the 4-Way Test, the other with, “This dictionary is donated by the Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua”, to the inside covers of 912 dictionaries, which will be handed out to all the 3rd graders in the Wahiawa-Waialua-North Shore area and, as far as Sunset Beach.
We were joined by visiting Rotarian, Charles “Charlie” Kocher of the RC of Brookings Harbor, Southern Oregon, and his lovely Wife,
We started off the event with a delicious potluck dinner that all contributed to. We ate so much of the great food, we had to really force ourselves to work! When we finished our dinner, we headed to the garage to start labeling the dictionaries. We labeled 912 dictionaries in just 40 minutes while listening to vintage Hawaiian music. This is a Club record!
History: This project started from a shared dream between two Rotarians. In 2001 it became a Matching Grant project between India D3150 and five clubs in Southern Colorado lead by the Lamar Rotary club. These five Rotary clubs distributed 1800 books the first year. Since our start, over 128 service clubs, including Rotary, Lion's, Kiwanis and Sertoma clubs in Sixteen states and American Samoa participated and distributed 450,000 hard-cover dictionaries worth over $9,000,000!
This is one of our clubs’ special programs because we provide third grad students with their very own dictionary. A dictionary they can use throughout their elementary school years. We visit each school, tell the students what Rotary and our Club is about, personally hand the dictionaries out to the students, with assistance from their teachers. After the dictionaries are handed out, we play some fun games with the dictionaries, and challenge the students to look up words such as integrity, honesty, etc. When the fun is over, we explain what the 4-Way test is, that it is what Rotarians live by, then we have them recite it. It's a wonderfully rewarding experience...if you'd like to join us, drop us a line!
Four deserving students pursuing higher education received scholarships in our 2019 Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua (RCWW) Scholarship Program. Started in 1977, the RCWW Scholarship Program has awarded over $ 399,000 to outstanding students in Central Oahu and the North Shore. This Scholarship Program is the largest fundraising effort of the RCWW.Call for applications for the 2020 program begins in November, with notifications going out to all school counselors on Oahu. Applications and information about our scholarship program may be found at https://www.hawaiirotaryyouthfoundation.org. For further information, contact Geoff Horvath at gjhorvath1@hawaiiantel.net.
If you would like to make a donation to our scholarship fund, simply make your check payable to RCWW and mail to: Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua, P.O. Box 86061, Wahiawa, HI 96786
Keoni Ahlo has been a member of the Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua for 4 years and is already slated to be the upcoming Club President in 2020. He and his wife opened a State Farm office in Wahiawa in 2012 and, among other things, he has recently become a commercial property manager. He is also President of the Wahiawa Community & Business Association, HAARP disaster Planning Committee member, Blue Zones committee member, WEDG advisor, and Lions Club volunteer. A little known fact about Keoni is that he has owned the same VW bug since he was 14 years old (so it's been 40 years!) and also owns his grandfather's 1966 VW bug.
Please visit our regular meetings at noon on Thursdays at Dot's in Wahiawa and meet Keoni in person!
On Saturday, August 24th, District 5000 Rotarians came together yet again to donate time and resources to Kahauiki Village, an affordable plantation-style community for homeless families located at the end of the freeway near Sand Island. A call went out to Rotarians from Past District Governor Nalani Finn and Rotarian Allen Kamemoto for help purchasing "outfitting kits" -- everyday toiletries, such as toilet paper, diswashing liquid, cleaning supplies, etc. -- for 30 new households at Kahauiki. The RC of Mililani Sunrise and Wahiawa-Waialua donated two kits. This short video, put togther by Past President Josh Laguana of the RC of Hickam-Pearl Harbor, shows the Rotarians making deliveries, including Lilette Subedi from the Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua, and all, as always, having fun.
