Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua

Volume 8 Issue 13 – January 14th, 2021

The Hulali“The Reflector”
District Governor
Naomi Masuno“Making a Difference in our Communities”

Club President
Keoni Ahlo

The strength of our Club lies in its members“Rotary is not just a club that you join; it is aninvitation to endless opportunities.”
RI President Holger Knaack

JANUARY IS ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
VOCATIONAL SERVICE MONTH!
VOCATIONAL SERVICE IN ACTION!
Vocational Service is the essence of Rotary and serves
as the foundation from which we serve our communities
around the world. Vocational Service calls on us toempower others by using our unique skills andexpertise to address community needs and help others
acquire or refine skills and advance their professional
opportunities.
Vocational Service calls on us to empower others byusing our unique skills and expertise to addresscommunity needs and help others discover new
professional opportunities and interests. January is
Rotary’s Vocational Service Month, a great time toleverage vocational service in your club projects andactivities.
Here are five ways you can incorporate vocational
service in your club activities:
1. Host a club meeting at your work place and shareabout your profession; take time to learn about
fellow members’ occupations.
2. Use your skills and expertise to serve a community.
3. Practice your profession with integrity, and inspireothers to behave ethically through your words andactions.
4. Work with local businesses to create mentorship,
internship, or practicum opportunities to help
young people achieve their career goals.
5. Guide and encourage others in their professional
development.

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

Your Rotary
LifespanService Above Self – Making a Difference

Editor – PP Geoff Horvath

Below are some examples of clubs taking action
around the world:•

Members from the Rotary Club of Melbourne
Park in Australia come from a variety ofvocational backgrounds. Not only do they utilize
their skills within the club, but they also havesomething to offer to a wider audience. They
started the ‘Rotary Skillshare’ series with their Past
President Jason Reynolds, who owns a financial
advisory business and offered to conduct a seriesof presentations designed to help club members
make smart choices when confronted with financial
decisions. The club hopes to continue the series,
highlighting a different club member’s profession
to learn from their expertise.

•

The Rotary Club of Kakuri-Kaduna in Nigeriaorganized a career guidance and entrepreneur
workshop for students from their local secondary
school. Students were surveyed beforehand for
insight on their future career goals. Various
speakers from different walks of life met withstudents to discuss their future plans.

•

The Front Royal Rotary Club in the United States
partners with the local Chamber of Commerce to
put together an ethics workshop for high school
seniors in which they are presented seven ethical

The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua

dilemmas and have to determine the best route tosolve each of issue.

•

The Rotary Club of Bangalore Vijayanagar in
India started a vocational training center offeringcomputer training and tailored classes to help low
income and unemployed men and women gainskills to become independent and self-sufficient. By
Rotary Service and Engagement Staff

DG Naomi Masuno – RC of West Honolulu
PPx2 Benson Medina – RC of South Hilo – Guest
speaker
Jim Thompson – RC of Laramie Sunrise, WO. Jim
owns a small cattle ranch in Wyoming, but hates thewinters. He taught at UH 15 years ago and loves living
in Hawaii. After retirement, he decided to come backand make a go at it. He visited Hawaii on occasionand has taught in the Philippines numerous times. He
has been a Rotarian for two years and wants tocontinue his Rotary adventure.

Representative Amy Perruso – Hawaii House
District 46 – Guest of the Club. Guest for the lasttime! Amy will be inducted today!

Educating Rotarians

PP Geoff Horvath

Educating Rotarians about the work of The RotaryFoundation is one of the most effective tools for gaining
and broadening support of our Annual Fund and the“Every Rotarian, Every Year” effort. We want ourmembers to be aware of the many ways in which we
impact the world — there’s always something new andexciting going on in Rotary.

PP Benson Medina

12Outside D5K
None
Within D5K
RI President: Holger KnaackDistrict: Naomi Masuno
Asst. Dist. Govt: Wesley Mun
Club President: Keoni Ahlo
PP: Alex Kanamu
President Elect: Keoni Ahlo
Exec Secretary: Alison Kanamu
Recording Secretary: PP Lilette Subedi
Treasurer: (Vacant) Kate Butts
Sergeant-at-Arms: Dr. Carver Wilcox
Asst. Sergeant-at-Arms: Austin
KanamuRotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

Hawaii Rotary YouthFoundation (HRYF)
Deadline for student HRYF applications are Feb 1st.

There will be another training session on theinterviewing process, January 30th, 2021, 9:30 am –10:30 am
You don’t have to be a HRYF Representative to attend.
If interested, access the following HRYF Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/3740540034?pwd=L2ptSmowZVIvU3Rl
NXROdHVwSTlzdz09

No trip reports

Meeting ID: 374 054 0034, Passcode: 526058

Recognitions for the week ending January 17, 2021.
Today, we had the pleasure of inducting Amy Perruso
into our Club! Amy is one of our hardworking House ofRepresentatives for District 46. We are very fortunate
in having Amy as member of our Club. Welcome!
Amy’s induction was conducted by DG Naomi Masuno.

None

Spouses’@*#$! Fines @*#$!

None

Anniversaries

None

None
HI

President Keoni gave a VHI$5 for local business andthe recent connection he made with Kilani Bakery.
DG Nami Masuno gave a VHI$5 for the hard work
our District Trainer, Benson Median does to keep theDistrict well trained.

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

PP Geoff Horvath fined President Keoni -$5 for thearticle appearing in the MidWeek, Central Oahu,
edition! The article was about his businesses, Teapresso
in Wahiawa and Mililani, Times Supermarket. It was
areat writeup and picture of Keoni & Nahoku!.
http://midweek.com/pdf/Central/2021/0113/index-h5.html?page=1#page=4.
The article appeared in the January 13, 2021 issue.

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum
on which to place it, and I shall move theworld.” – Archimedes

Archimedes
Illustration
by Dr. Manuel (CC BY-SA)

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, philosopher andinventor who wrote important works on geometry,arithmetic and mechanics.

The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua

Archimedes was born in Syracuse on the eastern coastof Sicily and educated in Alexandria in Egypt. He thenreturned to Syracuse, where he spent most of the restof his life, devoting his time to research andexperimentation in many fields.
In mechanics he defined the principle of the lever andis credited with inventing the compound pulley and thehydraulic screw for raising water from a lower tohigher level. He is most famous for discovering the lawof hydrostatics, sometimes known as 'Archimedes'
principle', stating that a body immersed in fluid loses
weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it
displaces. Archimedes is supposed to have made this
discovery when stepping into his bath, causing him to
exclaim 'Eureka!'During the Roman conquest of Sicily in 214 BC
Archimedes worked for the state, and several of his
mechanical devices were employed in the defense of
Syracuse. Among the war machines attributed to him
are the catapult and - perhaps legendary - a mirror
system for focusing the sun's rays on the invaders' boats
and igniting them. After Syracuse was captured,Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier. It is said
that he was so absorbed in his calculations he told his
killer not to disturb him. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/

ROTARY MINUTE
Rotary comprises the individual Rotary clubs; RotaryInternational, an umbrella organization thatcoordinates Rotary’s global programs and initiatives;
and the Rotary Foundation, established in 1928 toraise and distribute funds in support of local andinternational service projects that Rotarians around theworld design and carry out.

Received from our 2020 HRYF Top Club Scholar,
Mikiala Ng.
“Aloha Geoff and the HRYF ‘Ohana,
I hope this email finds you all doing well! I am writing
to express my thanks for your generous scholarshipwhich has helped me to receive a Yale education.
While this school year is nothing like what I imagined, I
have thoroughly enjoyed my first semester and am
extremely grateful for the amazing opportunities I
have received thus far.
This Fall, I studied remotely from Waialua and willcontinue to do so in the Spring. I hope to finally set footon Yale campus and meet all my classmates andprofessors in person next Fall! This semester, I enrolled
in a range of classes, including a philosophy seminarabout beauty, general chemistry, an introduction tovisual arts course, as well as an introduction toengineering course. While they were all great, I
enjoyed the seminar and engineering classes the most–the philosophical discussions were so engaging and myfinal engineering project was a blast! It amazes me thatin my first semester at Yale, in my first ever engineeringclass, I worked on a team that constructed acontactlessly-controlled microscope that may one day
be used in the Yale Peabody Museum. Though I am stillundecided on what major I will pursue, this class has
inspired me to consider a career in engineering. I lookforward to continuing my studies in chemistry, calculus,
environmental biology and sustainability, andanthropology this Spring.
Outside of class, I work at the Native American Cultural
Center as a First-Year Liaison. Alongside coworkers
that have become close friends, I organize and host
Zoom events for native first-year students to build
community. I am also a member of the Association of
Native Americans at Yale where I participated in acollaboration with the Yale Daily News to publish anissue written by members of the native community torecognize Indigenous Peoples Month. My piece, titled"My Name is Mikiala," talks about the importance ofindigenous names and pronouncing them correctly. I am
excited to continue my engagement with the native
community at Yale.
Though I have not been able to compete in swimmingor water polo since I began remote learning, I lookforward to joining Yale’s club teams in the future. In themeantime, I have enjoyed surfing with my sister, making
art, and spending quality time with my family and two
dogs. I thank you again for your generosity insupporting my post-secondary education.
Mahalo nui loa,
Mikiala Ng”
From theMikiala Ng

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

Great news! Leilehua High School’s Class of 2024 has
taken on the amazing challenge to host their own blood
drive. They are not old enough to donate yet, but they
understand the importance of donating and want to
help. They have opened up their blood drive to thecommunity. Thanks to Scott Harada at Dot’s, they also
have a wonderful location to host their drive.
Our website hasn’t been updated yet, but here’s the
direct link to sign up for anyone interested:
https://bbhdonor.org/index.cfm?group=op&step=2&
opid=24417&opidh=CE1CD161156DAD3939E9BD
CDF650F948&i
Traci Takehara
Blood Bank of Hawaii | Donor Recruitment AccountManager
2043 Dillingham Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96819
Cell: (808) 690-7772
IG (follow me J): 808lifeline

Blood type O is urgently needed by Hawaii’s hospitals. To type O and all
blood donors, we need you. Schedule an appointment at bbh.org.
@BloodBankHawaii#UniteOPower

Leilehua High School
Class of 2024
BLOOD DRIVE

All registered high school
student donors will
receive a FREE limited
edition Blood Bank of
Hawaii face mask!

None

None

“Kindness can transform someone's dark
moment with a blaze of light. You'll never know
how much your caring matters. Make adifference for another today.” — Amy Leigh Mercree

Amy Leigh Mercree

Amy Leigh Mercree is a medical intuitive with over 20
years of experience. She specializes in spirit guides
with a focus on shamanism, chakras, and holistic
wellness.

(while supplies last)

Dot’s Wahiawa Pineapple Showroom

When was cement invented?

(130 Mango St)

February 14, 2021
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Donations by appointment only.
Visit bbh.org to register and donate.
@BloodBankHawaiiYour Rotary Lifespan5 Things You Can Do To Be A Rotarianfor Life
Feb 4 – PDG Lurie Yoshida (2011-2012) – RC Kalepa
Sunrise, Kauai - CORTEVA UPDATE
Feb 11 – ADG Wes Mun - KUNG HEE FAT CHOY
Feb 18 – Haley Marguerite – RC Siesta Key, FL. –How to become an author.

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

“An Informed Rotarian is an Engaged
Rotarian”
The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua

Benson Medina

Today we had the treat of having, all the way from the
Big Island (via Zoom), PPx2, Benson Median. Benson
is a man of many talents and was here to talk to us
about being a Rotarian for Life!
Benson Medina is a member the Rotary Club of South
Hilo. He has been club president twice and now has
assumed the position of District 5000 Trainer. His 40plus year career includes senior executive positions in
manufacturing, tourism and electrical maintenancecontracting. He is a Senior Investment partner with
Sustainability Partners, providing infrastructure capitalto state and county governments. Besides Rotary,
Benson also serves as the Vice-President of the Hawaii
Island Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce and isactive in many community organizations and service
projects that serve east Hawaii Island communities. He
is also an active member of Halau O Kawananakoa of
Keaukaha and competes each year in Kupuna HulaFestival in Kona.
Benson has also been a writer, teacher and speaker forover 30 years. He has devoted his professional life totraining, teaching and helping others to simplify
difficult and complicated concepts. He is currently afaculty member of the Karma Institute and co-founderof Rising Through Grief, a personal development
company that helps people who are experiencing grief
to regain control of their lives.
Benson told us he had a connection to Wahiawa, so ishonored to speak before our club. It all started withhis Grandfather.
Before starting his presentation, Benson told us thefascinating story of how he came to Hawaii…well how
he came to Hawaii through his Grandpa, many, many
years before his birth! His Grandpa was part of thePhilippine Militia, and in the early 1900’s, the U. S.
Army came out with a program that offered citizenshipto Filipino men that were in the militia, if they would
agree to join the Army. Benson’s Grandpa just did thatand was stationed at Schofield.
After a couple of years, he was able to bring his wife
over. At that time Grandpa had 8 children. One was
Benson’s Father, 5 were in the Philippines, and 3 werein Hawaii. When Benson’s Father came to Hawaii, hedidn’t speak a word of English, but befriended
Japanese plantation workers. Benson’s Father was a hit
with the plantation works and made life-long friends.
With Benson’s Grandpa station at Schofield, it was only

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

natural that Benson’s Dad attended and graduatedfrom Leilehua HS.
Benson’s Dad moved to Pahoa Valley, where he raised
his family. When his Father retired, he loved riding thebus to Wahiawa and Kailua to visit family and friends.
Since the senior monthly bus pass was only $20, he got
his money’s worth!
As he advanced in age, he would ride the bus
frequently. Sometimes, he wouldn’t come home and his
family didn’t know where he was, so Benson and his
brothers would split up, two brothers went to
Wahiawa, the other two to Kailua, until Dad was
located and safely brought home. “Sometimes, Dadwould just walk up and down California Avenue in
Wahiawa.” His Father was known as a loyal man anda great person. Somewhere along the line, Benson
ended up on the Big Island, where he still lives today.
After this great story, Benson got down to telling us
about our Rotary Lifespan and the 5 things we can do
to become Rotarians for Life!
Benson told us of the unusual way he became a
Rotarian and experienced Rotary.
His Sister, Lani, was a Rotarian (at the time, he didn’tknow this!). One Thursday they ran into each other andLani asked Benson to have lunch with her. This meantthat he would be paying! He agreed and went withher. They arrived at a big lounge in a hotel. Seeing
the big room with some people having lunch, he thoughtthat there was some type pf meeting going on, so heasked his Sister, “Is this a meeting?” Lani, said yes, that
it was a Rotary meeting. This was the first time he knew
his Sister was a Rotarian.
After the meeting was over, Lani told Benson that hehad to put aside “your “Tuesdays so you can make themeetings. Since his Sister was Boss, he set aside his
Tuesdays to attend the meetings! Benson became a
Rotarian soon after that. Then when they were having
a hard time finding someone to step up to be the Club
President, Lani told them to put Benson’s name down
for President! So, when she saw Benson, she told him,
you are going to be the Club President and, “I’m happy
for you!” As they say, the rest is history! Since then,Benson has been “Experiencing Rotary!”
Benson started out by, telling us about three Rotarians
in his Club that had been Rotarians from between 5060 years, all in their nineties. The one thing in common,when Benson aske them, “Why you became
Rotarians?”, their answers were, service to theircommunity and the life-long friendships they enjoyedas Rotarians.
Two questions Benson asked us were:“What makes a Rotarian want to become a Rotarianand Why people decide to become a Rotarian for life.)
It is a long and involved process, but the end goal is tobecome a Rotarian for life!

Benson started out by telling us, that every Rotarian has
a Lifespan. There are 5 steps to expanding your Rotary
Lifespan. These steps are:
1. Increase your Rotary I.Q. Learning everything
you an about Rotary• Lear all you can about Rotary• Be informed about Rotary and Club so you
can share with others
Once you learn as much as you can you:
2. Make the Connection• With other Rotarians• Connect with your Club’s and Rotary’s mission.
• Connect with other Rotarians that have the sameinterests as you have
• Connect with Rotarians for decades!
• Connect during community projects.
• Have a Rotary Moment (AKA an “AHA” moment).
Such a Rotary Moment for Benson was after thedevastating eruption that occurred on the Big
Island in 2018. One of facilities that was hit andcompletely destroyed was a Hawaiian Emersion
School. Rotarians from Benson’s Club helped
rebuild the school. The Rotary Moment came when
the school children and their parents attended thereopening. The children came up to the Rotarians
and told them, with emotion, “You saved ourschool.” The parents echoed these words withemotion. What was or is your Rotary Moment? For
some of us, it was the mission to Bali, where they
fixed up an orphanage, worked in a protheses
facility that made protheses for the people wholost limbs after the Bali bombing on October 11,
2002.
• Your life situation. Things change during life.
Physical changes, people moving away, financial.
Throughout life experiences and changes, there
are others that can share the same experiences
and thereby have something in common. This also
can bring a friendship closer with anotherRotarian.
3.
•
•
•
•
•
•

Tell Your Rotary Story
Your Rotary story is connected with your identity
Reflect your story to others
Promote, advance, and expand what is happening
in your Rotary life
Solidify your belief in Rotary
People will connect with personal stories
Let them see that you are committed to a purpose
beyond yourself

4.

Deepen Your Club Relationships••

This is the key issue in Rotary longevity
Deepening relationships means coming to meetingsand participating on Club activities and projects

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

•When you have a deep relationship with otherRotarians, you will support them and always havetheir back.
• A deep relationship bonds Rotarians. Rotarians
become like your family
5. Keep Improving Your Perspective• By your experiences• By the people you meet
• By your beliefs• Through grief. Again, through shared experiences• Expand your Club’s core group. The more hands,
the easier the task! We have tremendous
opportunities if we have a strong core group. It’s
the group you can go to when things need to get
done• Create a Rotary life worth remembering• Continuously improving your perspective will
expand your Rotary lifespan. You will never get
tired or bored with your Rotary experience. It can
only enhance and extend your membership.
• The Four-Way Test Defines us:
1. Is it the Truth – I Always Tell the Truth
2. Is it Fair to All Concerned – I Try to Be Fair in
Everything I do
3. Will it Build Good Friendships – I Value My
Relationships
4. Is it Fair to All Concerned – I Try to do What’s
Best for Everyone
Benson left us with words of Wisdom, “Holomua”(Move Forward) – No matter what life throws at us, orwhat our what ourpast experiences are, always move
forward to the future.
The presentation was so well presented in a relax
atmosphere, it didn’t feel like training at all!
2021 Updated Meeting Schedule and Time
(Thursday, Hawaii Standard Time
January 21 – 12:00 – 1:00 pm
January 28 – 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/91954669065?pwd=d1dHTGwzUkJYVDhaWGNwRlQ3zddTUFmdz09

Answer to the Quiz of the Week: Between 1210,000 century B.C. by ancient Greeks, Romans, andEgyptians
Cement has been in use by humans throughout history;
variations of the material were used by the anc ient
Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, with the earliest
archaeological discovery dated to 12-10,000BC in

The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua

modern-day Turkey. The Romans used a mixture of lime
(calcium oxide) and pozzolan – crushed volcanic ash –to create hydraulic cements, which could set underwater. Other cements used crushed brick, tiles andceramic pottery as aggregates. Famous historicalbuildings made from concrete, still standing today, are
the Colosseum and Pantheon in Rome, and the Hagia
Sophia in Istanbul. https://www.worldcementassociation.org
Did you know that when cement is cured (dried) it iscalled concrete!

Rene Mancho

The Ancient Roman concrete helped construct structures thatare still standing to this day.
President Keoni Ahlo
(Go to our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/groups/96286297
3749303/ to view all pictures.)

Our newest Member, Amy Perruso
Jim Thompson

PP Benson Medina

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

Induction Ceremony

Rotary – 115 Years of Service to the World!

The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua