Rotary Club of Wahiawa-Waialua

Volume 6 Issue 22 – February 7th, 20196District Governor
Winton “Win” Schoneman“Making a Difference in our Local and Global Communities”

President
Alexander “Alex” Kanamu

The strength of our Club lies in its members

Wahiawa General Hospital
Getting the Word Out!
Service Above Self – Making a Difference

February is Rotary International
Peace and Conflict Prevention/ResolutionMonth
Of the 68 million people displaced by armed conflictor persecution, 90% are civilians. Conflict and violence
displaced more than 68 million people in the past year,and half of those are children.
Rotary International refuse to accept conflict as a wayof life. Rotary projects provide training that fosters
understanding and provides communities with the skills
to resolve conflicts. Through our service projects, peace
fellowships, and scholarships, our members are taking
action to address the underlying causes of conflict,including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack ofaccess to education, and unequal distribution ofresources.
100
peace fellowships are offered each year at
Rotary Peace Centers around the world
65 milpeople are currently displaced by armed
conflict or persecution$142 milhas been raised by Rotary to support
peace
1,000+
students have graduated from Rotary’s
Peace Centers program
Rotary makes amazing things happen, like:
Improving quality of life. Rotary members founded
the People for People Foundation, which has helped
10,000 families afford food, clothing, rent, utilities,medications, and other necessities.

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

Editor – PP Geoff Horvath

Raising awareness of bullying. Rotaract clubs in thePhilippines conduct antibullying campaigns in schools toteach children how to handle conflict peacefully froman early age.
Protecting domestic violence survivors and theirfamilies. The U.S. state of Louisiana has the fourthhighest incidence of death caused by domestic
violence. Local Rotary members met this issue by
helping a shelter provide food, clothing, legal
advocacy, and counseling to over 500 women in one
year.
Promoting positive peace. Rotary has partnered with
the Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent
think tank and leader in the study of peace and conflict,to help address the root causes of conflict and create
conditions that foster peace.
Rotary Peace Centers Program

The Rotary Club ofWahiawa-Waialua

The Rotary Peace Centers program, a dynamic andambitious project of The Rotary Foundation, identifies
highly qualified professionals and trains them tobecome agents of peace. Rotarians are vital torecruiting candidates. You can help advance peacearound the world by supporting the peace fellows.

None
Within D5K
NoneBryan Cheplic – Communications Manager,
Wahaiwa General Hospital
Ashton Kanamu – Guest of Austin Kanamu
Grace Abatayo – Mom and Guest of Marie Abatayo
Alésia Au – Guest of PP Doc McKenzie

Kate Butts

Alison Kanamu

PP Doc McKenzie read RI President, Ian Riseley’s letterto Rotarians, capturing the history of Rotary and theRotary Foundation, from one of last year’s Rotarian
Magazine.
Oli – PP Lilette Subedi

Hawaii Rotary YouthFoundation (HRYF)
S
Outside D5K

RI President: Barry Rassin
District: Win Schoneman
Asst Dist Govr: Doreen Higa
Club President: Alex Kanamu
PP: Lilette Subedi
President Elect: Keoni Ahlo
Exec Secretary: Alison Dela Pena
Recording Secretary: Rene Mansho
Treasurer: Kate Butts
Sergeant-at-Arms: Dr. Carver WilcoxAsst Sergeant-at-Arms: Austin Kanamu

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

PP Geoff Horvath announced that we have received
10 applications for this year’s HRYF Scholarshipprogram. PP Geoff will be asking for 4 Club members
to volunteer to be this year’s interview panel.

PP Geoff also announced that he has applied for theHRYF President’s position that will become vacantaround March/April of this year.

Recognitions for the week ending February 10, 2019.

PP Lilette Subedi gave a HI $10 for All those who
assisted in this year’s RYLA.
Alison Kanamu gave a HI $10 for the awesome
retirement ceremony of PP Geoff
PP Geoff gave a HI $10 for the support provided by
the Club for this year’s RYLA. The Club provided theprojector, portable speaker system, the Hawaiian Flag
and the 4-Way Test banner, and of course, PP Liletteand her fantastic workshop on the 4-Way Test with a
Hawaiian cultural touch, ending up teaching the 48
students the E Ala E Oli.
Maria Abatayo gave a HI $5 for the great retirement
ceremony they attended in for PP Geoff

Member’s Birthdays – None

Spouse’s Birthday

None

Anniversaries

PP Bob and Tuang Pang celebrated their anniversary
on Monday, February 4th.

No inductions

Kate Butts contributed $5 to the Club for her recent
trip to Tahiti. She had a blast and was glad she had
the opportunity to go.
Alison Kanamu contributed $10 to the Club for her
recent trip to Pittsburg, Kansas, for a meeting, her firstas a dōTERRA Diamond level representative. She said
the weather, when they arrived at Kansas City Airport
was 0 degrees! The drive to Pittsburg took them twolong hours! Good thing the car had a heater! While
there, the weather started warming up, 20, 30, 40
degrees. On the day they left, the temperature
dropped again. One of attendees called Alison andasked her to come back with the warm Hawaiian
weather!
President Alex contributed a HI $10 to the Club for
the fun he had accompanying Alison to the meeting. He
didn’t expect what he saw, brown grass and potholes!
Hmm sounds familiar! Alex said that the host andhostess were so kind and friendly. While there, he wasable to drive a Red Camaro.

HIPresident Alex gave a HI $5 in recognition of PP Geoff
Horvath and PP Lilette Subedi participation in thisyear’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)
Camp, held at Camp Homelani Feb 1-3.
Kate Butts gave a HI $4 for missing PP Geoff’s
retirement from federal service as well as for her trip
report to Tahiti, which she was very glad to have goneon. PP Geoff commented, if it was a tossup of goingto Tahiti or retirement ceremony, he would haveselected Tahiti!! Also, for PP Doc McKenzie getting two
students from Waialua HS to attend RYLA.

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

ROTARY MINUTE
What is a Rotary Moment?
A Rotary Moment is a love story as well as a Rotary
success story. It describes how you were transformed

The Rotary Club of
Wahiawa-Waialua

from being a member of a Rotary club into being aRotarian, a transition that has changed your life.

Wahiawa General Hospital (WGH) is Alive,
Open, and Doing Well!

No Correspondence

Bryan Cheplic

No Report

Feb 14 – Roger E. Breisch – Affirming LifeFeb 21 – Murry Visser and James Ham – Global
Grants and the Nepal Water ProjectMar 7 – Steve Sue and Myron Nakata – ProjectLemon Tree – The Living, Outdoor Classroom
Mar 14 – Nicole Milia Coglietta – CEO/Founder ofCare Sift – Providing Support to Seniors and theirfamilies.

Mar 31 – Annual Wakai-Wilkinson Golf Tournament
fundraiser at the Moanalua Golf ClubOngoing – Jack in the Box Fundraiser. Each member
will be given 10 tickets ($100) to sell.

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

Bryan Cheplic is the Communications manager for
WGH, and has been with the hospital for nearly a year
now.
Bryan is responsible for identifying, developing, andmanaging information for WGH as well as marketing
WGH’s activities and events.
He is also responsible for developing, establishing, andmaintaining marketing strategies to meet theorganizational objectives of WGH. Bryan helps ensure
the efficient and timely dissemination of information,
both in hard copy and electronic formats, serving as theeditor of WGH publications, and ensuring the timelyproduction, dissemination and web postings ofnewsletters, special reports, and brochures.
Bryan most recently was with the Department of
Hawaiian Homelands as their Public Information
Officer, and prior to that, served as the PublicInformation for the City and Country of Honolulu’s
Emergency Services Department

HISTORY
Wahiawa General Hospital (WGH) is a communityowned, nonprofit hospital located in Wahiawa,Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. The story of WGH plays
a big part in the history of the Central Oahu Community
it serves. Health care dates back to when the ancient
Ali'i (royalty) traveled to the Stones of Kukaniloko togive birth. Later, midwives and plantation doctors were
the ones who provided the community with most of its
medical care. But ironically, it took an act of war, nothealing, to finally bring a modern healthcare facility tothe area.

On October 25, 1944, community leaders founded The
Wahiawa Hospital Association (WHA) to develop apermanent organization dedicated to serving thearea's growing healthcare needs. The Wahiawa
Hospital Association established Wahiawa General
Hospital.

Wahiawa General Hospital 1944

When the Oahu Sugar Plantation Hospital closed its
doors in 1956, the community's need for a new hospitalbuilding became apparent. Plans for an expanded
Wahiawa General Hospital were finalized andground was broken on St. Patrick's Day 1957;
construction of the building's original wing wasunderway. The rest is history!

Bryan turned down the position the first time because
the CEO, Brian Cunningham, was also Brain! There
would too much confusion on which Brian/Bryan people
were referring to! So, Bryan is known as Bryan with a“Y”.
It was after meeting Brian, the CEO, and talking to him
for three and a half hours that Bryan finally accepted
the position.
A couple of years ago, WGH ran into financial
problems, which almost caused the hospital to close.
Closing the hospital down can’t happen. WGH is thebiggest employer with 400+ employees, a bigger
employer than Costco! The closing would be a major
impact in Wahiawa, economically. In addition to theimpact it would have on the economy, there would be
no medical facility supporting the Wahiawa and North
Shore areas. It would also have a major impact on thehealth and welfare of the community.
What caused the hospital’s financial problems? Bryan
told us that the reason WGH on the verge of closing
was because the hospital was trying to keep up withthe maintenance of the hospital while at the same time,
improvingandupdating/upgrading
medicalequipment and technology. The decision was toward
improvement of technology. Once it was realized that
continuing down this path would cause the hospital toclose, the new CEO Brian Cunningham, came up witha strategy that balanced the approach and came up
with a viable way WGH would function while
maintaining top-notch services to the community. It wasa balance between maintaining the hospital while
upgrading/updating medical technology, to where thehospital is today, updated and modern.
Right now, the hospital has a first-class emergency
room, with skilled doctors and nurses, that has the latest
medical equipment. They also have a long-term
facility, and so many more quality services.
Bryan told us, when he first took over, he asked
someone if there was a budget for public relations. The
answer was, “A budget?! No!” So, Bryan came up withsome very creative ways to get the funds he needed.
The first was when Hawaii 5-0 asked if they could film
an episode using the hospital? Bryan asked, “How muchdo you pay?” The response was $16K for two days.
Of course, Bryan said “YES!” A few weeks, they asked
again, this time for 3 days for $20K!” Since then Bryan
has a budget and has been able to get the word out
by brochures, flyers, events, and TV ads. With his
background in TV, being a public information officer,
and his connections made through the years, makes his
job of getting the word out, that much easier.
The upsetting response Bryan receives from people
when he mentions working for WGS is, “I thought thehospital was closed!” or “Is the hospital still open?!”

Wahiawa General Hospital 1961

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

The Rotary Club ofWahiawa-Waialua

To change this perception and misunderstanding, Bryan
gave us an assignment. Get the word out that WGH isstill open!
Another way Bryan wants to get word out is by getting
testimonies from former and current patients. This is
one of the most powerful ways of getting the word outthat WGH is open and provides the best care possible.
Member Marie Abatayo told Bryan, if it wasn’t forWGH she would have been dead. The quick actionand treatment she received during a recent injury
saved her life. Her mother, Grace, also said, she
received the greatest care during a recent stay.
If the truth be known, WGH’s services are better thanother hospitals.
Bryan gave us an assignment. Get the word out that
WGH is opened and is a great hospital that provides
quality service while taking care of their patients withwarmth and Aloha. You can tell this by the way WGHtreats their people and patients.
Oh, WGH does have a Facebook page. Check it out!

PP Doc McKenzie talking with our Guest Speaker, Bryan Cheplic

PP Doc McKenzie and Guest Speaker Bryan Cheplic

Wahiawa General Hospital 1944-45

Ace of Hearts
Two of Dot’s finest severs

PP Doc McKenzie had the winning ticket, although hewas the only one that purchased tickets, didn’t manage
to select the Ace of Hearts. He was close, drawing theDuce of Hearts!

(Go to our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/groups/96286297
3749303/ to view all pictures.)Yes, the Ace of Hearts is in the deck!

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

Ashton and Austin Kanamu
The Dynamic Duo Marie and Grace Abatayo

PP Doc McKenzie introducing our guest speaker
Derek Conselva
Pineapple by

PP Lilette Subedi with two Olis

Alison and President Alex giving their Trip Report

Rotary – 113 Years of Service to the World!

Bryan Cheplic telling us about WGH

PP Doc McKenzie with the Seven of Hearts

The Rotary Club ofWahiawa-Waialua