I hope everyone is staying safe and dry this very wet Friday the 13th in Hawaii. It has been another busy week of Rotary events for me, despite (or perhaps because of) our not having a regular meeting. Starting last Saturday, fellow Club member Amanda Ellis and I joined other Rotarians from the Eco-Rotary Club of Kaka'ako for the second of what will be three excursions to Hāmākua Marsh in Kailua to remove invasive plants and assist in planting a few native species. Then on Monday we had two Paul Harris events, the first of which was a visit together with Lee LaBrash and Julia Allen to the Princess Ke'elikolani School near our “home base” at The Pacific Club with representatives from Hawaii FiDo and one of their dogs (who recently presented to our Club) in order to visit with the students there. Then Amanda, Lee, Cherokee Rice, Nina Thai, Wesley Yamamoto, Clif Purkiser and I visited Bayer Farms in Kunia to learn about their agricultural operations and the work done to restore Honouliuli, a major Japanese internment camp in Hawaii that has been designated a national historical site. Finally, a group of us including Tom Coyne, Carolann Biederman, Rick Towill, new member Maria Song, Clif, Hai Cha Lambert, Rick Tabor and I had an early Thursday morning tour of the Honolulu Fish Auction sponsored by the United Fishing Agency, with most gathering afterwards for breakfast at the nearby Liliha Bakery. On the whole, it was a great week of Rotary participation.
I did actually have one more Rotary event this week, which was to meet with the members of the Executive Committee, where we had further discussion regarding the way in which we need to manage our impact on parking availability at The Pacific Club during our regular meetings. Last week, I asked Lee to send out a survey to those who attended our most recent meeting featuring Mayor Blangiardi, and one of the main results of that survey is that most people drove alone and parked at the venue. Given that most respondents arrived early, they were not concerned about parking, but that misses the point of our need for a management system. When most of us take spaces in the parking lot, we leave too few available spots for other guests and members of The Pacific Club, which puts a strain on our hosts. As a result, we will be introducing procedures to encourage carpooling as much as possible, while also limiting the number of people who will be able to park on-site. More details will be forthcoming.
This coming Tuesday, we will once again be at Oahu Country Club for a presentation by forensic anthropologist Robert “Bob” Mann. If you have not already signed up for that lunch, please reach out directly to Lee before the event, as we are very near to capacity, so walk-ins may be limited. I look forward to seeing many of you there for our regular meeting.
Mahalo nui loa
Brian Dunkel
President
The Rotary Club of Honolulu
UPCOMING GUEST SPEAKER
ROBERT "BOB" MANN
Forensic Anthropologist
Serial Killers, Skeletons, and Cemeteries: Forensic Anthropology Around the World
A percentage of the fair market value of the permanently restricted Maile Hale Fund is made available each fiscal year to the Club leaders, who allocate funds to programs like the Don Anderson Service Above Self Fellows Program. This year’s cohort of 7 fellows is planning a community service project.
The Foundation of the Rotary Club of Honolulu asks for your financial support just once a year.
Dear Rotarians,
District 5000 will be participating in an international service project in Pohnpei, Micronesia in early May. There will be a Zoom meeting on Thursday, April 23 at 5:30 pm for anyone interested in learning about Micronesia. Here is the link to join the Zoom call:
As many of our international sister club members will be visiting Taiwan for the Rotary
International Convention 2026, the Rotary Club of Taipei is in the early stages of planning a
Welcome Dinner to celebrate our long-standing friendship and fellowship. We are also
planning to invite all the Rotary International dignitaries, including all the PRIPs, to this event,
so this gathering will also represent a rare opportunity to meet and interact with the Rotary
International VIPs.
The dinner is planned for: Friday, June 12, 2026 (evening) Location: Sheraton Hotel Taipei Grand Ball Room
At this preliminary stage, we would be most grateful if you could kindly let us know whether
your club may be interested in attending, and, if possible, provide a rough estimate of the
number of members who might participate.
This information will greatly assist us in our initial planning and venue arrangements.
Please note that this is only a preliminary inquiry, and a formal invitation with full details will
follow at a later date.
We truly hope to have the opportunity to spend a meaningful evening together in fellowship
during this special Rotary occasion, and we very much look forward to welcoming our sister
clubs to Taipei.
With warm Rotary friendship,
Andrew Wong
President, Rotary Club of Taipei
2025–2026
If you have a project you'd like to present, please complete the Project Recommendation Form and email to our Director of Community Services, Nancy HERE.
Do you have a speaker recommendation? If so, please complete theSpeaker Recommendation Formand send it to RCOH Administrator, HERE. She will submit all forms to the Speaker Committee.
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