Thank you to everyone who joined us for Camille Nelson's presentation on the state and future of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, including Linda Coble for her wonderful inspiration and Jack Kunkel for stepping up at the last minute to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I had a lovely chat with Dean Nelson before the meeting, and I enjoyed listening to her speak, as I believe did several Club members representing the legal profession, including Nancy Grekin and Greg Lui-Kwan, as well as Nancy Lui-Kwan, with whom I shared a table. I was also very pleased to have held our first new member induction ceremony of my year as your president. With support from his sponsor Nina Thai and additional sponsor Bub Wo, we officially welcomed our newest member Wesley Yamamoto to the Club. Also joining us were Carol Sakata, who I had not seen in a while, and a number of our Vietnam contingent dressed in matching fabric, including Nancy Youngren, Clif Purkiser, Rich Proctor and Bob Sumpf. In other happenings this week, we had a sizable group of Club members and guests attending Sister club celebrations in Osaka and Kyoto. From the pictures I have seen, we were well represented by Immediate Past President Tom Coyne at the signing ceremony formalizing our relationship with the Rotary Club of Osaka East. Pictures will be shared as we collect them.
Long-time constituents of the Club will know that all members in good standing are also, by definition, members of The Foundation of the Rotary Club of Honolulu. This organization was chartered many years ago to support and simplify the collection of donations from Club members and others to fund the charitable projects and activities (such as scholarships and fellowships) that we bring to our community. Together with similar entities affiliated with District 5000 and Rotary International, the funds provided and managed by the Foundation through its Board of Trustees enable much of the great work that our club does. Look for more information about the Foundation’s Service Above Self campaign in the coming weeks.
Looking forward, tomorrow several District 5000 Rotarians will participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk in downtown Honolulu. Next weekend, another of our Sister clubs, Rotary Club of Taipei, will be celebrating their 77th anniversary, and Lucci Pinoliad will represent our Club at that event. This coming Tuesday, we will be at the Outrigger Canoe Club, where we will hear from Jennifer Ablan, Editor-in-Chief of Hawaii Business Magazine about “The U.S. Economy Under Trump”. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Wes is a Senior VP at Raymond James. He specializes in Retirement Planning & Investment Mangement.
In addition to being the newest Rotary member, Wes is also with the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and he volunteers at Navian Hawaii.
What brought Wes to Rotary? He stated that the Rotary's 4-Way test describes his philosophy of life and he wants to be involved with an organization that is working to make Hawaii a better place.
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Honolulu, Wes!
Oct. 14 meeting will be held at the Outrigger Canoe Club
Rotary Magazine: Members, do you prefer paper or digital? Those who have not yet done so, please contact your Admin before the end of October. Lee will be updating RI with your options.
Nov. 4 meeting will be held at the Oahu Country Club.Your menu choice must be submitted to the RCOH Admin, Lee BY TUESDAY OCT. 21. REGISTRATION FOR THIS MEETING WILL CLOSE ON OCT. 21. NO WALK-INS.
October 10th is World Mental Health Day! A perfect way to bring awareness to your Rotary Club with a “Mental Health Moment.” Please share a tid bit or two about how important taking care of ourselves and each other is at your next Rotary club meeting. Share a stat like 1 in 5 of us will have a mental condition, share about the 988 crisis line, share about the Finding Help Guide on the Mental Health America in Hawaii website, whatever you would like, but please do something.
The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) Walk is coming up in less than a week. This the most effective public awareness campaign and resource gathering in Hawaii. Many of you have already registered. Mahalo! Let's make one more big push! There is still time to register which is preferred versus just showing up. When Rotarians register, they are likely to engage their family, friends, and businesses. We will also get more information about the resources that we can use or share. it is also appreciated if you can donate $5 for the cause…everything they do and provide is FREE.
The walk is on all major islands, they even added Lanai this year! Find out about your island today.
I'm attaching the flyer for Oahu as a sample. I'm also adding a great social media thumbnail. Please share it to all your networks, especially all your club members and in your newsletters/postings.
MAHALO TO DEAN CAMILLE NELSON FOR SPEAKING WITH US!
Dear District 5000 Rotarians,
For those who have not registered yet, but are still thinking about it, we are closing out the room reservations in the district room block for the Rotary International Convention in Taipei on October 15th. So now is the time to register. Here is the link that you can use: https://forms.gle/dCSZGZiQZRGXMVUE6. The $400 deposit for this room is due by the end of October, and we can give you the link in Clubrunner where you can pay.
Registration for the convention is ongoing and the current cost to attend is $575.00. On 12/16 the cost increases to $675.00. If you are also interested in registering now for the convention, you can use this link: https://convention.rotary.org/en-us/2026-rotary-convention-taipei . The convention runs from June 14 to the 17th 2026.
If you have questions or want more information you can find links on the district web site and on the RI web site. You can also drop me a line.
Connect with Rotary members from around the world as we unite for good in Taipei City, Taiwan, for the Rotary International Convention, 13-17 June 2026.
The convention is a unique opportunity to learn, collaborate, and be inspired in a vibrant city rich in culture, iconic landmarks, and culinary delights. This transformative event is your opportunity to renew relationships made at previous conventions, create new ones, and share with likeminded changemakers the exciting work that your club is doing.
The convention is our biggest event of the year! Learn more and register today at convention.rotary.org.
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 Form and send it to RCOH Administrator, Lee HERE. She will submit all forms to the Speaker Committee.
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