Rotary’s 4 Way Test Of the Things We Think, Say and Do

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

(AND . . . Is it Fun??)

President’s Message Larry Kniffin

The Newsletter for Rotary Club of Kona Mauka Chartered in 1967

Kona Nightingale

May 2015

My message for this month is a basic one. It is about you and Rotary. To those members who have given freely of their time in the last year to see projects and events through, thank you! This month’s message is to those members who are new and are not yet involved, or those members who have been taking a step back from the club’s activities. It has often been said that Rotary exists and acts only at the grass roots level, that is, at the level of each club. Each club is “ground zero” for what Rotary is and what it accomplishes. This is true. Think of the spark that just five people, including Paul Harris, lit by meeting in Chicago over 100 years ago. In the coming year, let every member resolve to participate in a club event that you have not participated in before, be it RYLA, or a community event. Attend a board meeting. Even if you are not in the Executive, you are always welcome at our board meetings. It is where things happen that affect all members. There is still more you can do. Our committee chairs need input and assistance from mem-bers. Look at the list of committees on Club Runner and volunteer to assist with an event or program. Volunteer to help. Each committee can use your ideas and assistance Whether you are a new member or one with several Paul Harris awards, it is time to re-engage with Rotary! You will be glad you did! History has shown that Rotary’s strongest members are those who become “actively involved” in their first year. Remember, Rotary is composed of “doers”, not “dreamers”.

Speakers Door Prize

May 5 Leroy Washington

LEAP-Law Enforcement Against

Prohibition

Sandee Crisp

May 12 Anais Gude

Teach for America

Jared Crivello

May 19 Vocational Award Luncheon

Kumu Keala Ching Eric Curtis

May 26 Rachel E. Allen

One Holistic Place Carol Gigliotti

Page 2 A Snapshot of Kona Mauka Rotary

Welcome New Member Dr. Dan

Montgomery!

Vocation: Endocrinologist

Sponsor: Trudy

The leadership from the Rotary Clubs of Hawaii West, comprised of Kona, Kona Sunrise, Kona Mauka and North Hawaii, are looking forward to anoth-er year of working together and supporting one another’s efforts to Be a

Gift to the World. This team of President Elects attended the training seminar in San Jose several weeks ago; they learned about Budgeting, Leadership, Fundraising, and Club Growth and Stability and came away feeling prepared to lead their respective clubs as we all embark on our Centennial Year.

Yes, D5000 is turning 100!

Another Winning Team for Hawaii West! Gearing Up for 2015-16

Erik Jacobson, North Hawaii; James Resor,

Kona; Donna Hiranaka, Hawaii West AG;

Gary Rovelstad, Kona Mauka

Bev Fraser, Kona Sunrise PE

at PETS Del Green, D5000

District Governor Elect

Michael Kramer Natural Investments, LLC Tina Clothier

People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii

Jim Kauahikaua Volcanologist

Dr. Donald Thomas Geochemist

David Mattice Public Utilities Commission

Part of the fun of Rotary Exchanging club flags with visiting

Rotarians

Kona Mauka

Page 3

RI Convention 2015: Sao Paulo, Brazil June 6-9

2016 : Seoul, Korea

2017: Atlanta, Georgia

2020: RI Convention in HAWAII!!

The first Rotary Convention was held in Chicago on August 15-17, 1910. There were 60 members in attendance

ROTARY CLUB CENTRAL PLAN TOGETHER TRACK PROGRESS ACHIEVE GOALS Get started! Go to www.rotary.org/clubcentral Check it out! See our club’s goals, projects, history, and more

In response to the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the Kona Mauka board voted to donate $1,000 in order to purchase a Shelter Box. Bill Cliff, our Foun-dation chair, is monitoring the situation and area needs. The quake has damaged an estimated 600,000 homes in the country, leaving almost three million people with nowhere to go. Frequent after-shocks mean that even surviving buildings could collapse at any minute, forcing people to sleep out in the open. The 7.8-magnitude quake killed at least 5,200 people and injured thou-sands more. With temperatures dropping to zero in many parts of Nepal, along with constant thunderstorms and rain, the need for shelter has become even more desperate after Saturday’s deadly earthquake.

An account with Rotary D5000 Foundation has been set up to collect funds for disaster relief for Nepal.

Checks should be made payable to Rotary D5000 Foundation and mailed to PDG Roy King 619 Onaha Street Honolulu, HI 96816

Please put Nepal Disaster Relief on the memo line.

Club Updates:

The Rotary Club of Kona Mauka celebrated Rotarians at Work Day with a special work project at the West Hawaii Vet-erans Cemetery. Situated on an arid stretch of lava overlooking the Kona coastline below, this was once Hawaiian dry land forest, covered with trees and foliage.

Kona Mauka Rotary members, along with family and friends, participated in their effort to repopulate the native plants and trees in the area, returning the honored cemetery to its former glory. We started the day removing the weeds and invasive species. We then planted the hillside with native Hawaiian plants. Dr. Richard Stevens, a UH Cen-ter West Hawaii Lecturer in Humanities who also serves as the reforestation project coordinator for the cemetery, en-couraged participants to think of a cherished individual in our lives as we placed each plant into the ground.

More than 25,000 Rotarians and volunteers from 35 districts worldwide rolled up their sleeves to improve their com-munities as part of Rotarians At Work Day. Started in 2006 by the late Bob Watson, past governor of District 5340 in California, Rotarians At Work Day happens the last Saturday in April each year and challenges clubs around the world to carry out hands-on service efforts in their community.

Mahalo to Mauka Rotarians Awa HuiHui-Graffe, Sharon Taylor, Don Taylor, Kent Nakamaru, Dave Hiranaka, Donna Hiranaka, Dan Montgomery, Steve Pine, Bill Cliff, Joe Krawczak, Chris Leinenweber, Carol Gigliotti, Karen Wilson, Rod Crisp, Sandee Crisp, Gary Rovelstad, Mary Kay Rovelstad, and Trudy Teshima-Gramlich. As you can see, the spirit of Service Above Self is alive and well as four of our new members from the Class of 2014-15 participated in this community project!

Rotarians at Work Day Saturday, April 25

Page 5

Our 2014-15 year is winding down, but . . . Our District Governor encourages

us to avoid the tendency to relax and kick back – which everyone deserves – but it’s that atti-tude that has led to declining membership (or barely positive numbers like +3 last year.) If we want Rotary in Hawaii to reach the levels we’ve attained before – to be back at the 2300 members we used to have – then we have to adopt a 12-month attitude and provide value for every hour we ask of our members. The more vibrant we can keep our clubs – the more enthusiastic and ENGAGED we can keep these new members we’re adding – the stronger Rotary in Hawaii will be as we start our Centennial Celebration on July 1st. In the words of Past Rotary International President, Ron Burton, “ We can always use more hearts, hands, and feet on the ground to do the great work of Rotary.”

D5000

Goal 2014-2015

1,856

Keeping Rotary Vibrant & Healthy

It’s not too late to register

2014-2015 District Conference! May 22 - 25

(Memorial Day Weekend)

Friday, May 22:

10:30 am-Golf 12:00 Noon Registration opens 5-6:00 pm President's Reception 6:00- 8 pm Opening/Welcome Reception 8:00 pm Wine Fellowship Reception

Saturday, May 23: 7:00 am Registration and House of Friendship opens

10:00 - 11:00 am Optional Meet the Pros/Experts session 10:30 am ice cream and coffee bar opens 12:00 -3:30 pm Opening Plenary Session 4:30-5:30 pm Reception for PEs & PENs 5:30 pm Reception/cash bar 6:30 pm Gala Dinner/dancing

Sunday, May 24: 7:30-8:30 am Breakfast in Kona Ballroom 8:30 am—12:00 noon Plenary Session 12:00 Noon lunch

1:00-4:00pm Plenary session and awards ceremony

Rates at the beautiful Hilton Waikoloa are just $139/night. Come spend the Memorial Day weekend with your Rotary friends and family. Make a weekend of it! Go to www.rotaryD5000.org to register.

District Conference Page 6

For the first time in many years the District Conference is being held on the Big Island! You don’t

want to miss this extraordinary opportunity to “Talk Story” with Rotarians from all over Hawaii’s D5000.

Let’s all join the fun of spending the weekend together at a beautiful location and enjoy networking with

our Rotary family, right here in our own back yard. . .

What a gorgeous Golf Course

See you Friday morning!

May is the month we look forward to celebrating the joys and accomplishments of our Rotary year so far – the amazing projects that clubs have accomplished in our lo-cal community and in our international community. We celebrate the new friends we have made in the form of new members. We celebrate our Foundation giving – knowing that every dollar will go towards improving the lives of men, women, and especially chil-dren in Kakaako, Waianae, Palolo, Chinatown, Pahoa, Waimea, Cambodia, Thailand, Ne-pal, South Africa….. the reach of Rotary is limitless.

One way we celebrate is through our District Conference. I once had a friend tell me that he finally understood what Rotary was all about after he attended his first District Conference. It’s a chance for Rotarians and guests to mix and mingle and share ideas and share food and - yes, TALK STORY!

Our Conference this year is May 22 – 24th at the beautiful Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort on the Kona Coast. We have an incredible room night rate ($139) which the hotel has told us will be honored until the hotel is sold out! What great partners we have in the Hilton Waikoloa Resort hotel management!

We also have some first-class speakers – PDG Sylvia Whitlock – the FIRST woman in Rotary – and the reason the rest of us are allowed to be here. We have Kaimana Barcarse of the Hokulea to share his experiences, John Kea-we and Danny Akaka and Nathan Grace and Kimo Hoopina to entertain and educate us, and Past RI President Rick King to inspire us! Our RI President’s Representative is PDG Harry Fields from Chatanooga, Tennessee – and I know he will share stories that will truly make us glad we came.

So come join us on the Kona Coast! Register now online – get your meals – sign up for golf – get ready for Kona vs Kau coffee tastings! Let’s have fun – let’s get energized!

Light Up Rotary!

District Governor’s May Message Laura Steelquist

Page 7

One of my favorite parts of a Rotary convention is the House of Friendship. In

Chinese, we say: 有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎. "To have friends come together from faraway places is

a wonderful thing."

At the 106th annual Rotary International Convention, 6-9 June, the House of Friendship will reflect

the excitement and the diverse blend of cultures of São Paulo, the host city.

In between general sessions, you can relax and enjoy all that Brazil has to offer – sample the cuisine,

browse locally made gifts, and take in top-quality entertainment. You also can get ideas for service and find partners at

booths showcasing Rotary projects and Rotarian Action Groups.

And best of all, you'll have the opportunity to spend time with old friends and make many new ones.

The House of Friendship is a wonderful place to bring your convention guests – your family and your friends from home.

By attending conventions with me, my family experienced the true internationality of Rotary. Eventually my wife, Corin-

na, and all three of my children joined Rotary clubs.

You and your guests will want to be sure to come early for World Water Summit 7, on 4 June, sponsored by the Water and

Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, or for the Rotary Peace Symposium, 4-5 June.

This year we are honored that Dr. Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica, will be the keynote speaker at the Rotary

Peace Symposium. Arias received the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a peace agreement that ended the brutal civil wars

in Central America.

Other events 4-5 June include the Rotaract Preconvention Meeting, the International Institute, and the Youth Exchange

Officers Preconvention Meeting.

When the convention is over, spend time exploring all that Brazil has to offer – pristine beaches just a few hours away, the

excitement and glamour of Rio de Janeiro, and the wonders of the Amazon rain forest.

Every year, I return from the Rotary convention inspired to do more, to give more in Rotary service throughout the year.

Register today at www.riconvention.org. I look forward to seeing you in São Paulo!

.

Kona Mauka

Rotary International President’s Message Gary CK Huang

Page 8

Page 9

May Promote International Convention Month

What’s Happening in Rotary This Month?

Rotary Club of Kona Mauka 2014-2015

President: Larry Kniffin

Treasurer: Eric Curtis

Secretary: Gary Rovelstad

Vocational: Donna Hiranaka

Programs: Ken Obenski

Club Service: Laura Kniffin

Newsletter: Donna Hiranaka

Interact: Richard Harrison

Scholarships: Gary Rovelstad

Community Service: Sharon Taylor

Awa HuiHui-Graffe

Membership & Retention: Dave Hiranaka

Laura Kniffin

International Service: Bill Cliff

Foundation: Bill Cliff

Sergeant At Arms: Ken Obenski

President Elect: Gary Rovelstad

Past President: Don Taylor

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Richard & Karen

anniversary

2 Joe Krawczak

birthday

3 Bill & Gabriella

anniversary

4 Don Taylor

birthday

5 Leroy Washington LEAP

6 7 8 9

10 11 12 Anais Gude Teach for America

13 14

15 16

17 18 Frank &

Carol anniversary Sharon Taylor

birthday

19

Vocational Award Luncheon

20 Mary Kay’s

birthday

21 Rod Crisp birthday

22 23

24 District Conf Jerry & Dana anniversary

25 26 Rachel Allen One Holistic Place

27 28 29 Senior Ground

Golf Tournament

30

31

District Conference-Waikoloa

Mark your calendar for June 19 for Gary’s Installation Dinner!

Rotary Family Beach Picnic