Donkey Mill Art Center welcomes director
The Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa has tapped Dee Ann Fujioka-Lilley as its new executive director beginning May 1.
Fujioka-Lilley is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of USC in Social Sciences &Communications, Economics and International Relations, returning to her Big Island home as an experienced art director and designer with the rare addition of a dozen years of financial advisory, management and training experience at a Fortune 100 company.
The center provides art education and experiences to people of all ages and abilities at the historic Donkey Mill in Holualoa with hands-on classes, exhibitions and events of contemporary visual arts, crafts and culture.
Kauffman completes basic military training
Air Force Airman Conrad E. Kauffman has graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
He is a 2014 graduate of Hilo High School.
Charity Walk raises more than $300,000
The Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association’s 37th annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk on Hawaii Island was held at The Shops at Mauna Lani on May 9, raising more than $300,000.
Approximately 1,200 participants gathered for the 3-mile walk, which featured live entertainment and culinary creations by various hotel properties including Mauna Lani Bay Hotel &Bungalows, Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii, Waikoloa Beach Marriott, Mauna Kea Resort, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hilton Waikoloa, and Hilton Grand Vacations. At the finish line, walkers enjoyed entertainment by Augie T and DJ Tiger of Tiger Jones Productions.
For more information on this year’s Charity Walk, visit charitywalkhawaii.org.
Fibromyalgia program focuses on treatment
People suffering from the debilitating condition called fibromyalgia can learn how thousands of individuals around the world, including hundreds in Hawaii, have been helped by an innovative treatment.
A free public meeting, Fibromyalgia and the Guaifenesin Protocol, is scheduled at 10 a.m. June 20 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii in the Manoa Grand Ballroom. Fibromyalgia and protocol specialist, Melissa Congdon, M.D., will speak.
The informational meeting is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and advance registration is required. Parking is $5. Discounted hotel and ground transportation rates are available to neighbor island travelers through Hawaii Aloha Travel. Find a link at fibromyalgiahawaii.com.
Congdon will outline the treatment of fibromyalgia using guaifenesin — a medication with no side effects. The event is designed to educate fibromyalgia sufferers, their families and physicians about the guaifenesin treatment.
The summit is hosted by iFoG, which is one of the largest fibromyalgia support groups in the United States. National hosts include Fibro(my)algia, FibroBuddies on Guaifenesin, Fibromyalgia in Kids, and other support groups from the United States, Canada and Australia.
Supporters of the summit event include Matson, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Pacific Medical Associates and The Mistler Family Foundation. For more information and to register for the free event, visit fibromyalgiahawaii.com. Seating is limited to the first 800 registrants.
Laitinen honored for Firewise efforts
The Kohala By The Sea Firewise Committee honored the Firewise Communities Hawaii coordinator with a plaque Sunday in Hilo. Denise Laitinen was honored for her 12 years of service to the community and tireless efforts to promote wildfire safety throughout Hawaii.
Kohala By The Sea is one of 34 communities in the country to maintain its national Firewise recognition for more than a decade. As the Firewise coordinator for the state, Laitinen provided area residents with Firewise educational materials, taught workshops on creating defensible space, and helped the community identify and implement wildfire prevention projects throughout the community. New property owners within this subdivision are given Firewise construction checklists and building videos when they submit plans to build in the community. In addition to several neighborhood-wide mitigation projects such as removing flammable vegetation from a gully, the neighbors work together to ensure their homes have defensible space.
Collaborating with national and state agencies, Laitinen became the first statewide Firewise Communities coordinator in the country more than 12 years ago. Prior to the statewide position, Firewise efforts were implanted at a national level. Implementing the wildfire safety Firewise program at a statewide level, Laitinen has worked closely with communities from Hanalei on Kauai to Ka‘u on the Big Island.
In recognition of other trailblazing efforts in wildfire prevention, Laitinen was also nominated as Hawaii County Woman of the Year and to the Hawaii County Women Hall of Fame in 2009.