Awards
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawai'i Alumni Association will honor seven at its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner on May 14. They are:
• Warren Haruki, president of Verizon Hawai'i. He is chairman of the University of Hawai'i Foundation and has been a supporter of many university programs, both academic and athletic, for many years.
He serves on the boards of First Hawaiian Bank, Pacific Guardian Life Insurance, The Queen's Health Systems, Hawai'i Business Roundtable and the Aloha Council of Boy Scouts of America. He is past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i and is vice president of the Blood Bank of Hawai'i.
• Kevin Hughes is one of the pioneer developers of the Internet's World Wide Web. He established many of the conventions still in use on the Web while studying at Honolulu Community College, putting Hawai'i in the forefront of high- technology development.
Recognized worldwide for his expertise and contributions to developing the Web, Hughes is one of six original members inducted into the World Wide Web Hall of Fame.
He is a leading contributor to e-commerce growth and high-tech training in Hawai'i.
• Daniel Lau, co-founder, chairman of the board and a director of Finance Factors family of companies. He is also a trustee of the UH Foundation and a director of the East-West Center Foundation. A former UH baseball batting champion and track medalist, Lau is a strong supporter of UH athletics, youth sports and the Special Olympics. He is a former president of the Hawaiian Humane Society, chairman of the United Church of Christ, vice president of American Council of Life Insurance Hawai'i and director of American Security Bank.
• Kurt Osaki, founder and CEO of Osaki Design Inc., is a nationally and internationally recognized graphics designer. With more than 10 years of professional experience in design and sports branding, he has worked on a wide variety of national and international projects.
He is involved with the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Northern California and is co-founder/vice president of the Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce of Northern California.
• Donna Tanoue, a former UH regent, has had an outstanding career in the private sector and in public service. Tanoue was appointed in 1998 by President Clinton to be the 17th chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Before that, she served in various capacities in the public and private sectors, most notably as director of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i and director of the High Technology Development Corporation of Hawai'i.
Tanoue has served as a deputy attorney general of the state of Hawai'i and State Commissioner of Financial Institutions. She is vice chairman of financial services for Bank of Hawai'i.
• Alan Wong is a world-renowned chef who established Alan Wong's Restaurant in 1995 and developed it into one of the top restaurants in Hawai'i for five of the past six years. A 1996 James Beard Award winner for best chef-Pacific Northwest, his restaurant was voted by "Gourmet" magazine as one of the nation's best, ranking No. 6. The restaurant has won numerous other awards.
• The UHAA 2002 Founders' Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to former Hawai'i Sen. Hiram Fong. He was the first Chinese American to serve in the U.S. Senate, representing Hawai'i from 1959 to 1977.
