Awards

Advertiser Staff

Girl Scouts honor bankers

The Girl Scout Council of Hawai'i honored four of Hawai'i's most powerful banking women recently during its 2002 Women of Distinction Dinner:

• Bennette Evangelista, senior vice president of Central Pacific Bank, is a former television anchorwoman from the Philippines who was prompted by the demands of her growing family to forsake a future in television for a career in banking.
• Constance Lau, president and chief executive officer of American Savings Bank and trustee and secretary/treasurer of Kamehameha Schools.
• Donna Tanoue, nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as chair of the FDIC, one of the country's most powerful banking jobs, returned home to become vice chairwoman of Bank of Hawaii.
• Lily Yao, who escaped from Communist China with her grandmother as a child, started as a part-time teller at Pioneer Federal and rose to president and CEO. She and was named vice chairwoman of First Hawaiian Bank after it merged with Pioneer Federal.

"These four women are notable not only for their impressive achievements in Hawai'i's banking industry, but also because they believe in and practice the same values as our Girl Scouts," said Gail Hannemann, executive director of the Girl Scout Council of Hawai'i.

Humane Society offers thanks

The Hawaiian Humane Society has presented several community awards:

• Verizon Hawaii and Verizon Foundation received the Chairperson's Award for financial support of Humane Society programs and matching grants, for employee volunteerism and donations to the society.
• The Helen Kinau Wilder Friendship Awards, named after the Hawaiian Humane Society founder, went to Nora Hamamoto, who established an avian rehabilitation network on O'ahu; the Honolulu Fire Department, for rescuing animals as well as people; volunteer Sherry Hunt, who coordinated a hiking club for people and dogs for six years; and volunteer Patt Spencer, for providing foster care for a terminally ill woman's cats for two years.
• Also recognized were The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International for financial support of the Hokget rescue; Kauai Humane Society for providing free quarantine; Kathleen Baker for alerting the society to the dog's plight; American Marine Services for rescuing Hokget from the tanker while fulfilling an environmental mission; and the U.S. Coast Guard for their part in the rescue mission and preserving ocean resources.

"Many thanks to all these friends," said society president Pamela Burns. "Their dedication to the welfare of animals deserves to be recognized."

KTUH receives national award

KTUH, the University of Hawai'iiManoa's radio station, has received a national award from College Broadcasters Inc. for producing the best public service announcement in 2002.

CBI, which represents college radio stations nationwide, presented the awards at a recent national convention in Orlando, Fla.

The award-winner was created by UHM student and KTUH Music Director Allyson Ota, who also took first place for technical production in CBI's 2001 National Student Production Awards. Ota was nominated by former KTUH general manager Lori Ann Saeki, who was named one of the nation's five outstanding broadcast students for 2001 by the Scripps-Howard Foundation.

Other KTUH staff were finalists in three categories: Barbie Wong, best feature reporting; John Goya and Loriel Macalma, best technical production; and Shaun Lau, best student media Web site.

Goya and Ota also were finalists for best public service announcement for a PSA they worked on together.