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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, December 29, 2002

Awards & appointments

Advertiser Staff

Nonprofit names board members

Aloha Harvest, a nonprofit organization that works with hotels, restaurants and distributors to provide food for the needy, has selected its board of directors for 2003. They are: chairman of the board Robert Harrison, senior vice president of First Hawaiian Bank; vice presidents Kevin Oda, attorney at Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji Attorneys at Law; and Barbara Campbell, vice president of Outrigger Enterprises; secretary Terry Thomason, attorney at Carlsmith Ball; and treasurer Francis Imada, chief financial officer of Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii.


Mediation center honors eight

The Mediation Center of the Pacific recognized several residents with 2002 Mediation Center awards. Among the recipients were:

• Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto, recognized for her support of mediation and commitment to create a sustained system of dispute resolution in Hawai'i's schools. She implemented measures to expand the use of special education mediation, initiating a series of workshops for principals to improve their negotiation skills and use mediation to lay the foundation for gradually changing the culture of Hawai'i's schools to peaceful problem-solving.

• Daniel Bent, named Mediator of the Year for his contributions to The Mediation Center as a mediator and facilitator. Despite his busy practice as a commercial arbitrator, Bent provided many hours of pro-bono service mediating civil rights and other workplace issues.

• Dean Lawrence Foster and Judge Robert Browning received the Improved Justice Award for their support of mediation and efforts to improve access to justice and community volunteerism.

As dean of the University of Hawai'i's William S. Richardson School of Law, Foster has encouraged the teaching of mediation, negotiation and alternative dispute resolution in the education of law students.

Family Court's Browning has long advocated the use of mediation to resolve family conflicts. He encouraged the development of an on-site paternity mediation program for the benefit of divorcing and unmarried couples with children, urging parents to act in the best interests of their offspring.

• Frederick Izumi was the recipient of the Special Board Recognition award for his 23 years of service as director and former officer of The Mediation Center's board. Izumi was a founding member of The Mediation Center and remained a participant and supporter throughout the years.

• Pamela Martin, acting director of the Judiciary's Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and Thelma Ezer, Family Court volunteer, received the Friend of the Center award.

Martin supported The Mediation Center by regularly volunteering as a District Court mediator, planning activities for Alternative Dispute Resolution month in April, serving as a co-presenter on behalf of the center at the Association of Family Conciliation Courts conference in June and assisting in coordinating a series of workshops conducted by ADR Hawaii, The Mediation Center and the Department of Education for Hawai'i's public school principals.

• Carol Freehan, principal of Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary, was awarded the Conch Shell Award for her willingness to spread the word about the value of mediation to resolve conflicts that arise in Hawai'i's schools. She helped to conduct a series of workshops statewide to encourage other principals to use mediation to resolve disputes before they escalate.