Rotarians say aloha with lei
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
A fleeting moment yesterday was all it took for Nalani Flinn of Wai'anae to spread a little aloha in Waikiki.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
While walking past tourist Alain Pompey of Germany, Flinn cordially gave him a silk plumeria lei and a hug; an unexpected gesture Pompey welcomed with a big smile. The lei was one of a thousand distributed by Hawai'i Rotarians to welcome visitors to the Islands and encourage them to "pass it on to someone else," Flinn said.
Rotarian Sharon Rolirad of Kapolei gave silk flower lei to Hungary visitors Monika Vazsinka and Zoli Kovsz in Waikiki yesterday as part of the group's "Sow the seeds of love" campaign in which they spread the aloha spirit.
"We like to be able to let our visitors know that the people of Hawai'i, when they say 'aloha,' it comes from the heart," said Flinn, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Wai'anae Coast. "We want to let the people know to come back and visit us."
Flinn was among nearly 300 Hawai'i Rotarians and their family members who participated in the lei distribution, capping an annual two-day conference for Rotary International's District 5000, comprising more than 2,300 members from 41 clubs statewide.
"This year the Rotary International theme is, 'Sow the seeds of love,' and when that was announced to us at the very beginning of the year, to us it was like saying, 'Sow the seeds of aloha,' " said district governor Bob Pennington. We have a chance now to go out on the street and practice what we preach by giving a nice lei to some visitor to our Islands in hopes that they'll take it back home with them and pass it on."
Rotary International, a nonprofit service organization with more than 1.2 million members worldwide, was formed to provide world peace and understanding through the act of giving and sharing, Pennington said.
Rotarians, who are volunteers, organize service projects that benefit the local or world community. These include: adopting schools to assist in obtaining supplies, refurbishing and other support; coordinating and participating in blood drives; providing food for the needy; and their biggest goal, eradicating polio by the organization's centennial anniversary in 2005.
Scores of Rotarians yesterday left the conference at Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and paraded down Kalakaua Avenue, handing out colorful lei draped on their arms to strangers they met along the way.
Attached to each lei was a tag with the message: "Hawai'i's 2,300 Rotarians ask you to take this lei home and give it to a loved one, friend or stranger. Help Rotary International 'Sow the seeds of love' and spread Hawai'i's spirit of aloha around the world, then send us a postcard describing when and where you passed on your aloha."
The lei-giving effort went over well, said Eldon Macarayan, president-elect of the Rotary Club of West Pearl Harbor.
"The reception has been really good from the tourists," Macarayan said. "At first they're a little apprehensive and shocked, but a lot of them eventually do see that we want to make them feel welcome and they do accept the lei, so that makes us feel really, really good about what we're doing."
Macarayan gave the last of his five lei to 17-year-old Kathy Rivas of Los Angeles.
"I think it's very welcoming," Rivas said while feeling the yellow, silk blossoms placed around her neck.
Pompey, who received a lei from Flinn, said the gesture was a beautiful one.
"Here, I'm getting goosebumps," Pompey said and pointed to his sunburned right arm. "I'm speechless."
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
