Rotary club presidents, assistant district governors and the district governor-elect were installed at the meeting.

MAALAEA – For the third consecutive year, the presidents of each of the ten Maui County Rotary clubs were inducted into their positions at one all-island ceremony. The unique ceremony was held at the Seascape Restaurant on Friday, June 24, and was attended by Rotary members and guests.

The event was hosted by Master of Ceremonies Alexis Dascoulias. Eight past and upcoming district governors for Hawaii District 5000 served as the induction officers.

Current District Governor Del Green administered the oath of office, and District Governor-Elect Clint Schroeder spoke to the group, urging them to share Rotary’s humanitarian message with their communities.

County of Maui Managing Director Keith Regan addressed the attendees as Mayor Alan Arakawa’s representative. Regan thanked the incoming presidents for answering the call to service and stressed the important work that Rotary does across the island.

“The annual activities that Rotary does throughout Maui County wouldn’t be possible without the hardworking hands of dedicated Rotarians on our island,” he said. “It’s really truly amazing what Rotary does here, and we need to be very grateful for everything you’ve accomplished.”

Kimokeo Kapahuelehua offered a blessing and shared a special message for the inductees, which urged them to see their new responsiblities as part of living with aloha.

Also assuming their roles as assistant district governors for 2016-17 were Wendy Hornack from the Rotary Club of Upcountry, who will serve for the four Central Maui clubs, and Larry Laird from the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, who will serve for the five Coastal Clubs and Lanai.

Each new president attended a four-day president-elect training seminar in San Jose, California, where they participated in workshops to prepare them for leading their clubs in the new Rotary year.

Presidents of the Maui and Lanai clubs for 2016-17 are: Kahului Ryan McNally, Kihei Wailea Kit Hawkins, Lahaina Marti Wukelic, Lahaina Sunrise Brandi Henderson, Lahaina Sunset Melissa Fort, Lanai Ingrida Couto, Maui Theresa Hegerty, Upcountry Joshua Lindsey, Valley Isle Sunset Wendy Acosta, and Wailuku Jennifer Barr.

The ten Maui County Rotary club presidents and their president-elects meet once a month to share individual club information and plan all-island Rotary events.

Some of these all-island events for 2016-17 include school supplies drives at the beginning of the school year, a November and April food drive for the Maui Food Bank, an annual Weinberg Project, purchasing books for the October Maui Children and Youth Day, providing dictionaries for every third-grader in Maui County schools, and funding and staffing the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Camp for 90 high school students.

Ten of the 51 clubs that make up Rotary District 5000 are located on Maui and Lanai. For more information, contact Rotary Maui Public Relations Chair Melissa Crawley via e-mail at crawley.m@gmail.com.