By The Way....

Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii announced the appointment of three employees to management positions. Milton Lafitaga, has been hired as Sales Manager at Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii. He will be handling airline, travel agent and travel partner accounts. Lafitaga has a background in sales and marketing, having worked most recently at Hard Rock Café. Carol Hanna has been appointed Rooms Division Manager at the Aston Waikiki Beachside Hotel.  Most recently, Hanna served as Chief Purser for American Hawaii Cruises. Demi Yamamoto returns as Front Office Manager of the Mahana at Kaanapali, an oceanfront condominium resort.

Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii also announced the appointment of Julie Takeguchi to Director of E-Commerce, a newly created position. Her duties will include formulating strategies and developing action plans to increase sales for astonhotels.com, handling online wholesalers and their extranet systems and developing new online marketing programs.

Pearlridge Center recently donated nearly $1,000 to the Hawaii Chess Federation through Helping Hands Hawaii. As a result, 25 Hawaii schools received four tournament grade chess sets each to help start student chess clubs.

Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc. recently welcomed Ira Flores and David Hood as new customer service representatives. In this capacity, Flores and Hood will be responsible for servicing homes that are covered under warranty

Young Laundry & Dry cleaning kicked off its year-long 100^th Anniversary celebration this past November. Young Laundry and Dry cleaning was founded in 1902 as the in-house laundry for the Alexander Young Hotel on the corner of Bishop and King streets. The company employs 145 workers and has been recognized by the City & County of Honolulu and the Partnership for the Environment for its efforts and leadership in recycling and waste reduction.

The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii's Center for Equal Justice (CEJ) celebrated its third anniversary in November.  Legal Aid concentrates its efforts on assisting low-income and disadvantaged individuals and families with their non-criminal legal matters.

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties (CBP) announced that Judy Ahlstrom has joined the Kapiolani Office as the Office Manager. In this position, Ahlstrom will be responsible for the management of personnel and agents, marketing coordination and all day-to-day operations of the office.

Jack Mead has been promoted to executive chef at Morton’s of Chicago in Honolulu. As executive chef, Mead oversees all aspects of the kitchen, ensuring food quality and consistency.  Chef Mead demonstrated his culinary finesse by placing 2nd in the Iron Chef Contest sponsored by HFM Foods at the Blaisdell Center in September.

Waikoloa Beach Resort recently hosted the first Waikoloa Women’s Golf Challenge, and raised more than $10,000 to the Hawaii State Women¹s Golf Foundation in support of its efforts to provide scholarships and financial assistance to aspiring women golfers.  The two-day golf tournament was held at the world-renowned Waikoloa Beach Resorts Kings Golf Course and Beach Golf Course, where participants enjoyed a weekend of golf play and spa play.

Tim Littlejohn, branch manager of the Waialua Public Library, has been named the 2002 Public Librarian of the Year for the Hawaii State Public Library System. He will receive a cash prize of $1,000 from the Hawaii Library Foundation and Borders Books, plus a $500 Borders store certificate.

Arthur J. Gallagher Captive Services (Hawaii) announced the appointment of Fay Okamoto to Vice President. She will be responsible for establishing and growing Gallagher’s Hawaii captive practice, as well as all aspects of captive insurance management services for Gallagher and Atlas Insurance Agency clients.

The Waikiki Health Center received a grant of $6,616.50 from the Susan G. Komen Foundation to screen and educate women about breast health at outreach clinics in Haleiwa, Kahaluu and Punaluu.

Mark Mitchell, Ph.D. has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Kahi Mohala Behavioral Healthcare, a not for profit behavioral health service organization, and Hawaii’s only private psychiatric hospital.

The USS Missouri Memorial Association has announced the following promotions. Jacqueline Kemp has been hired as the education manager; her responsibilities will include the Memorial’s education program and training tour guides in the history of the Battleship Missouri and other ship related statistics. Les Lancaster has been promoted to the position of Director of Ship Operations; he will be responsible for maintenance, preservation and restoration activities of the Engineering Department, as well as management of all staff within the department. Sean Fierst has been promoted to Tour Programs Manager; he will be responsible for all on site tours and customer service and visitor satisfaction.

Pearlridge Center recently donated nearly $1,000 to the Hawaii Chess Federation through helping hands Hawaii. As a result, 25 Hawaii schools received four tournament grade chess sets each to help start student chess clubs.

On behalf of the City & County of Honolulu, Mayor Jeremy Harris honored Mobile Emergency Care Specialist Ian T.T. Santee as the 2002 Employee of the Year. Santee was also selected by the State Department of Health as the State of Hawaii’s Outstanding Mobile Intensive Care Technician for 2002.

Mator Harris also honored Gary B. Cabato, who heads the Parks Department’s Personnel Services and Management Services Division, as the Manager of the year for 2002. He is regarded as the department’s “Superman” because of his dedication, ability to work with others and his excellent time management skills.

The Honolulu Police Department recently promoted Paul Putzulu to the position of Deputy Chief of Police. In this position, Putzulu will be in charge of field operations for the Honolulu Police Department. This includes Central Patrol, Regional Patrol and Investigative Bureaus.

President of Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Harry Saunders (center) recently awarded $1,000 grants to two Mililani teachers. Phyllis Nakama-Kawamoto (left), a kindergarten teacher at Mililani Mauka Elementary School and Wesley Yuu (right), an eighth grade math teacher at Mililani Middle School. These educators were chosen to receive the grant due to their selection as 2001 Presidential Award recipients for Excellence in Mathematics and Science teaching.

Members from various agencies at Hickam Air Force Base participated in a tree planting Arbor Day event at the base this past November. Forty-eight Kou and Rainbow Shower trees, twelve Banyan trees and one Narra tree were planted along Kuntz Avenue and the neighboring baseball complex in an effort to enhance the beauty of the base.

Edwin I. Tanaka has been promoted to compliance manager for Hawaii Federal Credit Union. Tanaka brings more than 29 years of experience to his new position, he will be responsible for risk management of delinquencies, and managing the firm’s compliance program and security issues.