NUKOLI — There were no speeches to thank the audience. Instead, it was the audience that thanked the honorees at the Annual Boy Scout Recognition Dinner. Mike Kano, Scoutmaster for Troop 133 in Kapa‘a, was speechless when he was announced
NUKOLI — There were no speeches to thank the audience.
Instead, it was the audience that thanked the honorees at the Annual Boy Scout Recognition Dinner.
Mike Kano, Scoutmaster for Troop 133 in Kapa‘a, was speechless when he was announced as a nominee for the Vigil Honor, a national award that is part of the Order of the Arrow program.
Dr. Lee Neidengard, representing the Order of the Arrow, noted the OA has more than 176,000 members located in lodges affiliated with approximately 327 Boy Scouts of America local councils.
Members to OA are elected by their fellow unit members following approval by the scoutmaster.
Adult members must be an asset to the order because of their demonstrated abilities and provide a positive role model for the youth members of the lodge.
Kano — a long-time scout and visible member of the community as a leader for organizations such as the Kaua‘i United Way — was eligible for the nomination because of his two years of service as a brotherhood member and his demonstration for outstanding service to scouting, the lodge and the community.
“A quality program begins with quality leaders, and Boy Scouts of America is one of the most beautiful programs in the world,” said keynote speaker Dr. Namulau‘ulu Gaugau Tavana of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.
He noted the BSA program uses the outdoors as a laboratory to learn ecology as well as practice conservation of natural resources.
Through scouts studying ecology, Tavana was on hand when a potential cure for AIDS was discovered in a plant.
He congratulated each of the leaders present, and through an interactive program, outlined the difference between managers and leaders, and he challenged the leaders to teach young people to better understand their interdependence on the environment.
Recognizing that effective leaders lead to quality programs, the annual celebration provides recognition to adult leaders and volunteers that contribute to the overall success of the Boy Scout program on Kaua‘i.
Eagle Scout is the highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve, marking the start of a boy’s journey as a man prior to his 18th birthday.
Thirteen scouts to attain the Eagle Scout were recognized: Anson Acain; Taylor Alfiler; Colby Arakaki; Charles Kato; Dean Lam Yuen; Scott Martin; Kyle Onaka; Mathew Roman; Andrew Segawa; Skylar Shone; Sean Thompson; Harrison Yamamoto; and Ronald Yamashita.
Throughout the evening filled with the presenting of gifts and awards, five of the 13 Eagle Scouts swept through the audience with prizes and gifts as Vianne Tabata and Terrilyn Amorin pulled names and numbers.
Caroline Freudig received the Pack Committee Chair, one of seven Cub Scout leader and volunteer awards presented. Dayna Santos got the Committee Member nod, Kevin Blackstad was the Den Leader recipient, Randy Ikeda topped the island’s Cubmasters, Garrett Santos got the Assistant Cubmaster award and Jean Doi was the Webelos Leader.
Carol Kimura, the Cub Scout commissioner for Kaua‘i, was presented a special district award for her work as Committee Chair.
Gail Oride received the Committee Chair award, one of four Boy Scout Awards presented. Amie Quisel was the Committee Member recipient, Dave Covel was the top Scoutmaster and Gilbert Cabot was the Assistant Scoutmaster recipient.
The Order of the Arrow was the Outstanding Unit and Elma Kajimoto was named the Outstanding Commissioner.
Noting that Scout leaders devote countless hours to developing the character of youth, the Aloha Council celebrated its second year presenting the Scouter’s Wife and the Scouter’s Husband awards to Karen Uyesono and Jeffrey Orsatelli, respectively.
The District Award of Merit went to Lyle Tabata.
Tom Shigemoto serves as the Kaua‘i District Chairman, Mike Goto is the Kaua‘i District Commissioner and Kevin Cram is the District LDS Commissioner.
