The public was the beneficiary of a seminar for educators Wednesday night. Gary Shimabukuro of Laulima Hawai‘i was scheduled to do a day-long seminar for Kaua‘i’s educators yesterday, but on Wednesday night, Shimabukuro and a group of professionals in substance
The public was the beneficiary of a seminar for educators Wednesday night.
Gary Shimabukuro of Laulima Hawai‘i was scheduled to do a day-long seminar for Kaua‘i’s educators yesterday, but on Wednesday night, Shimabukuro and a group of professionals in substance abuse opened up the doors of the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall for members of the public.
Theresa Koki, the county’s anti-drug coordinator, said the “Got Drugs?” program is a follow up of last year’s community drug awareness seminar that was sponsored by the County of Kaua‘i and Leadership Kaua‘i.
“We are fortunate to once again have the opportunity to bring Gary Shimabukuro back this time with several other notable presenters to further our awareness of the drug-related issues that affect our community daily,” Koki said in the evening’s program guide.
Koki said that with so much happening in Hawai‘i and on Kaua‘i, the county pooled community resources to provide materials and other information in support of the special guest speakers who follow the trends and were available to update the public to better understand the current drug situation.
Despite conflicting schedules of a Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys basketball game at Waimea High School and an Open House at Kaua‘i High School, people found time to learn about the latest trends in drug and substance abuse as the people flowed through the doors when they opened at 5:30 p.m.
Displays and exhibits from nine different community groups and agencies greeted attendees who made it a point to browse through and look over the variety of information that was available.
Participating vendors, many of whom came from the successful Eastside family summit held Saturday, included Parent Project, Hina Mauka, Teen Care-Kaua‘i High School, U-turn for Christ, Leadership Kaua‘i, Department of Liquor Control, Kaua‘i Police Department, the Drug Court and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Detective Mark Middleton from the Martin County Sheriff’s Department in Florida, Thoma Janette and Scott Duva, Connecticut Narcotics Enforcement Officer’s Association, were the professionals who joined Shimabukuro in speaking about the overview of substance abuse and the current national and local drug trends.
These professionals were on Kaua‘i last year, speaking not only to the public at the first of the free Community Drug Awareness Speaker Series, but also addressed about 400 students at a drug summit geared for student leaders in Kaua‘i’s middle and high schools.
Middleton, who has a knack for being able to capture students’ attention during his last appearance at the student summit, has been in law enforcement for 20 years and has been involved in many facets of police work including the DARE and GREAT programs, school resource office, road patrol and corrections.
Currently, he is assigned to the juvenile crime unit where he oversees several programs including the prevention of alcohol and tobacco sales to minors, missing and runaway juveniles, and sexual offenders and predators.
Janette serves as the director of the Connecticut Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association where he is sought after as a resource speaker and has been featured on prevention and substance abuse videos that have won the Golden Eagle Award, states a press release from the county’s public information officer, Mary Daubert.
Duva is a law enforcement officer in Connecticut where he works closely with Janette on prevention and substance abuse programs, the release states.
Shimabukuro, who said he’s picked up the handle “Shim-buck-a-roo” from his talks in Australia, is the founder and owner of Laulima Hawai‘i.
He has been providing drug education for businesses, schools, apprenticeship programs, labor organizations, management groups, law enforcement agencies, military personnel and other organizations since 1978, states a release from Laulima Hawai‘i.
Shimabukuro was a clinical supervisor for a substance abuse treatment program and a former certified trainer and “Trainer of Trainers” for the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
The release states that since 1988, more than 200,000 people have attended the various training programs throughout the state of Hawai‘i, Alaska, California, and the Pacific Basin.
Gary’s communication skills, including his prowess on the ‘ukulele when he joined musicians on stage at the Eastside family summit, have effectively overcome language and cultural differences for participants.
One of these facets involve the use of actual news clippings and video to drive home the point of substance abuse.
The Kaua‘i Community Drug Awareness Speaker Series was developed by a Leadership Kaua‘i group called “The Challengers.”
Members include Fran Becker, Na Leiwili Area Health Education Center; Sheryl Grady, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative; Kelly Knudsen, state Department of Education; Jerry Refamonte, Kaua‘i Marriott Resort; Rebekah Reide, Ke Ala Hoku; and Lisa Ubay, Prince-ville Operations Corp.
Their mission is to support the community and families who are vulnerable to the onslaught of drugs by providing specific drug awareness and education.
