LIHU‘E — Dr. Terry Carolan gave a little and got a lot. He and his wife Joanna Carolan headed the creative team that created “A President from Hawai‘i,” They were honored with a Certificate of Commendation from the Kaua‘i County
LIHU‘E — Dr. Terry Carolan gave a little and got a lot.
He and his wife Joanna Carolan headed the creative team that created “A President from Hawai‘i,” They were honored with a Certificate of Commendation from the Kaua‘i County Council during its Wednesday meeting.
“Our new book, ‘A President from Hawai‘i’ has been chosen to represent the State of Hawai‘i at this year’s Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26,” Joanna said in an e-mail this week.
Councilman Derek Kawakami, author of the commendation, said only one book is selected for each state, and this year’s selection is the book created by Dr. Terry and Joanna Carolan, the illustrator for the children’s book that has been enjoying brisk sales since its recent release.
Joining the co-authors, Keli‘i Kaneali‘i, the co-producer of the “A President from Hawai‘i” audio CD that is part of the book, and Healani Youn, kumu hula and “Miss Aloha Hula” recipient, accepted the accolades from the council, Youn providing a moment of distraction as she performed an oli from the book, the English translation being read by Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro.
“You have done a great job of showing people who we are through your book,” Kawakami said. “In a time when we need tourists, this kind of exposure is just what we need.”
Nalani Brun, the County of Kaua‘i Economic Development Specialist IV-Tourism; Janice Bond, the Read to Me International, Kaua‘i Advisory member; and Alison Dunn, Banana Patch Press, Public Relations coordinator, will be joining the group when they leave in time to host a reading of the book at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Sept. 25.
Joanna noted that Bond recently received a grant from the Kaua‘i Wal-Mart for the Read to Me event coming up in October where “A President from Hawai‘i” will be featured.
Kawakami said the traveling contingent will also be performing at several other stops while in Washington, D.C., Joanna adding that the musical ensemble will also be playing at several receptions.
Terry said the book took two years to complete, the process starting when Barrack Obama was “candidate Obama.”
Along the road to the presidency, the progress of the book shared the ride. As the election date drew closer, Dr. Terry said one of his sons, who was following the presidential race closely, called to tell him to start work on the book because based on information he was getting from blogs and other Internet sources, it appeared Obama would become the president.
That was the motivation needed to push the creative team to complete the project when Obama was elected president.
As the round of congratulations and comments from the book subsided, Kawakami had one more card up his sleeve.
“Happy birthday, doctor,” Kawakami said, setting up another round of congratulations and well wishes.
Wednesday was Dr. Terry’s birthday.
