PUHI — The next big event for Betty Bell is to meet the first recipient of the scholarship fund she established, she said Tuesday at the Regency at Puakea.
“She really wants to see these girls who will benefit from the scholarship,” said Lee Morey, a trustee for Bell. “She’s so happy that she gets to see this done in her lifetime.”
With the help of Morey and attorney Laura Barzilai, Bell finalized the establishment of the Betty J. Bell Scholarship for Kaua‘i Women Tuesday at the Regency at Puakea conference room.
Administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, the Betty J. Bell Scholarship for Kaua‘i Women is for Kaua‘i women, with a preference for working mothers and women returning to school for their degrees after being absent due to parenting.
The scholarship is applicable those attending any accredited two- or four-year college or university.
“I know what it’s like,” Bell said. “I’ve been there. I might have a prejudice for these young women.”
At 93 years young, Bell is still an active member of the community, with the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i, where she shares the distinction of being the eldest member of the club with Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano.
“She’s one of Kaua‘i’s foremost former real estate brokers,” Morey said of Bell.
“A broker for nearly 40 years and a household name whenever the topic of real estate was discussed, Betty Bell was known by all. She was the first pharmacist on Kaua‘i, and an early CEO at the G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital. She got into real estate formally with the establishment of Sun Village, the first purpose-built elderly housing close to the hospital,” said Morey.
Barzilai said Bell was happy to create the scholarship fund as a way to give back to the community that she still enjoys when she can get out, and because she is a proponent for education.
For more information on the scholarship, contact the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
