NUKOLII — Loren Johnson Sr. of Kalaheo was selected as the Outstanding Older American, male for Kauai, joining Marilyn Matsumoto of Lihue as the outstanding female during the County of Kauai Older Americans Month luncheon Thursday. “Words are most difficult
NUKOLII — Loren Johnson Sr. of Kalaheo was selected as the Outstanding Older American, male for Kauai, joining Marilyn Matsumoto of Lihue as the outstanding female during the County of Kauai Older Americans Month luncheon Thursday.
“Words are most difficult to find at this time to share with you what is in my heart,” Matsumoto said. “It was a great and unforgettable day to have been chosen as Kauai’s Outstanding Older American female representing Kauai.”
Rachelle Bachran of the state’s Department of Health, got the audience to go through the four steps of preventing falls, including doing an annual check of medications, some of which have side effects causing dizziness, maintaining good vision, getting to move to improve balance and strength, and making one’s home safer by removing fall hazards, such as throw rugs.
“Be your own best friend,” Bachran said. “Not your worst enemy.”
Johnson, 71, has been described as “someone who refuses to grow old and has truly unleashed the power of age.”
The co-founder of the Kauai Adventure Club which utilizes social networking to host free adventure events, he arranges activities like hikes, canoe adventures and volunteer activities in real time.
His volunteer work ranges from coordinating environmental waste collections and the removal of nets and debris from beaches to working in the National Tropical Botanical Gardens plant nurseries and in taro ponds for the Waipa Foundations.
Nominated by Jessica Clabo, the volunteer coordinator for the Kauai Habitat for Humanity, Johnson’s work as benefited a number of community organizations.
Matsumoto, retired as an administrative assistant to the director of the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, is described as “a fountain of energy and creativity which never stops working for the benefit of all the citizens of the island.”
The Lihue resident who claims that “older people have a better chance of being Outstanding Older American, is known for sharing her love of music and her leadership skills and fundraising ability.
During ukulele classes at the Lihue Senior Center where she is joined by Uncle Herman Paleka, Matsumoto teaches students to perform songs as they were originally written based on a musical notation system she developed.
Nominated by Paula Green, an ukulele student, and Paleka, Matsumoto is described as being “adept at soliciting prizes, ads for program booklets, and T-shirt sales which benefit seniors.
Johnson and Matsumoto, both of whom will be honored at a ceremony at the State Capitol on Thursday with honorees from the other Hawaii counties, were gleaned from a field which included 10 nominees.
