Waha Nui
Congratulations to Uncle Bob Via, 85 years young, the Red Cross 2012 Volunteer of the Year for Oahu. He taught many Windward kids and adults (20,000, to be exact) how to swim or how to be the best lifeguard, over his long “retirement” from the military at Kaneohe District Park, where he was pool manager. The Red Cross says he’s logged more than 13,000 volunteer hours teaching its aquatic lifesaving classes, and he’s not done yet … Castle High graduate Allen “A-Bomb” Allen has joined the UH Sports Circle of Honor in its class of 2012. Allen was a standout in men’s volleyball, rewriting the record book during his 1986-89 career and helping lift the Rainbows to No. 1 national ranking.
He also played on the U.S. National Team and currently is assistant coach for the women’s volleyball at Gonzaga University … Windward Artists Guild member Jean McAuliffe‘s solo photo show, “A New Dawn,” is on view throughout October at ING Direct Cafe Gallery in Waikiki (352-6641) … Hector Morales, a busy chef and a leader in Hawaii’s farm-to-table movement, has moved a little himself – from overseeing five restaurants at Turtle Bay Resort to a job with the same title, executive chef, at Polynesian Cultural Center … The folks at Kailua Intermediate are rooting for social studies teacher Karen Kutsunai, who is up for DOE Teacher of the
Year, representing the Windward District. The 2012 winner will be announced Friday at Washington Place … Kaneohe’s Bryan Fujiwara has joined RIM Architects Hawaii as a design assistant working on healthcare-related projects … Kailua artist David Friedman has his work on view in a miniature art show, “Matchbox Plus VIII,” through Nov. 18 at Cedar Street Galleries (589-1580), as well as in the Windward Artists Guild show at Ho’omaluhia through Oct. 27 … Ahuimanu’s Tyler Yamamoto, a student athlete in baseball as the University of Northern Colorado, made the school’s dean’s list for 2011-12 at the Greeley campus … Kaneohe’s Brandon Ducosin has graduated from Air Force basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas
