Iolani Alumni

Dr. Lance Taniguchi ‘94, a pediatrician with his own practice in Pearl City, is featured in the October 29th edition of the Midweek under the section entitled “Doctor in the House”. In the article, the Creighton graduate (and Iolani Alumni Board Member) responds to concerns about the current flu season, fevers in infants and young children and dealing with common behavioral issues. Read the full article »

During his days at Iolani, Dr. Taniguchi was a starter in both football and baseball and was the 1994 recipient of the Tim Scott Award which is awarded to “those seniors, who through exemplary personal effort within their God-given abilities, have achieved distinction in both athletics and academics.”

[Photo: Midweek]

For nearly three decades, Guy Kawasaki ‘72 has earned a stellar reputation as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and irreverent pundit. His 2004 bestseller, The Art of the Start, has become the most acclaimed bible for small business and his blog, How to Change the World, is consistently one of the fifty most popular in the world.

In his latest release “Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition”, Kawasaki has compiled his best wit, wisdom, and contrarian opinions in handy book form. From competition to customer service, innovation to marketing, he shows readers how to ignore fads and foolishness while sticking to commonsense practices. He explains, for instance:

• How to get a standing ovation
• The art of schmoozing
• How to create a community
• The top ten lies of entrepreneurs
• Everything you wanted to know about getting a job in Silicon Valley but didn’t know who to ask

Provocative, useful, and very funny, this “no bull shiitake” book will show you why readers around the world love Guy Kawasaki.

“Reality Check” will be available on October 30, 2008, but is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

Event Date: Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

In support of Mufi Hannemann ‘72 and his campaign for mayor, a few alums (Donn Ariyoshi ‘79, Shaun Ushijima ‘81, and Adam Wong ‘94) are helping to put together an alumni event with the Mayor at his headquarters on the ground floor of the Dole Cannery (next to the theaters).

Date: Wednesday, September 17th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Campaign Headquarters - View Map »
Address: Dole Cannery (ground floor near the theaters)
Cost: None

The goal is to round up at least 10 members from each class, but the more the merrier. Dinner will be taken care of and there will be no cost to anyone. The main point of the function is for the Mayor to address us as fellow alums, to rally support for the primary election on the 20th, to have a gathering of fellowship and reminisce with old acquaintances.

If you are planning to attend the event, please send an email to IolaniAlumni@gmail.com by Wednesday, September 10th (for a rough head count).

Disclaimer: Iolani School is NOT associated with the marketing, promotion or sponsorship of this event.

Hank Wuh ‘77, the founder and CEO of local biotechnology firm Cellular Bioengineering Inc. (CBI), was featured on the cover of the August 29, 2008 edition of the Pacific Business News after his company completed its first set of clinical trials - successfully implanting artificial corneas into 10 patients in Europe. Head boys basketball coach Dr. Mark Mugiishi ‘77, the company’s medical director, was also shown.
Read the article »

Several pages in, Joy Nishikawa (wife of Jason Nishikawa ‘89), the owner of Pure Joy Day Spa, explained how she “mastered the art of friendly competition” in the growth of her small business.
Read the article »

Note: Subscription is required to read the FULL article.

Mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann ‘72 and Derrick Low ‘04 appear in a commercial supporting Mufi’s campaign. Check it out…

When the 18th Annual KCCN FM100 Birthday Bash rolls around this weekend, two Iolani alumni will be rockin’ it on stage for the thousands in attendance on Friday night.

Christian Yrizarry ‘94 (left), formerly of Ho’onu’a, will be on stage as the lead singer for Beach 5 and Brandon Tucay ‘06 (right) will be keeping the beat behind the action as the full-time drummer for Kapena.

The 18th Annual Birthday Bash is a two-day event running Friday and Saturday at the Waikiki Shell from 4:30pm until the final “Hana Hou”. For the first time ever, the Birthday Bash will be televised live on Oceanic pay-per-view in standard definition (Channel 260) and HD (Channel 1260).

From the Honolulu Advertiser: In the 11 months since Kai Sensors Inc. was founded, the Manoa-based high-technology firm has won a prestigious national innovation award, received a six-figure contract from the U.S. Army to develop a chip for an unmanned ground sensor, and completed a prototype for a remote respiration monitoring system.

Kai Sensors was incorporated in August 2007 as a spinoff company of the Doppler radar technology that was developed at the University of Hawai’i. Researchers there came up with a way to detect human vital signs from a distance without contact with the subject.

Davin Kazama ‘94 (shown, center) is the VP of Business Development for the young company in charge of researching new markets for the company’s products and leading business development activities. He is the co-founder and President of e808.com, a local online retailer of Hawaiian goods and products, as well as the owner of popular ocean apparel line Kai Clothing. Kazama is also a member of the Iolani Alumni Association Board.

[Photo: Honolulu Advertiser]

Thomas Park ‘96, owner of Leather Soul, a high-end men’s shoe boutique in the Royal Hawaiian Center, was named the 2008 Hawaii State Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award identifies an individual who has successfully owned and operated a small business, increasing revenue, jobs, and demonstrating potential for long term success for at least three years before reaching the age of 30 at the time of the award.

See the complete list of 2008 SBA Small Business Award Winners »

Park also recently partnered with fellow alum Dean Shimamoto ‘94 to launch Hawaii PaperWorks, a China-based paper production company that specializes in custom paper shopping bags and gift boxes.

Event Date: Saturday, June 14th, 2008

In what has become a great tradition for Iolani families and alumni over the last few summers, the Iolani Alumni Association will again be hosting a free performance by one of Hawaii’s most beloved artists, the Makaha Sons.

Fresh off of a tour of Japan, “Moon, John and Jerome” will be playing under the warmth of the afternoon sun on the lawn in the Upper School Courtyard. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to gather with friends and family and enjoy a relaxing summer Saturday…

Again, admission is FREE. More details will become available as the date gets closer.

Iolani alumnus and current lead singer of Beach 5, Christian Yrizarry ‘94 made a brief appearance on the Travel Channel’s hit show, “No Reservations” when the cast and crew traveled to Hawaii to film a recent episode.

Photo: Christian (right) with host Anthony Bourdain (left) and radio personality Lanai Boy (middle) - Straying From the Norm

Now in its fourth season, “No Reservations” features Anthony Bourdain - best-selling author, food critic, renowned chef - as he travels the globe in search of the perfect dining experience.

Read more about “No Reservations” in Hawaii »

Hawaii Music Award winner Paul Shimomoto ‘86 recently appeared as a performer on “Night Time with Andy Bumatai”. Just in case you missed it…

Three recording artists with Iolani ties will be honored later this month when Johnny Kai and his Music Foundation of Hawaii present the 11th Annual Hawaii Music Awards at the Winners’ Banquet on March 15.

Best Contemporary Hawaiian Music Album: Paul Shimomoto ‘86, “Sentimental Alibi”

Best Island Contemporary Album: Mighty J, “Calling Out” (featuring Tiki Suan ‘94)

Best Pop Music Album: SDIB (San Diego Island Boys), “SDIB” (featuring Jeff Iwashita ‘98)

Having recently been promoted to company president, Daniel Ho ‘91 was the featured profile in last week’s issue of Pacific Business News. As the general manager at Hawaii Self Storage for the last two years, Ho was named to his new position a few months ago and currently oversees development, operations and sales and marketing at the state’s largest locally owned storage chain.

Hawaii Self-Storage has facilities in Salt Lake, Pearl City and Kaimuki and will be opening two new facilities in Mililani and Kapolei this year.

[Source: Pacific Business News]

Online voting ends today for the 11th Annual Hawaii Music Awards, a people’s choice competition honoring local musicians as well as international artists performing Hawaiian music throughout the world.

A number of artists with Iolani ties are eligible for awards this year, so please make your way to HawaiiMusicAwards.com and submit your vote. Anyone can log-on and submit up to one vote per day per email address.

Iolani Alumni Artists:
• Paul Shimomoto “Sentimental Alibi” - Paul Shimomoto ‘86 (Contemporary Hawaiian)
• Public Property “Movement” - David Bess ‘99 (Reggae)
• Mighty J “Calling Out” - Tiki Suan ‘94 (Island Contemporary)
• Beach 5 “Beach 5″ - Christian Yrizarry ‘94 (Island Contemporary)

Watch as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin follows former UH Wahine Volleyball standout Kanoe Kamana’o ‘03 at Opening Day of the 2008 Legislative Session.

Currently working as the office manager for State Senator David Ige, Kanoe joined Senator Ige’s staff late last fall during a special session convened to deal with the Hawaii Superferry.

Video filmed, edited and produced by Jason Genegabus ‘95, an entertainment and nightlife writer for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.