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]

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.

Team Shimamoto captured the 2008 Iolani Alumni League “A” Division Championship with a final record of 4-2, one game ahead of second place finishers Team Tanaka (’94/’95) and Team Hirata (’03/’04).

Team Shimamoto: Corey Yamashita ‘93, Dean Shimamoto ‘94, Adam Wong ‘94, Cord Anderson ‘99, Joe Udell ‘02, Bricen McCartney ‘08, Berton Wong ‘08, Taylor Mounts ‘08 (Not Pictured: Dean Shin ‘93, Travis Grobe ‘00)

Final Four Schedule: Friday, July 25
• 7:00pm - Downie ‘97 vs. Shimizu ‘06
• 7:50pm - Chun ‘80 vs. Pacheco ‘98

Third place and championship games will be played on Saturday, July 26 at 5:00 and 5:50 pm.

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).

More for you to read from the people that you went to school with… Some professional, some not, yet all entertaining in their own way. Enjoy!

Iolani Alumni - Blogs:
• Prep Talk - Wes Nakama ‘86
• Quarterlife Cafe - Kim Fassler ‘02
• Pulpconnection - Greg Yamane ‘90
• Katsuyoshi.org - Clayton Katsuyoshi ‘92
• Life in Vietnam - Greg Nakajo ‘94
• The Diary of an Enginerd - Ryan Kanno ‘96
• RemyOmar - Remy Hiramoto ‘88
• Straying From the Norm - Michael Ni ‘01

Additions:
• How to Change the World - Guy Kawasaki ‘72
• So Necessary… - Jason Genegabus ‘95
• Bytemarks - Burt Lum ‘73
• Olympic Dream - Taylor Takata ‘00
• The Notebook - Peter Boylan ‘97

If you know of any others, please post them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list. Mahalo!

Add an Iolani Alumni Blog »

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.

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 »

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)

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)

Their name may not be familiar, but their sound is unmistakable.

In a collaboration with former Ho’onu’a bandmate Sani Apuakehau, Christian Yrizarry ‘94 recently released the self-titled debut album for his newly formed group Beach 5. Named for the duo’s favorite beach spot (Makapu’u), Beach 5 takes an updated spin on the “feel good island sound” that Ho’onu’a made popular over the past decade.

As a part of Ho’onu’a, Christian released three albums which included a number of memorable singles including “When I Think About You”, “Blue Light” and “Passion Love” among many others while Sani, who actually attended Iolani School with the Class of ‘92 until second grade, released two solo albums of his own, the second under Christian’s production company label, Feel Good Entertainment.

See them on Hot Hawaiian Nights on K5 » (Windows Media)
Buy the album at e808.com »

Since opening on September 16th, the Honolulu production of Disney’s “The Lion King” has received rave reviews from Hawaii residents both young and old in its opening week and have many more eagerly awaiting their chance to see the elaborate production for themselves.

One Iolani graduate has already seen the show probably more times than she can remember, but not from the seats like everyone else… As the lone cheetah in the ensemble cast, Charlaine Katsuyoshi ‘94 is finally back home in the islands to perform for friends and family after being away for nearly 13 years touring with professional dance companies throughout the mainland.

KITV’s Pamela Young (and her “Mixed Plate” crew) caught up with the company on the road in St. Louis, Missouri and spoke with Charlaine about her time with the cast and explored the inner workings of her intricate costume. Watch the video »

Note: Charlaine is the younger sister of Iolani graduates Craig ‘85 and Clayton Katsuyoshi ‘92.

Tune in to K5 tonight at 9:30pm to catch Mailani, Tiki (Suan) ‘94, and Jenn, otherwise known as Mighty J, on Hawaii’s new prime time talk show, “Night Time with Andy Bumatai“.

The group, who recently released their debut album “Calling Out“, will appear with Bumatai (shown) in studio at the Honolulu Design Center to talk about their music as well as perform a few cuts from their album.

[Photo: Honolulu Advertiser]

A new champion was crowned on Wednesday night when Red Division Champion Team Tanaka defeated Black Division Champion Team Hirata 64-55 in the title game of the 2007 Iolani Alumni Basketball League. Kanoa Leahey ‘95 and John Stepien ‘95 led the way for Team Tanaka with 17 and 15 points respectively. Kyle Pape ‘05 and Ryan Hirata ‘04 pitched in 20 and 18 in a losing effort.

In the battle for third place, Team Pacheco defeated Team Kawahara 42-28.

2007 Iolani Alumni League Overall Champions (left to right): Josh Obrey ‘94, Doug Lange ‘94, Kanoa Leahey ‘95, John Stepien ‘95, Micah Banton ‘95, Mark Ambler ‘95, Jerry Tanaka ‘95

Continue Reading »

The award-winning Broadway musical, The Lion King is coming to town this fall and among the many gifted dancers touring with the cast is Iolani alumnus Charlaine Katsuyoshi ‘94.

Since graduating from UC Irvine with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in 1997, Charlaine has danced professionally for the last 10 years in several highly regarded dance companies including MOMIX and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She has since moved on to tour nationally with The Lion King and is an ensemble dancer in the talented cast.

The Lion King will be performing at Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall from September 15 - December 9, 2007. Tickets are still available.