2013 HANAPI REUNION - COMMITTEE - FRIDAY - 7-19-13

THE REUNION COMMITTEE

ELIZABETH KIKUCHI, KERI KOBAYASHI, AND KENT KIKUCHI

Dee Slater, Darrell & Dory Farias,
 Eli Kikuchi & Diane Hughes

With humble hearts, we mourn the loss of Elizabeth Ahana Kikuchi and offer our sincerest condolences to her daughter, Keri Kobayashi, and her son, Kent Kikuchi and their families. Without Eli's efforts, I don't think we would have any 2013 Hanapi Reunion on Kauai. Because of her love of family she instilled in us the desire to fulfill the commitment we all made to complete what we set out to do. Each of us on the committee all agree that this is what she would have wanted even though she wouldn't be able to be present. We look forward to seeing Keri and Kent along with their families in joining with the rest of the Hanapi Ohana at future reunions to come.

DIANE HUGHES AND KEALA KAI

Diane Hughes, Wailani Bell

Everybody on the committee had to fill their assignments for the reunion to go smoothly. Diane Hughes and Keala Kai volunteered their home instead of us renting the War Memorial in Lihue. Diane also volunteered to take charge of the food and that was a biggie but she pulled it off just the way she planned it. What a giving spirit for the Hanapi Ohana to have someone like that taking charge of a big responsibility. That one thing of dropping the price of the food to $15 a head instead of the $60 and it even covered the Continental breakfast Saturday morning. That opened up the way for many Ohana who otherwise couldn't afford it to come and join us.

REGISTRATION

Wini Smith, Flynn Wood

Well, the day has arrived where we started the first day for registering for the Luau and T-Shirts. Was that a wake-up call as what had to be done. Wini Abbey Smith did a bang up job to keep track of who paid for what.really made it a challenge was that some paid ahead and some not at all. No one paid for T-Shirts and some didn't order in time so because of time constraints but Wini like a champ took on the challenge and made something look hard into something simple. I was happy to assist wherever possible to help ease the pain.

DORY AND DARRELL FARIAS - NAOMI TABONAR

Dory Farias, Naomi Tabonar

There's always those in the background doing all the tedious jobs arranging, calling, setting up and everything else that needs to be done and that's Dory, Darrell and Naomi. They were the supporting cast that made it all work smoothly so that everybody could have a good time and not miss a beat. Not only the food was excellent but the napkins, drinks, cups, plates and everything else was taken care of. We owe these three our heartfelt thanks because the reunion could be remembered as a memorable one. Dory did the Pule at the Wailua Marina on Satuday to start the events off and Naomi did the Oli of the Wailua area which gave it a personal touch that the Hanapi Ohana has with this Wailuanui-a-Hoano area. Dory and Lani Wong worked on the gravesite markers with the T-Shirt signs so you could find them easily. Dory also did the Pule for the Luau.

CLIFFORD AND LANI WONG - DEE SLATER

Dee Slater, Lani & Clifford Wong

These are the ones who made the leis for you to wear and feel welcomed. They kept looking for T-leaves and afterwards for freezer space to store them once they were ready for the reunion. In addition, the Wongs provided for the stew we ate Friday night to care for the work-a-bees and Ohana from the mainland who arrived to meet us and complete their registration as well as receive their T-Shirts if they ordered them ahead of time. They also helped with the Wailua Continental breakfast and Boat Ride to the Fern Grotto.

KALANI AND DEE SLATER

Kalani & Dee Slater

You can thank Kalani and Dee for taking these pictures for you to enjoy because you can associate names with faces. Who would have known that Kalani would be our in-house photographer. I didn't have to worry about taking pictures because he was on it like an opihi. They also took care of the group at the Wailua Boat Ride and guided them to the Anahola store and then to the Anahola Koolau Huiia Church. Kalani continued to practice his photography skills by taking pictures right up through the Luau and maybe beyond?

FLYNN WOOD AND WINI SMITH

Add caption

Finally on Saturday, after Kalani and Dee brought the Ohana from the Wailua Boat Ride to the Anahola Koolau Huiia Church, Flynn presented background information about the five gravesites. This same information is shown on the July 16, 2013 blog. While I was presenting the information about the gravesites, Dave Estes from Seattle was recording a video and brought it with him on Sunday for the viewing pleasure of all the Ohana present at the Sunday Luau. From the gravesites, Flynn led the group down to the Anahola Village where my grandmother, Elizabeth Bungo Ewaliko, the Carrillo Family, and the Wong Family lived together. We then moved on to see the Anahola beach where the Ewaliko families went swimming together. From the gravesites, Wini invited all the Ohana to visit her home in the Anahola Hawaiian Homestead to get to see the beautiful view she has of the Anahola Bay. All enjoyed themselves and were able to share their experiences together.

NEXT BLOG

The next blog will be about those from the Oahu and mainland Ohana who came Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the registration, the Wailua Marina Boat ride, and finally the Luau. You can still order T-Shirts in case you missed out. Please call Diane at 808-651-7830 to order. I would like to invite the Ohana who took pictures to send them to me so we can share to all those who were able to join us and those who were not available to be at the reunion.

A Hui Ho