As the President of the Rotary Club of Pearlridge, Doreen Higa has expanded her exceptional leadership skills to guide her club to win numerous awards and recognition in Saturday's Rotary Awards Banquet held at the Hale Koa Hotel.
Rotary Awards
2011/2012
Finalist (medium club) Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Membership Development
Vocational Service
Community Service
International Service
New Generations
1st Runner-up (medium club) Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Membership Net Increase
Foundation Participation
Per Capital
1st Place Award (medium club) Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Annual Giving (highest amount given by medium club) $9,357
2011-12 District 5000 Literacy Award Rotary Club of Pearlridge
(for recognition of significant efforts to promote literacy)
2011-2012 Presidential Citation Rotary Club of Pearlridge
(for extraordinary achievements in membership and Foundation giving: 100% participation in Annual Programs Fund contributions and US $100 minimum per capita in contributions to the Annual Programs Fund; Minimum net increase of one member and 85% minimum retention rate)
2011-12 Changemaker Award Rotary Club of Pearlridge
(for making positive and significant change in the community and the world)
Club Builder Award Rotarian from Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Club of The Year Rotary Club of Pearlridge
President Higa is well known for her outstanding accomplishments as the Principal of Momilani Elementary School in Pearl City. Those accomplishments include being ranked as the top public school in Hawaii as well as being recognized as a three time winner of the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School award.
Saturday's Rotary awards are the result of hard work by President Higa and the forty-five dedicated Rotary Club of Pearlridge community volunteers who made a difference here in Hawaii and on a Global level.
"Forty plus Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Pearlridge helped with our commitments to vocational, community, international, new generations (youth and education) endeavors," said Higa.
Pearlridge Rotarians accomplished their goals with a vision set on Rotary International's theme, "Reach within to Embrace Humanity."
"This year the Rotary Club of Pearlridge Rotarians dedicated themselves to Rotary International's theme "Reach within to Embrace Humanity." Each Rotarian held strong to our "Service Above Self" and the "Four-Way Test of the Things We Think Say and Do" guiding principles."
"Four Way Test"
1. Is it the truth;
2. Is it fair to all concerned,
3. Will it bring good will and better friendships
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned
President Higa had a very busy 2011/2012 as she lead the club and her school through many community events and causes here in Hawaii and in the Far East.
"I am so humbled to have served as President of The Rotary Club of Pearlridge this year. Coupled with my duties as Principal of Momilani Elementary, I have been a very, very busy person traveling to Ena, Japan to lead a delegation to our sister club's 50th Anniversary Celebration, to Hyuga City, Japan to participate in our biannual sister school student exchange and to participate in the Rotary International Convention in Bangkok, Thailand. Some of our projects during the year also included work with the Urban Garden in Pearl City, helping to promote education in Thailand, community projects with Aiea Interact Club, and more."
As an educator, President Higa led a group of Pearlridge Rotarian volunteers in the annual Dictionary 5000 Project that distributed free dictionaries to third graders in five schools that represented the Pearl City and Aiea districts. The club also presented a Good Citizen Award which included a $100 savings bond to one boy and one girl from each school at the end of the school year.
"Looking back over this 2011-12 year, with education as my theme, five boys and five girls received $100 savings bonds as best models of citizenship in their third grade classes. Also in the five schools, Webling, Waiau, Palisades, Lehua, and Momilani, every third grade student received a dictionary of their own. These school libraries received autographed books from our weekly speakers."
As President Higa prepares to leave behind a remarkable year of service at the end of June, the transition from the club's top leadership position is going to be a smooth one as incoming 2012-2013 President Tony Lorenzo prepares to hit the ground running.
"The Rotary Club of Pearlridge will continue strong with the incoming leadership of Tony Lorenzo. Great things are in store for our club."
I would like to personally thank President Higa for a great job this past year. As a current Rotary Club of Pearlridge Board Member, it's an amazing experience for me to work with so many dedicated individuals on humanitarian projects that benefited those in need in the communities we reached. President Higa made it fun and personally rewarding as we all focused on truly making a difference.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Rotary Club of Pearlridge President Doreen Higa presents a third grader from Palisades Elementary School with a free dictionary during the Dicitionary 5000 Project conducted at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Rotary Club of Pearlridge President and Momilani Elementary School Principal Doreen Higa along with Pearlridge Rotarians and Momilani third grade teachers is pictured presenting Momilani Elementary School third grader Ka'eo Bailon with a Good Citizen Award in May during an awards assembly held in the school cafeteria. Momilani third grader Taylor Alani (not pictured) also received a Good Citizen Award.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
President Higa (third from left) pictured with volunteers from the Aiea High School Interact Club at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Saturday, April 28, 2012.
Volunteers joined forces to help construct a new pergola in the Urban Garden Center's Rose Garden.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
President Higa pictured with Rotary Club of Pearlridge volunteers and husband Roy (far right) in the putting booth at the 2nd Annual Party at the Plaza fundraiser to benefit TACA – Talk About Curing Autism on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at the Waimalu Shopping Center.
Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Silom (Thailand)
On June 18 the Rotary Club of Silom dedicated a hemodialysis machine at Amnat Charoen Hospital. The Rotary Club of Silom thanked both the Pearl Harbor and Rotary Club of Pearlridge for their generous contributions to the lifesaving humanitarian project in Thailand. (A renal patient raises his hand to say he is feeling well from the dialysis treatment.)
Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Silom (Thailand)
Mahalo banner recognizing Pearl Harbor and the Rotary Club of Pearlridge from District 5000 for their efforts in the "Second Chance at Life", Rotary Foundation Humanitarian Service Project in Thailand.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Incoming Rotary Club of Pearlridge President Tony Lorenzo is ready to make an impact in 2012-2013.