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Upfront News 2
ARDA Hawaii Gives Scholarships While SPCA Maui Helps Fix Cats
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September 21, 2011 | 12:12 PM ARDA-HAWAII AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS
Chassidy Sakamoto and Bronson Maulupe-Kanae, two Hawaii Pacific University students from Kahului, were awarded $1,000 from the American Resort Development Association of Hawaii's (ARDA-Hawaii) Steve Hirano Memorial Scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Maulupe-Kanae graduated from Maui High School in 2009 and is scheduled to graduate from HPU with a bachelor's degree in the spring of 2013. His parents are Clarke and Miriam Maulupe-Kanae. Sakamoto, who also hails from Kahului, is a 2010 graduate of H.P. Baldwin High School and should graduate in the spring of 2014. She is the daughter of Jason Sakamoto and Rosalind Kaholokula.
Bronson is currently studying in Nagoya, Japan and plans to use the funds for this trip. "My future plans involve interacting with tourists of many different backgrounds," Maulupe-Kanae says.
Sakamoto will be using her scholarship funds for fall semester at HPU. "I want to be a future leader in the hospitality industry," says Chassidy. "By spring 2014, I will graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, double majoring in Travel Industry Management and General Business. I am currently seeking internship opportunities on Oahu in order for me to start networking with prospective employers and companies and begin acquiring the job skills needed to be successful in the hospitality industry."
"Bronson and Chassidy exemplify the kind of driven and ardent students and young professionals Hawaii needs in timeshare and travel industry management," says ARDA-Hawaii Chair Daniel Dinell, who is also Regional Vice President of Sales & Marketing Programs for Hilton Grand Vacations Club's Asia/Pacific region. "The generosity of the donors and sponsors who support the scholarship fund make it possible for us to continue helping students pursuing careers in our state's most prominent industry."
Each year, ARDA-Hawaii raises money from its annual golf tournament to support the Steve Hirano Memorial Scholarship fund, created as a tribute to the late public affairs executive and long-time supporter of the timeshare industry in Hawaii. ARDA-Hawaii established the scholarship to facilitate the education of students attending HPU and to provide an opportunity for students to pursue a career in the timeshare industry, especially those from Hawaii. To qualify for consideration, applicants must be enrolled full-time in the TIM program with a Junior or Senior class status, and have a 3.20 minimum GPA.
Since its inception seven years ago, the ARDA-Hawaii Golf Tournament has raised more than $70,000 for the scholarship fund. ARDA-Hawaii is the local chapter of the American Resort Development Association, the national timeshare trade association. The state's timeshare units account for 13 percent of the state's visitor lodging inventory and thousands of jobs. You can learn more about "Timeshare with Aloha" at www.ARDA.org.
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SPCA MAUI HELPS FIX CATS
Chances are you've seen a feral cat or 12 on Maui. MauiTime reported on the problem of the island's wild cats back in November 2009. Since then the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) formed a chapter here as an all-volunteer non-profit player in the homeless pets issue on the the Valley Isle. SPCA Maui's goal is dedicated to "no more homeless pets" on Maui and ending the killing of companion animals as a means to population control. It is a lofty goal, though within a year of forming they have just accomplished a marathon of fixing felines: 178 cats in eight hours.
Whitney White, SPCA Maui's president, says their focus right now is on providing affordable accessible spay/neuter services without regard to ability to pay and they have a S/N Assistance Program (SNAP) that partners with local veterinarians.
"Our immediate goal is to raise enough funds so that all we can provide spay/neuter to services to all who ask for our assistance," says White. "We are also working to raise $200,000 to acquire, staff and maintain a mobile spay/neuter facility that can help reach communities like Hana and Kahakaloa or even Lanai or Molokai."
Their recent efforts to spay/neuter the 178 cats was a joint effort with the Maui Humane Society and the Feline Foundation. With help from Maui Humane Society staff and more than 20 volunteers from SPCA and the Feline Foundation, tents and tables were set up and the cats were registered and checked in for surgery. Members from the community came from as far away as Hana to utilize the much needed services.
"The expression herding cats is appropriate," was how White described the efforts to coordinate a mass spay/neuter event. "Many hours go into preparation, scheduling, promoting, with many more hours dedicated to trapping and returning community or feral cats. Hundreds of volunteer hours go into events like this one though every spay/neuter clinic gets easier, more affordable, and requires less volunteer hours."
The surgeries were performed by Dr. Hatt, a Hawaii-based and licensed veterinarian. Hatt's team worked with precision in MHS's conference room with stations for examination, sedation and pre-surgical prep. All cats received a tattoo for identification. Additionally, the feral cats received a small identifying notch in the ear. After surgery caring volunteers monitored the recovery.
Just a few hours after surgery, caretakers and owners were contacted and began returning to pick-up their newly fixed cats. Any feral cats were registered as part of Feline Foundation's Trap/Neuter/Return Management program and were returned to the location where they were trapped, to (hopefully) live out their lives as healthy, non-reproducing animals.
The SPCA wants to create a mobile spay neuter facility and a "no-kill" sanctuary. In the mean time, all funds will go directly to spay/neuter services and education. The SPCA supports the work of Maui's other animal non-profits and hopes everyone can work together to create alternatives to the killing of animals for population control.
"Fund raising in these tough times is always a challenge," says White. "Raising funds for spay and neuter can be tougher than raising money for a shelter because we are trying to prevent litters of those cute puppies and kittens, not find them homes. Although we know that spay/neuter is the only way to 'fix' our pet over-population problem and stop the killing, it just isn't that warm and fuzzy."Maui's Intrepid Food Taster: Will Eat and Drink Anything
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