Kurisu is also a director of Island Holdings and Oahu Publications.
Toastmasters sets open house for Feb. 7
Kona Toastmasters will hold an open house from 6 to 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Suite Possibilities, 75-5737 Kuakini Highway, No. 102, Kailua-Kona. Light pupu and beverages will be provided.
The organization meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. The public is welcome.
For more information, visit konatoastmasters.com, email aloha@konatoastmasters.com or call Lynn Bell at 989-7494 or Amadeus Schuller at 280-3337.
Four authors featured at Feb. 7 event
The free “Words and Wine” event from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 7 at Kona Stories bookstore offers the public a chance to meet and greet some of Kona’s authors while enjoying pupu and wine. The Feb. 7 event will feature four authors traveling to the island — Ron Talney, Elissa Elliott, Ken Cohen and Grace Alvarez Sesma.
Talney is the author of the mystery strip tease novel, “Nocker’s Up,” where Candi is a stripper at night and a conservative during the day; Elliott blends biblical tradition with recorded history to put a powerful new twist on the story of creation’s first family in her novel “Eve;” Cohen, a health educator, qigong master and practitioner of indigenous medicine, is the author of “The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing” and “Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing;” and Sesma, a former administrator of a psychiatric partial hospitalization program, an energy healer and teacher, has penned “Meditations for InterSpiritual Wisdom,” a collection of articles on meditation and prayer in different spiritual traditions.
Kona Stories is located in Keauhou Shopping Center. For more information, call Brenda or Joy at 324-0350.
Kurisu appointed to Central Pacific Financial board
Central Pacific Financial Corp. has announced the appointment of Duane K. Kurisu to the CPF board of directors. Kurisu has served on the Central Pacific Bank board of directors since September 2004 and will continue to serve as a director of both boards.
Kurisu is involved in numerous and varied businesses and industries in Hawaii and abroad. He is a real estate investor and owns and manages office buildings, shopping centers, and industrial parks in Hawaii and Washington. He is also the chairman, CEO, and owner of aio, a holding company for brands focused on Hawaii and the Pacific in the areas of media, sports and food. The media group consists of: PacificBasin Communications, which publishes a variety of local publications; Watermark Publishing; Talisman LBS, a mobile software company; and Upspring Media, a digital media development and consulting company. KKEA 1420 AM, KHKA 1500 AM, B. Hayman Co., and Hawaii Winter Baseball comprises the sports group. Punaluu Bake Shop, Hukilau Restaurants in San Francisco, San Jose, and Hawaii, and Nutricopia, a nutraceutical company headquartered in Vermont are the principal companies in the food group.
Kurisu is also a director of Island Holdings and Oahu Publications.