Lions Club of Kona installs new officers
Lions Club of Kona installs new officers
An installation ceremony was held Monday at Teshima’s Restaurant for incoming officers of the Lions Club of Kona. Mitch Tam was elected club president for 2012-13. Tam has been an active member of the Lions Club of Kona for the past three years.
Kawika Marquez was elected to serve as the new club secretary. Joey Gusman is the club’s first vice president; David Bowden, second vice president; and Jane DeMello, third vice president.
Since the club’s chartering in 1934, its members have worked on a variety of projects in the community, such as Higashihara Park improvements, hearing and vision screenings and the Sight is Beautiful Poster contest. Proceeds from past fundraising events have gone to Konawaena High School scholarships, as well as supporting the club’s civic improvement projects. The club is co-sponsoring the Kailua-Kona Independence Day Parade, and also sponsors the Konawaena High School Leo Club.
The Lions Club of Kona has 62 members and meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at Teshima’s Restaurant in Honalo. Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs.
For more information or to get involved with the Lions Club of Kona, contact Don Sasaki at 987-1029 or visit e-clubhouse.org/sites/konahi.
Volunteers needed to remove fountain grass
Volunteers are invited to work with the Ocean View Community Association and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park staff to remove invasive fountain grass from roadsides in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) is a highly flammable bunch grass native to North Africa. This fire-promoting plant spreads quickly, and is one of the few invasive species that can colonize young lava flows that would otherwise serve as natural firebreaks. In August 2005, the weed contributed to the spread of a 25,000-acre wildfire that forced evacuation of Waikoloa Village. Fountain grass chokes out native plants and increases fire potential in natural areas. It is a problem for all districts around the island, especially leeward areas.
Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Ocean View Community Center. They should bring lunch, water, a hat and sunscreen.
For more information, call Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ecologist David Benitez at 985-6085 or email david_benitez@nps.gov.