As a Rotary Club we are under the Constitution of Rotary International, the
Bylaws of Rotary International, and the Standard Rotary Club Constitution, and
we subscribe to the Recommended Rotary Club Bylaws. All these may be found
on the Rotary.org website.
Ours is a small club with members from different countries and cultures. It was
chartered in Hilo, Hawaii in 2014 as a member of District 5000. As mentioned
above, we operate within the guidelines and requirements of Rotary International
and District 5000, and, like all clubs, our leaders have created paths of operation
that work well for our membership. The club was founded as a result of one of
Former International President Sakuji Tanaka’s Peace Forums. President Tanaka’s
motto was “Peace Through Service.”
Our club tends to operate by consensus in making decisions. The club supports
service projects and has a record of joining together to support several projects in
Myanmar in the past. Currently we have two on-going projects: the Heiwa Seed
Project, supervised by former President Ray Matsumiya, and the Marshallese
Water Truck Project, a joint project supervised by Executive Secretary/Director
Steve Yoshida and Benson Medina. Bina Nepram is working on a project proposal
for a Women’s Weaving Project in India. All of these are frequent topics at
meetings.
Members are suggested for the office of President-Elect by current officers,
nominated by consensus, considering leadership abilities, and confirmed by the
membership. As in most Rotary clubs, Club Presidents have a great deal of
responsibility. In addition to the President, the Club Board includes the President-
Elect, the Immediate Past President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director. The
President is encouraged to add other positions to the Board to meet the needs of
the club, and to appoint committees to help implement the club’s work.
Presidents work closely with their Boards, usually consulting through email on
club matters as they arise rather than holding scheduled meetings. Attention is
given to the privacy and security of members as we are international.