This year the annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet  was held on October 11 at Hale Pohaku.  The ceremony began at 5:00 p.m. with a pule from Kimo and son, Moana Pihana, with the help of Nanea Thomas, daughter of volunteer, Terry Thomas.  All attendees were well fed with prime rib, fresh marlin, and clam chowder.

Once everyone was settled in their seats, Volunteer Coordinator, Callie McNew presented a video that she had put together with the help of Institute for Astronomy’s Kenyan Beals and Gary Fujihara.  The video was filled with the staff of Mauna Kea’s observatories saying thank you to the volunteers, spliced together with images

of the volunteers hard at work.  Once additional footage of volunteers receiving awards is added to the film, it will be submitted to the local cable channel, Living In Paradise, to be played for the entire month of November.

The keynote presentation was delivered by Dr. Andy Adamson, the Associate Director of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Facility.  Dr. Adamson presented on the most recent findings and research being conducted from each observatory on Mauna Kea. 

Then the moment everyone was waiting for… awards!  Each volunteer was presented a Certificate of Appreciation with the number of hours they contributed along with a gift bag filled with Mauna Kea Observatory logo gloves, an LED flashlight with an option for a blinking and streaming red light, star shaped sunglasses, and a “Heaven on Earth” Mauna Kea card. 

There were 14 special contribution awards presented during the ceremony.  Each special award winner was given a Mauna Kea Observatory logo fleece with their name and award title embroidered on it. Chisato Sakaguchi was presented the “Special Musical and Cultural Contributions” for her outstanding performances playing the Japanese instrument, Koto.  She also played a song later on in the banquet.  Deb Cooper was named the “Most Hospitable Volunteer” for her consistent cleanliness around the Visitor Station and she always makes the best cookies!  Nathan Secrest, an astronomy student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, was distinguished as having the “Best Images of the Year.”  Ron Thomas couldn’t make it to the ceremony, but was certainly deserving of his “Special Contributions” Award.  Kohei Yamazaki was identified as the “Outstanding International Student Volunteer”.  Art Miller, a retired chemistry professor at U.H. Hilo was recognized as always going “Above and Beyond.”  Josh Walawender of the Institute for Astronomy was awarded “Imaging Kumu O Mauna Kea” for his significant impact in teaching staff and volunteers how to use the imaging system.  Dave Brennen was presented the “I Ka Mea Hanohano” award or “To the Honorable Speaker” for his excellence in communicating astronomy to the public.  Andrew Cooper of the Keck Observatories was recognized as “Most Enthusiastic” for his passionate approach to amateur astronomy and sharing that excitement with the public.  Jeanette Ostrander received the “Long-Standing Contributions”Award for her continuous support since 2000.  Dan Birchall was given the “Universal Traveller” Award for his ability to travel all around the world and still manage to contribute over 250 hours this year.  Richard and Marian Hilliard were named “Ohana O Ka Lani” or “Family of the Sky”. 

Cliff Livermore received the first ever Hoku ‘Alua award for over 2,000 lifetime volunteer hours and named the “Most Dedicated” Volunteer of 2008.  Richard Hilliard received a Hoku award for over 1,000 lifetime volunteer hours and was named the “Volunteer of the Year.”

Inge Heyer of the Joint Astronomy Centre, Mary Beth Laychak of Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Gary Fujihara of the Institute for Astronomy, Sandra Dawson of the Thirty-Meter Telescope, John Hamilton and Christian Anderson of the University of Hawaii Physics and Astronomy Department, and Ron Koehler of the Mauna Kea Support Services all came to show their support for the volunteers.

The fun night ended with a sing-along song called “Take Me Home, Sadde Road” written by Terry Thomas to the tune of “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, and of course the Milky Way Toast to John Altonn, Rowland Casile, and Earl Farnsworth.  The ceremony was dedicated in memory of Altonn, Casile, and Farnsworth for their unforgettable support to the Volunteer Program and Mauna Kea, and a plaque with their names on it is now displayed at the Visitor Information Station.

MAHALO VOLUNTEERS!

500 HOURS

Clifford Livermore
Richard Hilliard
Kohei Yamazaki

250 HOURS

Nathan Secrest
Dan Birchall

100 HOURS

Art Miller, Ron Thomas, Josh Walawender, Chisato Sakaguchi, Yoshie Yoshio, Jeanette Ostrander, Mary Betancourt, Andrew Cooper, Katherine Hall, Tamara Bovet, Aiko Oki, Terry Thomas, Lori Fritz, Marian Hilliard, Chris Kealoha, Alex Richert, Arika Takemura, Deb Cooper, Etsuro Okamoto, Basil Maurer, Jenna Hines, Michelle Guitard, Dave Brennen, Yuri Mizutani, Takae Nitto, Donn Mukensnable, and Charles Wolf

OVER 25 HOURS

Hiroko Komiyama, Eric Knutson, Sophia Cockrell, Raymond Lara, Joanna Bebenek, Alex Mukensnable, Yoshitsugu Nitto, Stanley Hoo, Robert Knight, John Sillasen, Lorna Wilson, Sunny Stewart, Melissa Winwood, Kalona Klopfenstein, Stephen Majors, Lanae Akiona, David Trang, William Montgomerie, Kotaro Uchida, Christy Janisch, Yoshimi Okoshi, Keely Urbanich, Dirk Haldeman, Sojin Han, Heather Kaluna, Amanda Uraiqat, Yasunori Yamanashi, Jeffrey Aurelio, Yuka Kogane, Marla Fisher, Corey Hachey, Susaku Hanashiro, Sean Maneely, Jeff Berk, Galen Bratton,  Britney Carey, Taylor Chonis, Jason Matz, Chris Belluardo, Donald Blackwell