House Honors Bishop Museum's 125th anniversary, Business Leaders, and Unsung Military Heroes

The state House of Representatives honored the Bishop Museum on its 125th anniversary, four inductees to the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, and three veteran war heroes who have since made significant contributions to the community.

Bishop Museum was recognized on its 125th anniversary for promoting the culture and history of Hawaii. Taking part in the floor presentation was Bishop Museum President and CEO Blair Collis; Allison Holt Gendreau, Chair of the museum’s Board of Directors; board member Watters O. Martin, Jr.; and Dr. Yoshiko Sinoto, Bishop Museum’s Kenneth Pike Emory Distinguished Chair in
Anthropology.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the great granddaughter of King Kamehameha I. Princess Pauahi witnessed a 65 percent decline in the Native Hawaiian population in her lifetime, and she and Charles worried about the loss of her people and culture that was rapidly disappearing. Inspired by the great museums that they has seen on their travels through Europe, Pauahi and Charles dreamed of a museum that would preserve Pauahi’s Hawaiian heritage, and five years after his wife’s passing, Charles brought this vision to life.

During the floor presentation two long-time distinguished members of the Bishop Museum, Dr. Yoshiko Sinoto and Pat Namaka Bacon, were recognized for their work and contributions to the museum. During Sinoto’s tenure as senior anthropologist, the museum became one of the core research institutions of the Pacific. He is renowned for his research on fishhook typologies and Marquesan prehistory, and has made significant contributions to the fields of Hawaiian and Pacific archaeology over the last 59 years.

Pat Namaka Bacon was a Bishop Museum senior cultural advisor, who spent more than 50 years in various capacities, including archiving, translating and transcribing Hawaiian recordings and manuscripts. Orphaned at birth, Bacon was raised in the hanai tradition by noted Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pakui. Bacon’s daughter Dodie Brown accepted the proclamation on her mother’s behalf.

Three outstanding community minded military leaders were also honored by the House. They included: Tim Guard, Chairman and CEO, McCabe, Hamilton & Remy; Ron Hayes, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired; and Joe Vasey, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired. These individuals have distinguished themselves, not only as outstanding former military leaders, but also as civic leaders who have made a difference in the state through their significant contributions to the community at large.

The House also paid tribute to the 2014 Junior Achievement of Hawaii Business Hall of Fame laureates. They included:

• Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele entrepreneur
• Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
• Ben Nakaoka, Chairman of the Board, Junior Achievement of Hawaii
• Kimberly Canepa, president, Junior Achievement of Hawaii
• Wayne Kamitaki, co-owner, Ace Hardware and Ben Franklin

Since 1975, the U.S. Business Hall of Fame presented by Junior Achievement has honored men and women who have made outstanding contributions to free enterprise and to the community. The Junior Achievement of Hawaii’s Business Hall of Fame recognizes laureates who have helped mold our free enterprise system, and who continue to reshape and improve the manner in which businesses operates in Hawaii.