FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       June 13, 2006   Release M-62-06

HAWAII 4-H FOUNDATION HONORS HANNEMANN  

            At its annual statewide 4-H Ahaolelo last weekend, the Hawaii 4-H Foundation honored Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann as the recipient of its 2006 Gifts to Ali‘i Award.

            The ahaolelo, annual statewide conference, drew 4-H members from all four counties and was held at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The annual Gifts to Ali‘i award began in 1953, when Governor and Mrs. Samuel Wilder King were chosen as persons who “symbolize the highest type of leadership in Hawaii.”  The recipients receive representative products of the land from across Hawaii.

            David Morihara, Hawaii 4-H Foundation president, said, “We choose somebody who has shown outstanding leadership, who serves not only the youth, but the people of Hawaii.”

            “I am truly honored to receive this award from a group that has been helping young people be productive citizens in the Islands for almost a century,” said Hannemann. “It is humbling to join the company of Ali‘i award winners, who include former mayors Neal Blaisdell and Frank Fasi and every governor from Samuel King through John Waihee.”

            More than 7 million young people, ages 5 to 19, participate in 4-H clubs nationally, learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. (The four Hs are head, heart, hands and health.) The 4-H clubs have their roots in agriculture – and are supported by land grant colleges nationwide, but they now include many urban members.

             In Hawaii, 4-H has had a presence since 1918. The tradition of the 4-H Ahaolelo, or annual Hawaii-wide conference, began in the late 1940s. The UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources supports 4-H in Hawaii in a variety of ways. More than 35,000 young people in Hawaii are touched by 4-H programs annually.

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Contact:

Bill Brennan, 527-6928

Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767