The 2023 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Civil Service Employee goes to Eunice Domingo. Eunice has been with CTAHR Hawaiʻi County for more than 30 years! She exhibits exceptional dedication and commitment to the achievement of Hawaiʻi County’s program objectives. She has played a pivotal role in implementing key initiatives and projects, and by keeping people accountable to meet deadlines. 

With partners from Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Hilo and Kona, CTAHR’s Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death team hosted the statewide seventh annual ‘Ohia Love fests. This year’s theme was Ka ʻUpena O Ke Ola, a metaphor for how life is interconnected mauka to makai, like a fishing net, and ʻōhiʻa is a keystone species that holds it all together, explains Charlotte Godfrey-Romo.

With farmers are being hurt by reduced sales and loss of markets during the COVID-19 crisis, the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau (HFB), in partnership with the County of Hawai‘i and generous non-profit entities, has developed a program to purchase produce and meats from commercial farmers and livestock producers on Hawai‘i Island for distribution to families in need. The Food Basket and other channels will distribute the products.

Fighting plant pests is just one of the many ways Nick Yamauchi, Dylan Cunningham, Matt Miyahira, Andrea Kawabata, Elizabeth Whitney, Yoshiaki Higashide, Justin Yeh, and other CTAHR faculty and staff on Hawai‘i Island are working diligently to keep grant-funded projects moving forward, while maintaining social distancing and other precautions.

Community support from volunteer club leaders and engaged parents is key to the survival of our Hawai‘i 4-H program. In return, during the COVID-19 pandemic, East Hawai‘i 4-H members from the Super Stars 4-H Club and Hawai‘i Island 4-H Shooting Sports Club are making the best of shelter-in-place orders by sewing face masks for community members who need them.