Aloha Fellow Rotarians,
As you know, for the past 65 years, the David Malo Awards Banquet has been the Rotary Club of West Honolulu’s “premier” event. This prestigious award honors someone of Hawaiian ancestry that has contributed to the perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture through arts, music, history, government, voyaging and exploration, sports, language, medicine and education. The David Malo Award Banquet for this year is currently in its planning phase.
This year, our 66th David Malo Award recipient is Mr. Imaikalani Kalahele. Mr. Kalahele is a Kanaka Maoli poet, artist, and musician whose work has appeared in various collections of Native Hawaiian literature. Some sources, such as the Library of Congress have even regarded Mr. Kalahele as a philosopher. Mr. Kalahele will be honored, at an award dinner/banquet at the Hale Koa Hotel on January 22, 2027.
Individuals desiring to attend the Banquet may register their attendance through the Club Runner portal which may be accessed through: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/7749/Events/david-malo-66th-banquet.
The cost to attend this event is $115.00 per person or $1150 if you are interested in purchasing a table of 10. Final RSVP is due on Friday, December 18, 2026. Please be sure to calendar this deadline and to register for your attendance ahead of the deadline.
Equally important is the planning of this event. We are looking for volunteers that would be interested in helping and serving on the David Malo Panning Committee. We meet once or twice per month on a Monday, via zoom at 5 PM. The meeting normally lasts not more than an hour. We encourage all new members to consider volunteering and learning about our David Malo and the annual Award in his name that we have made over the years in his honor.
We guarantee you, once you attend the award dinner / banquet you and your spouse will feel very proud to be a part the Rotary Club of West Honolulu. We are the only rotary club in Hawaii that puts on an event of this magnitude that honors someone of Hawaiian ancestry and we look forward to continuing this tradition in honor of the many Hawaiian men and women in our community.
Mahalo for your consideration. We look forward to having you serve on the committee and your attendance at the award dinner.
Cleigh Pang & Richard Ing
Co-Chairs David Malo Award Banquet