December 2024 Gleanings
Happy holidays and happy New Year! We're wrapping up 2024 in this issue with a photostory of our super-enjoyable Torch of Light holiday luncheon, featuring retired Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Dan Foley.
Next issue -- an introduction to the new BIPC Board! We're sorry to see Michael Phillips and Royelen Boykie leaving our board, but we sure plan to call on their unique talents in the coming year. You don't have to be a board member to contribute your talents. New committees are forming, so check with President Tiffany Edwards Hunt (newswoman@mac.com) to see where you fit in. Our club runs on the strength of all our members, not just the board.
Nor do you have to be a board member to attend our board meetings. While you can't vote, your comments receive due consideration nonetheless.
Next Meeting: 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 via Zoom. Email Secretary Nancy Cook Lauer at nclauer@gmail.com for a link.
Dan Foley - Torch of Light
Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Daniel Foley, the recipient of the Big Island Press Club's annual meritorious Torch of Light Award, offered hope for even more improvements to transparency and ethics in the upcoming legislative session.
Mahalo, Michael Phillips
Former BIPC President Michael Phillips was honored with a Leadership Award for almost three years of innovative and transformative leadership, taking BIPC to new levels.
Mahalo, Royelen Boykie
Director Royelen Boykie never sought the spotlight, but she was instrumental in bringing our first student interns onboard to promote social media and special projects.
Leonard, Dayton win awards
Chris Leonard, BIPC member of the year, and Kevin Dayton, winner of the ʻOʻo Award for in-depth reporting, were visiting family on the continent and unable to join us. Here, President Tiffany Edwards Hunt shows off their trophies.
Message from the President
Growth, resilience, and careful planning – those are the key pursuits for the upcoming Year of the Snake, and hopefully for our press club under my leadership this year.
I’m writing to you a month before the Chinese New Year begins, but only days before our typical calendar marks 2025. It’s a couple of weeks after our Torch of Light luncheon that brought dozens of people to Waikoloa to listen to the very compelling talk by Judge Foley on his remarkable work from the judicial branch and raised several thousand dollars for our scholarship funds, thanks to the internet auction we hosted.
As we embark on this new year, let’s be careful to plan more compelling events and ensure our membership continues to grow and our club remains resilient. Be on the lookout for others in the community that exude the characteristics of Judge Foley, committed to openness and transparency. We want to celebrate those keepers of light!
Many of you are very busy and engrossed in your lives and in politics and in your charitable pursuits, but hopefully in this new year you’ll make some time for the press club. Try to get involved in our committees, to help with planning for events like our Torch of Light luncheon, our Scholarship dinner, and our Newsmaker luncheons. Hopefully, you will show us board members grace in your opinions about what we should and should not be doing as a club, knowing that the volunteerism is thin. But rest assured that our desire to stay resilient as a club is strong.
Let’s all focus on our club’s continual growth in encouraging membership and increasing our scholarship coffers, and let’s ensure that we carefully plan out whatever events we put together to attract our own membership and the greater community. We know our cause is noble, and we want to get the word out to others that they should be on the bandwagon with us. Our first board meeting of 2025 is at 9 am, Saturday, Jan. 11 via Zoom. All members are welcome to attend. In the meantime, please help to spread the word that we are accepting scholarship applications until March. Visit our website for details.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Your president, Tiffany E Hunt
2024 Big Island Press Club Board
Mahalo to the 2024 Board for your service!
President: Tiffany Edwards Hunt, former journalist, middle school teacher
newswoman@mac.com
Vice President: John Burnett, journalist, Tribune-Herald <jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald.
com>
Treasurer: Robert Duerr, filmmaker and journalist, Hawaii Fishing News <surf77@me.com>
Secretary: Nancy Cook Lauer, retired journalist, blogger www.allhawaiinews.com
<nclauer@gmail.com>
Director: Ross Wilson, PR, Current Events rossw@current-events.com
Director: Royelen Lee Boykie, retired digital strategist and fundraiser
<Royelen@bigislandpressclub.org>
Director: Patsy Iwasaki, professor, University of Hawaii-Hilo
<piwasaki@hawaii.edu>
Director: Jim Wilson, retired publisher, Hawaii Tribune-Herald jimwilsonvolcanocottage@gmail.com
Immediate Past President: Michael Phillips, meteorologist & earth science news reporter mphillips@weatherboy.com
