PUHI — The Contractors Association of Kaua‘i announced seven scholarship recipients, and turned over the collection of food and funds collected during a Tuesday afternoon meeting held at Gaylord’s at Kilohana who opened the facility for the occasion.
The food collection is a long-standing tradition with the CAK who gathers food for a nonprofit organization during its meetings, and Rae Hiramoto made special accommodations to host CAK for its meeting where Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering provided the exotic box meal.
Zachary and Julia Safford were announced as the first set of siblings to earn CAK Scholarships, Zachary being the recipient of the Guy Matsunaga Memorial scholarship for $1,500 that was established by Judge Gerald Matsunaga in memory of his father who was a charter member of the CAK.
Zachary, a junior civil engineering major at the University of Notre Dame, was unable to attend the gathering because of training with the Air Force ROTC in Alabama.
Julia, the daughter of Laura Goodrich, and a 2020 Kaua‘i High School graduate, earned one of two $1,000 Kenneth Shioi Memorial scholarships that were established through a scholarship program in his name and administered by the CAK to help Kaua‘i students who aspire to be part of the next generation of construction professionals.
Julia will be attending Saint Mary’s College in Indiana where she plans on pursuing a civil engineering major.
Eunice Hanaya Gaper of Kalaheo, the daughter of Ma.Daisylyn and Eduardo Gaper and a sophomore civil engineering major at the University of California, Berkeley, was the second Kenneth Shioi Memorial scholarship recipient. She was unable to attend the meeting because she is participating in a summer internship program with Cahill Contractors, a Bay Area general contracting firm.
Earthworks Pacific’s Responsible Managing Employee Matthew Reves, also a CAK member, established the first scholarship through CAK to support students pursuing studies in the construction sciences. The first Reves scholarship was presented to Rilen Loo, a junior civil engineering major at Seattle University where he is also an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Club and the Hawai‘i Club.
Yasuo Minatoya of Lihu‘e was a painting contractor and a charter member of CAK who was later made an Honorary Life member of CAK as the last-known surviving charter member. His son Richard established a scholarship in memory of his parents with scholarships to go to dependent members of CAK member companies staff or employees.
Richard unexpectedly passed a year ago, and the scholarship has been re-branded as the Yasuo, Hisae, and Richard Minatoya Memorial scholarship that was presented to Jordyn Kawehi Kahananui, the daughter of Madeline and Jordan Kahananui who is a superintendent with Koga Engineering and Construction, Kaua‘i Operations.
Jordyn will be a junior majoring in electrical engineering at the University of Portland where she is active with the Hawai‘i Club, and the Filipino American Student Association.
Destrey Shibuya, a 2020 Kaua‘i High School graduate, and a Boy Scouts of America Eagle who earned his wings by laying an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant entryway and sidewalk for the Punana Leo O Kaua‘i preschool, earned a CAK $1,000 scholarship that he will use as an electrical engineering major at The College of Wooster in Ohio. He is the son of Scott and Kathy Shibuya of Lihu‘e.
Shaelyn Tavares, a 2020 Kapa‘a High School graduate, and the daughter of Jeana Nakamura and Warren Tavares, earned the second $1,000 CAK scholarship that she will use when she enters the University of San Diego as a freshman majoring in engineering.
Tavares, a member of the Kapa‘a High School National Honor Society, was active in the school’s Interact Club, the Peer Mediation program, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Club where she was tapped to be a physics tutor for the Warriors.
The Contractors Association of Kaua‘i, whose annual calendar of events was upended by the pandemic, did not let COVID-19 stop the scholarships for students, or the help for providing food in the face of the global pandemic.
