College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources presents 2006 Outstanding Alumnus and Ka Lei Hano Heritage Awards

Outstanding students, faculty and staff awards will also be presented at annual banquet

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

HONOLULU — An entomologist who helped address difficult pest control issues and expand Hawaiʻi‘s export markets and a rancher who embraced important technological advances in Hawaiʻi cattle production are among the honorees at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources‘ (CTAHR) 18th Annual Awards Banquet, which will be held on Thursday, May 4, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

A celebration of the excellence and accomplishments of CTAHR‘s students, faculty, staff and alumni, the annual event features the presentation of the college‘s Outstanding Alumnus award and the Ka Lei Hano Heritage award for community service.

This year, CTAHR honors Dr. Po-Yung Lai as its Outstanding Alumnus. Lai attended UH Mānoa, earning a master‘s degree in entomology in 1971 and a doctoral degree in entomology in 1977. He served as an administrator for the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture in the 1970s and 1980s, and as CTAHR‘s assistant dean for cooperative extension in the 1990s. More recently, at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in his native Taiwan, he has brought into existence the Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation (TAIC), creating in less than 10 years a visionary agriculture program that reaches out to foreign students with graduates from more than 30 countries in Asia, the Pacific region, the Americas, and Africa.

The 2006 Ka Lei Hano Heritage Award will be presented to Herbert "Monty" Richards. As head of the Big Island‘s Kahua Ranch for 50 years, Richards embraced important technological advances in Hawaiʻi cattle production as the first rancher to use artificial insemination and an early adopter of intensive grazing. By establishing Kahua Ranch as an agricultural tourism destination, using solar power, and experimenting with crop diversification and wind energy, he has sought new ways to make ranching in Hawaiʻi economically and environmentally sustainable. For many years, he has been a strong advocate for Hawaiʻi agriculture, serving as a member of the CTAHR Board of Advisors and as a Hawaiʻi delegate to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant College‘s Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching.

Other awards that will be presented that evening include:

• 2006 CTAHR Dean‘s Award for Outstanding Civil Service to Charles Nelson
• 2006 CTAHR Dean‘s Award for Outstanding Service by an Administrative, Professional, and Technical Employee to Karl Yanagihara
• 2006 CTAHR Dean‘s Award for Excellence in Research to Dr. Charles Weems
• 2006 CTAHR Excellence in Extension Award to a Specialist for Outstanding Performance and Results in a Statewide Project to Dr. Sylvia Yuen and members of the Data Program team: Shi Jen He, Dr. Marika Ripke, Ivette Stern, Anees Kadir, and Maw Ying Yuan
• 2006 CTAHR Excellence in Extension Award to a County Agent for Outstanding Performance and Results in an Agriculture or Natural Resources Management Program to Randall Hamasaki
• 2006 CTAHR Excellence in Extension Award to a County Agent for Outstanding Performance and Results in a Nutrition or Human Resources Program to the Nutrition Education for Wellness (NEW) team: Naomi Kanehiro, Laura Jean Kawamura, Lynn Nakamura-Tengan, Claire Nakatsuka, and Julia Zee
• Ka Pouhana (Mentor) Award to Dr. Brent Sipes
• North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Teaching Award of Merit to Dr. C. Alan Titchenal
• NACTA Graduate Student Teaching Award of Merit to Hector Perez

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with no-host cocktails on Thursday, May 4, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village‘s Coral Ballroom. The dinner and program begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person or $500 for a table of 10.

For more information about the event, including information on how to purchase tickets, contact Merrissa Uchimura at 956-6016, events@ctahr.hawaii.edu, or visit www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/banquet .

For more information, visit: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/banquet