Name: Ed Morisato
Age: 72
Position: Volunteer of the Year, Hawaii chapter, American Red Cross
Education: McKinley High School; business college
Pastimes: Golf
"Don't be afraid to ask," Morisato said. "They can say 'No' and that's it. But they're not going to hurt you. No worry."
On March 18, Morisato was named Volunteer of the Year for the Red Cross in Hawaii. The Kaimuki resident, who retired in 1990 as a service representative for BHP Hawaii, spends four days a week as manager of the chapter's in-kind gifts program.
Recently, Morisato established the chapter's vehicle donation program, allowing people to donate their cars to the Red Cross. It has raised more than $6,000 so far this year. In-kind donations, such as paper products and furniture, also save the agency thousands of dollars in costs.
Morisato has talked businesses into giving hundreds of pounds of ice for meals and refreshments served during disaster work, poinsettias for holiday gifts for special donors and even compost for the chapter's landscaping needs. He is quick to recall a gift of 200 bentos last November for "Operation Kokua" volunteers in Makaha from the Flamingo Restaurant in Waipahu. The donation was arranged with less than a day's notice, he said.
"I called them Friday afternoon, and they said to come and pick it up 10:30 a.m. the next morning," he said.
Lynn Carey, the chapter's director of financial development, read a profile on Morisato in an Aloha United Way newsletter about a year ago and persuaded him to take on the job of Red Cross in-kind manager.
"He's been a wonderful part of our team ever since," she said.
Morisato admits his donor contacts are mainly through family and friends. And the avid golfer praised fellow golfers for making him look good -- not on the fairways but in the community.
"Most of these guys that donate to me are from my golf club. I have friends that are willing to help me. They make me look good," Morisato said.
"But the reason they invite me (to golf) is because I'm easy to beat."