SHINING STARS
Star-Bulletin's Helen Altonn wins award
Helen Altonn, a longtime health writer for the Hono- lulu Star Bulletin, was one of several recipients of the annual Kulia Award, given by the Hawaii Primary Care Association. The awards recognized those who have worked to strengthen and improve the public health system; other winners were: state
Sen. David Ige (D-Aiea-Pearl City); state
Rep. John Mizuno (D, Kalihi Valley-Kamehameha Heights); state
Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore Village); and
Robert E. Cooper, past interim executive director of Bay Clinic Inc.
Norma Doctor Sparks, a former deputy attorney general of Hawaii, was honored as one of the top 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States by the Filipina Women Network in Washington, D.C.
Doctor Sparks, director of the Department of Family and Children's Services of the Social Services Agency in Santa Clara County, Calif., was recognized in the category of Filipina Policymakers & Visionaries.
A native of Kauai, she once served as the administrator of several Hawaii state agencies, including the Child Support Enforcement Agency, the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services, and the Family Crisis Services of the First Circuit Family Court.
Shining Stars appears several times a week in the Star-Bulletin