SHINING STARS
Gas Co. driver wins truck driving contest
Melvin Andrade Jr., who drives for the Gas Co. and lives in Haiku, was named the best professional truck driver at the 2008 Hawaii Truck Driving Championships, sponsored by the Hawaii Transportation Association. He won the straight-truck competition and received the highest overall score in the eight categories.
Andrade competed in the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Championships last week in Houston.
"Na Kamalei: Men of Hula," filmed by Lisette Flanary, has received the National Independent Lens Audience Award for accumulating the most audience votes at the end of the season's PBS series "Independent Lens." The film examines male roles in the past and present culture, and features legendary master hula teacher Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula school in Hawaii as they prepare for a major competition.
Julie Uyemura, manager of Waipio Outback Restaurant, received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. She has volunteered more than 100 hours working to feed people attending the Mililani National Night Out event and to anti-drug programs.
Shining Stars appears several times a week in the Star-Bulletin