‘Give Aloha’ spreads
musical gift to NYC

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By Genevieve A. Suzuki
gsuzuki@starbulletin.com

Firefighters, police and other emergency personnel have been invited to participate in a special Sunday video recording of the song "Give Aloha," sponsored by Central Pacific Bank.

Copies of the video will be sent as a gift to New York in commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Clint Arnoldus, chief executive officer of Central Pacific Bank.

Isle musicians and the public will also be in the video originally composed for Synergy Hawaii Day, said Jesse Rivera, who co-wrote the song in May 2001 with fellow musicians Kelly Boy Delima, David Kahiapo and Kawika Crowley.

"Basically everybody and anybody is invited to be part of this," Rivera said.

Rivera said Central Pacific Bank approached him about using his song for the video gift.

And because the video will be used as a special gift to New York, "we want to encourage the audience to wear red, white and blue," Arnoldus said. Rehearsal for the video is at 4:30 p.m. before the taping at 6 p.m. Sunday at Queen's Beach as part of Sunset on the Beach.

Rivera, a firefighter with the Kalaeloa fire station in Kapolei, said he would like as many people as possible to be involved with the project.

More than 45 entertainers, including Auntie Genoa Keawe, Ilona Irvine, Moe Keale and the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus, donated time last year to record the first video for "Give Aloha," which aired on 62 radio stations, 15 TV channels and two Internet radio sites at 6:45 a.m. last Nov. 14.

Rivera said he wants Synergy Hawaii Day to always be on the second Wednesday of November, the week before Thanksgiving. This year, Synergy Hawaii Day would be Nov. 13.

Synergy Hawaii Day was inspired about two years ago after Rivera heard the country song "Chain of Love" on the radio. "It really touched my heart," he said.

Rivera said he wondered whether he could get local radio and TV stations to simultaneously broadcast a similar song for all of Hawaii's people.

"Maybe people would feel what I felt and be nicer to each other for that day," Rivera said.

Rivera said he pitched his idea to Gov. Ben Cayetano, radio and TV station managers, and Kaneohe community members. His work paid off in an Oct. 5 gubernatorial proclamation of Synergy Hawaii Day.

All proceeds from CD sales last year went to Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, said Rivera, who does not plan to sell anything this year.

Synergy Day is "to get the media to help come together to bring the people of Hawaii together. What other way can you reach the people of Hawaii at the same time other than through the media?" he asked.

The new "Give Aloha" video will be shown after Synergy Hawaii Day on CPB's Web site, www.cpbi.com, Arnoldus said.