[ PORTFOLIO ]
Stan Cox II
Carl Ackerman learned early to give back to the community. His mother spearheaded Arizona's first NAACP, while his father started up the first Fund for Slain Police Officers. Ackerman teaches a class in current Hawaii issues at Punahou School. Every Saturday, he and his students head for the Institute for Human Services, where they lend a hand.
Local heroes
Stan Cox II’s photography exhibit
profiles isle folks who are steadfastly
committed to bettering Hawaii's
communityPassion for art and an impatient nature led Stan Cox II to photography. "It seems I got into art right out of the womb," he says with a chuckle. "I doodled with crayons, moved on to pencil and ink, then got into watercolors and oils. Well, oils take a long time to dry, and the process just wasn't fast enough for me. So I started photography."
That was in junior high some 30 years ago. These days, Cox owns a studio in Kapalama.
In recent years, Cox began wondering how he could use his work to give back to the community.
"I moved to Hawaii about 30 years ago, and I've lived on all the islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe. I've experienced aloha everywhere," he says. "I wanted to use my art to pay respect, show my appreciation for Hawaii people."
Then Cox heard about a photograher who was showing portraits of people who donated money to the United Way in Texas.
Energy abounds from Donna Fouts, the executive director of The United Cerebral Palsy Association in Hawaii. Fouts's dedication to her work is matched only by her passion for playing women's soccer. Stan Cox says his portrait of Fouts, a lifelong volunteer, conveys her exuberant energy, as well her dedication and talent for fund-raising.
Cox expanded on the idea, profiling 12 volunteers from various local nonprofit organizations. He spent more than 100 hours photographing, processing and displaying his portraits. Then he took the works out to the major malls in Honolulu in an exhibit titled "Local Heroes."
The intent of all this, he says, is to motivate others to lend a hand to the community.
In this first year, Cox's subjects include such well-known personalities as Miss America Angela Baraquio, musician Brother Noland, singer Sonya Mendez, artist Wyland and First Hawaiian Bank vice chairman Anthony Guerrero Jr.
Cox says the common trait of all the "local heroes" is a quiet, steadfast commitment to helping others.
Cox hopes his exhibit will become an annual event, and he's asking the community to submit nominees for 2005. He says anyone can be nominated, famous or not. Nominees must be "selflessly motivated" and involved with charity work. Call Cox at 841-7733. Or e-mail him at ParamountPhoto@hotmail.com.
Always ready to lend a hand, Larry Price has a soft spot for sports programs. The popular radio personality founded the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame and raises funds for school athletic departments. "Anything to do with education, Larry's there," Cox says.
Click for online
calendars and events.
