[ LIVING TREASURES OF HAWAII ]

6 to be honored
for perpetuating
culture and arts

Six Hawaii residents have been named "living treasures of Hawaii" for their contributions in culture and the arts.

They join a list of more than 100 island residents recognized for perpetuating the traditions, spirit and values of Hawaii since the program was begun by Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. A Feb. 4 banquet at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel will honor the following:

>> Momi Cazimero, graphic designer and businesswoman, and a leader in community, business and Hawaiian organizations: She is a member of the state Judicial Selection Committee, former University of Hawaii regent, and board member of Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts and of the Queen's Health System and other health care agencies. The founder of Graphic House, her book designs have won awards from Printing Industries of America and the Hawaii Book Publishers Association.

>> Gabriel "Gabe" Baltazar, saxophonist and recording artist, now a music lecturer and mentor in state public schools: He has toured with the Stan Kenton and Del Courtney orchestras, performed with famous musicians including Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, and in movies, television and a variety of venues, including the Newport Jazz Festival. He was deputy bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band for 17 years, and he has performed in Waikiki clubs with his own quartet of jazz musicians and as a soloist with Honolulu Symphony.

>> Sione Tui'one Pulotu, canoe builder and woodcarver, a key craftsman in construction of Polynesian Cultural Center: Born in Tonga, he carved many of the tikis and other features at the Laie center, and his work is displayed throughout Polynesia. He researched different cultures' canoes and has built several, including a 105-foot sailing canoe for King Tupou of Tonga, launched in 2000, and the 57-foot Wa'a Kaulua Hawaiian canoe for the Brigham Young University-Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Language and Culture.

>> Thomas Klobe, University of Hawaii art professor, a founder of the "Crossings" international art exchange program which organized a show by 56 artists commemorating the 2003 centennial of Korean immigration: A teacher at the university since 1976, his students work at major museums including the Smithsonian, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery. He was instrumental in establishing the new Hawaii State Art Museum. France named him a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1999.

>> Isabella Aiona Abbott, author, researcher and expert on the taxonomy of marine algae and on the use of native Hawaiian plants: She was a UH professor for 19 years and is credited with establishing an ethnobotany major there. She is also professor emerita of Stanford University and a researcher and board member at Bishop Museum. Among her eight books, "La'au Hawaii, Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants" became a standard reference resource. A Kahoolawe Commission member, she is credited with increasing the plant species on the island since its demilitarization.

>> Dr. Benjamin B.C. Young, psychiatrist, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine: He earned a medical degree from Howard University Medical School and was the first native Hawaiian to be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry. He was formerly dean of students at the UH medical school, where he helped establish the Imi Ho'ola Program, a one-year premed head-start curriculum for Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and secured a $4.6 million federal grant to create an endowed chair in Hawaiian medical research. A founding member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, he is the author and editor of books on Hawaiiana.

"These living treasures have demonstrated excellence and have met very high standards of achievement in their particular field of endeavor and, thus, have made a significant difference toward the betterment of our community," Honpa Hongwanji Bishop Chikai Yosemori said.

The Buddhist temple initiated the program in 1976 to recognize contributions to island cultural and artistic heritage. Businessman Paul Yamanaka proposed the idea based on the Japanese government's Living National Treasures program.

Reservations for the Feb. 4 banquet, at $50 per person, may be made by calling Ann at 522-9204.