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Local company
aio Group starts
its own Peace Corps

IT is informally known as Duane's Peace Corps but has no official connection to the federal program.

It is an overseas service program conceived by aio Group Chairman Duane Kurisu to support the belief of his company's leadership that employees need to think of their role not just in Hawaii or as an American, but as an occupant of Earth.

Two aio employees will have the opportunity to travel to a foreign country for a few weeks to work with nonprofit groups on community development projects. Aio companies include publishing companies PacificBasin Communications LLC and Watermark Publishing, turf maintenance company B. Hayman Co. (Hawaii), KKEA-AM 1420 radio and Punaluu Bakery.

Employees applying to aio's executive committee for the opportunity to serve must also seek support of co-workers who would take on not just job functions, but help with the employee's home life as well -- such as caring for children or elderly parents, said Floyd Takeuchi, president and chief operating officer.

The company would cover all costs related to the two employees' participation in the program, which would not count against vacation time or any other employment benefit.

It wasn't the South Asian tsunami disaster that sparked Kurisu's comments, though most aio employees were told of the initiative at an all-company meeting Dec. 29, Takeuchi said.

"There's no connection, but the tsunami certainly made the point of the importance of something like this," he said.

He had been formulating the plan for a while.

"When Duane first announced it, it was at a dinner in early December ... for the administrative staff of aio Group." The plan brought tears to the eyes of some of the 15 or so people in the private dining room, Takeuchi said.

"There is nothing that we know of that is like this. There could be, somewhere, but there wasn't a model that Duane looked at and said, 'I want to do this too,'" Takeuchi said.

The 165 employees of aio's eight companies also are being asked to assemble a life plan detailing what he or she would like to accomplish, personally and professionally. Subject to adjustment over time, the company will use the document to help the employee achieve their goals.

Separately, to answer the oft-asked "What is aio Group?" question, the company's Watermark Publishing will produce a book using employee essays and artwork about what their firm means to them.

Beam me in

Hawaii Public Radio's classical music and fine arts programming will start beaming into Waimea on the Big Island at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Mountainous terrain surrounding the area prevented the FM signal from getting in, but that will change following a Parker Ranch donation of land for the FM translator and funding from the Earl & Doris Bakken Foundation.

Bakken and Hawaii Public Radio General Manager Michael Titterton will fire up the broadcast equipment that will send the signal into the region on 94.7 megahertz in time to catch "Sunday Brunch," the weekly classical music request show hosted by Music Director Gene Schiller. A reception marking the radio reception will follow from noon to 2 p.m. at the Historic Hawaii Foundation building on Lindsey Road in Waimea.