3 at UH awarded
for flood work

The employees will each receive
$1,000 for their efforts after
a disastrous flood

Three University of Hawaii-Manoa employees who were cited for their exceptional effort to help the university recover from the October floods will receive this year's Chancellor's Awards for Outstanding Service.

Two of the honorees -- a secretary and a janitor -- work in the Biomedical Services Building, which was severely damaged in the flood. The other is a fiscal officer who helped get Hamilton Library reopened.

The honorees are:

Juliana Siu, a secretary in the UH medical school's Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology and Reproductive Biology, who was cited for her work to organize the department in the aftermath of the flood and for her work with the school's Willed Body Program.

Siu helps develop memorial services for surviving family members of those who donate their bodies to the medical school.

LeVonne Kukahiko, a janitor, "truly loves the Biomedical building and cares for it like it is her own home," according to her nominators. Medical school administrators had high praise for her "primary leadership and extraordinary service." She has been a UH employee for 16 years.

Fiscal officer John Awakuni has been at UH for 35 years and was able to navigate the paperwork required by state and university insurance agencies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of the flood.

The chancellor's service awards are presented each year to employees who demonstrate leadership, outstanding work performance and service to the campus. This year's honorees will be recognized at the university's convocation ceremony in September. Each will receive a $1,000 cash award and is considered as the university's nominee for the Governor's Award for Distinguished State Service to be announced in October.