GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jayne Doole, left, sold Aloha Airlines souvenirs on Nuuanu Street yesterday as Carmella Hernandez looked over a shirt during yesterday's block party held in honor of the defunct airline and its employees.
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Spread a little Aloha
A block party raises funds for former airline employees' medical expenses
Randall Fukino was dressed in his old customer services uniform at a downtown block party held last night to raise money for former Aloha Airlines employees with urgent medical bills.
"Half of us don't have jobs, and we're at a fundraiser," joked Fukino, a former Aloha Airlines customer service agent who now works for the city. "It's for those that really need help."
One of those is Rod Nakabayashi, an Aloha flight attendant for 21 years, who needs a kidney and pancreas transplant.
Several former employees greeted Nakabayashi as he sat at a table on Merchant Street at the "Aloha for Aloha" event.
"He's one of the really good ones," said Tracy Chung, a customer service agent for 19 years who is still looking for a job. "Rod's the best."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Former Aloha Airlines flight attendants Stephanie Quinajon, left, and Kanani Preston greeted each other with a hug yesterday evening as Preston served beer at a block party on Nuuanu Avenue honoring the defunct airline's employees.
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After Aloha closed March 31, 1,900 employees lost health insurance coverage.
Nakabayashi started paying more than $500 a month for COBRA insurance. He is trying to save for a transplant operation that he does not know the cost of. But medical bills were only one of his worries when the airline closed.
"To this day I still miss them (fellow employees)," he said. "I'm glad there's this stuff tonight so we can all reunite."
Hundreds mingled along Nuuanu and Merchant streets, enjoying the live bands, food and an Aloha memorial video.
Murphy's Bar & Grill owner Don Murphy helped organize the event and will donate all the proceeds to the Aloha employees project, he said.
"I've got a lot of good friends that worked there," he said, "and it makes for a good party."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Meanwhile, former Aloha Airlines customer service agent Jean Ota, right, looked at the hat worn by former baggage-claim control agent Julie Bacon.
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More than a hundred former Aloha employees volunteered to operate the food booths and tables selling memorabilia, said Na'i McCarthy, one of the organizers.
McCarthy, a flight attendant for 34 years, said some former employees need help with chemotherapy and radiation therapy bills. "It's just what you do," she said. "We take care of each other."
Lokahi Giving Project will disburse the donated funds.
Meriel Collins, Lokahi Project manager, said she believed the goal of $50,000 was surpassed within two hours.
Noe Iaea, who is still looking for work, hugged several former employees and said it was a good chance to catch up.
"We keep seeing each other. It's endless, it's great. We still have the company without the work, and that's the greatest thing about the Aloha family," she said.
