Five people will be honored as “;living treasures”; next month for their contributions to the island community in their fields of education, religion, science, social work and volunteerism.

The title will be bestowed on Elizabeth Jenkins, Stanley Okamoto, Paul Weissich, Patti Lyons and the Rev. Toshihide Numata at a Feb. 13 banquet at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel. Their names will be added to a prestigious list of more than 120 Hawaii residents recognized as Living Treasures since the program was started in 1976 by Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.

The recognition by Hawaii's largest Buddhist denomination was modeled on Japan's Living National Treasure program.

Elizabeth Jenkins has been a teacher and mentor of Hawaiian cultural values in classrooms and programs for many years. She planned and trained Hawaiian resource volunteers for the state Department of Education classroom kupunas program. She planned an Office of Hawaiian Affairs youth conference at the state Capitol and statewide conferences. She was a member of the Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center board and president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. She is on the planning committee for the 2010 “;Healing the Spirit”; World Indigenous Conference.

Stanley Okamoto, an insurance agent, has been involved in community service volunteer work since he was a young member of the Wailuku Young Buddhist Association helping to build the Hale Makua facility for elderly Japanese men. He continues as a board member for the Hale Makua Health Services Foundation, overseeing a diversified health services system. He has been president of the Maui Japanese Community Association and on the board of Maui Hospice. He was on the steering committee of Ka Ipu Kokua Fellows, a program to develop future leaders on Maui, and worked on the Hawaii Heart Association's Run for Life Program.

Paul Weissich has been dedicated to Hawaii's natural environment as a landscaper, writer and director of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. He has created educational programs and organized workshops, tours and plant sales as a founding member of Friends of Honolulu Botanical Gardens. He worked to secure the 400-acre site that became Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe. He is a member of the Exceptional Trees Committee, which oversees protection of the oldest and significant trees in the island. He is the author of “;Exceptional Trees of Hawaii”; and several other books.

The Rev. Toshihide Numata, chairman of Mitutoyo Corp. of Japan, is dedicated to enhancing the spiritual culture through Buddhist teachings. He followed his father as head of the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism and established a branch of the Japanese-based society in Hawaii. He helped create the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Hawaii and similar programs in 15 other academic institutions around the world. He oversees the organization's program to place copies of “;The Teaching of Buddha”; in hotels, schools, hospitals and prisons, including 400,000 copies in Hawaii and 7.6 million copies globally. He established the Yoshiaki Fujitani Interfaith Lecture at Chaminade University.

Patti Lyons has been an advocate for treatment and prevention of child abuse during 40 years as a social worker. She was a leader in establishment of the Child Protective Service Center and an advocate and lobbyist for changes in state laws on behalf of children. She served as president and chief executive officer of Child & Family Service and was founder and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Healthy Start Program. She was first president of the Consuelo Foundation and co-founder of its Ke Aka Hoona development for underprivileged families.