Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 5, 1 May 1987 — Winona Kealamapuana Ellis Rubin, Nainoa Thompson [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Winona Kealamapuana Ellis Rubin, Nainoa Thompson

OHA Resolutions Honor Two Outstandina Hawaiians

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees at its Apr. 16 meeting in Honolulu unanimously adopted two resoiutions honoring two outstanding Hawaiians in the community. Honored were Winona Kealamapuana Ellis Rubin on the occasion of being named the first woman recipient of the 'O'O Award whieh was presented at a banquet that evening and Nainoa Thompson in recognition of his extraordinary navigational skills in guiding the Polynesian Voyaging Society's double-hulled eanoe Hokule'a in its two-year Voyage of Rediscovery. Rubin, former president and chief executive officer of Alu Like ine. who now heads the State Department of Social Services and Housing, was student body president at Kauai High School where she graduated with honors. Following graduation from college on the mainland, Mrs. Rubin taught in public schools at San Francisco, Kapaa and Wahiawa before going to the Kamehameha Schools where she was also a counselor, guide and administrator. She has received many other honors in her career and has been in the center of community activities "of meaningful responsibility." Her list of memberships in organizations is lengthy and prestigious and her significant contributions have been for "the welfare of the Hawaiian people." The resolution notes that "just as the simple 'O'O produced awesome result in the hands of a skilled craftsman, the achievements of Winona Kealamapuana Ellis Rubin over the years has produced results that

exemplify the best that is Hawaiian in contemporary society, and more than qualify her for the 'O'O Award from the Hawaiian Business/Professional Association." Young Thompson, son of Bishop Estate Trustee Myron Thompson who has been one of the driving forces of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, was acclaimed for the navigational skills he acquired in guiding the Hokule'a on many of its Pacific voyages, especially the two-year Voyage of Rediscovery. These navigational skills were onee feared lost and

beyond recapture but the Society and Thompson have reaffirmed the ancient Hawaiian art of celestial navigation with the Hokule'a. It has been made possible through Thompson's own dedication and courage in pursuing and acquiring such knowledge from both traditional lore and modern astronomy. The completion of the Voyage of Rediscovery, whieh is slated for May 30, coincides with Ho'olako 1987, the year of celebrating the enriching reunion of the old and new triumphs of the Hawaiian people and culture.