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2009 GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARDEE

George Warren Fuller Awards are presented annually by the American Water Works Association to the sections’ respective selected members for their distinguished service to the water supply field in commemoration of the sound engineering skill . . . the brilliant diplomatic talent . . . and the constructive leadership which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller.

George Warren Fuller was first of all a capable engineer, equipped with a mind that never closed a channel to new ideas. He was an inventive technician - first in the laboratory, later in engineering and design. He was a skilled negotiator, a public relations counsel who never called himself one, but who by such skill persuaded reluctant city officials that they were very wise to authorize sanitary improvements. He was a loyal citizen who found himself able and willing to render service to his country during World War I. He was uncannily able to give ear to the ideas and aspirations of younger men in the field and to inspire in them the spirit of leadership that he possessed. He believed in the organization of technical and professional men and devoted himself fully to the advancement of their associations and societies.

This year's award winner is Elson Gushiken, Vice President of ITC Water Management Inc., where he has worked since 1978. Elson and his wife and close friend Aileen, have two grown daughters - Kristi and Traci.

Elson is the current Hawaii Section Director and the first non-engineer to have that position. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and has dedicated his life to the water industry ever since his college graduation.

At the Section level, Elson has been an active member since 1993 and served as chairs of our Small Water Systems and Water Reuse committees. He became a trustee in 2004 and later served as Section Vice-Chair and Chair. For his efforts, he has received the Section Special Recognition Award twice.

Elson has also been active at the Association level also serving on the committees for Water Reuse and Small Water Systems, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Affiliation Agreements.
 
One of his greatest contributions was serving as co-chair of the first and very successful Biennial Hawaii Water Reuse Conference over 15 years ago, which provided educational opportunities for many across the State on this important topic. To this day, this important conference continues as a testament to his work.
 
With this award, we thank Elson for his important contributions to the Hawaii water community and recognize his commitment to water stewardship. You can click here or on the thumbnail image to see Elson addressing the audience upon accepting his award.

2009 OUTSTANDING SECTION MEMBER AWARDEE

The Outstanding Section Member Award is presented to members who, through their interest and demonstrated activity, have contributed significantly to the progress and well-being of the AWWA Hawaii Section. This year's recipient is Jon Muraoka of Fukunaga Engineers, Inc.

Jon served as Past Chair for the past two years as well as Scholarship Committee Chair and Awards Committee Chair. Congratulations to Jon for his outstanding contributions to the AWWA Hawaii Section.

You can click here or on the thumbnail image to see Jon receiving his Outstanding Member Award from AWWA Immediate Past-President Nilaksh Kothari.

2009 SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDEES

The Special Recognition Award recognizes members who have untiringly served the Section in some capacity during the past year. This year, Special Recognition Awards were presented to Thomas Arizumi and Stuart Yamada in recognition for their support from the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) to the annual AWWA Hawaii Section Conference. Tom and Stuart initiated a program at the DOH to subsidize Annual conference registration fees for employees of small water systems. This initiative boosted Hawaii section membership and conference attendance by approximately 100 in the past two years.

You can click here or on the thumbnail image above to see Stuart accepting his Special Recognition Award.

2009 GOLD WATER DROP AWARDEE

Congratulations to William Libby, recipient of the Gold Water Drop Award for 50 years of continuous membership.

2009 AWWA LIFE MEMBERS

This year, a total of seven AWWA Hawaii members were recognized with Life Memberships. This award recognizes people who have been a member of AWWA for 30 years. This year's recipients include Lee Aldridge, Akira Fujimoto, Glenn Johansen, Maurice Kaya, Seichi Oyama, Keith Shida, and Jeffrey Young.

2009 SERVICE TO THE WATER INDUSTRY AWARD - 50 YEARS

This award recognizes those organization members who have provided valuable support for AWWA programs and goals through their long-standing Association membership. This year's recipient is the County of Hawaii Department of Water.