By HUNTER BISHOP
By HUNTER BISHOP
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
A North Kohala teacher of agriculture has won a prestigious and lucrative statewide award for leaders of nonprofit organizations.
David Fuertes, executive director of Ka Hana Noeau, was one of four Hookele award recipients in Hawaii recognized for their selfless devotion to nonprofit work on behalf of their communities. The honorees each received $10,000 for their “personal renewal.”
“When they called me up, I thought they wanted a recommendation — there’s so many more people deserving than me,” Fuertes said in a telephone interview Wednesday. But when he discovered the award was for him, his mind immediately started racing with possibilities for the money.
“I thought, OK, now I can use it to start a micro-loan program for the students to start their own businesses for the products they develop,” he said.
Kevin Taketa, president and CEO of the Hawaii Community Foundation, said the foundation recognized a number of years ago that nonprofit sector leadership was “in danger of losing valuable talent because executives had little opportunity to renew themselves and marshal the stamina to continue their work.”
“The Hookele award allows us to recognize, thank, and reward our community’s truly selfless leaders,” Taketa said.
However, selfless leaders like Fuertes often have less trouble with motivation, and more difficulty thinking about themselves.
Fuertes spent 30 years with the Department of Education, mostly teaching agriculture at Kohala High School, and retiring as a career Technical Education specialist for the West Hawaii District. Seven years ago, Ka Hana Noeau sprung into being.
With Ka Hana Noeau, Fuertes helped develop innovative mentoring programs that combine traditional knowledge with contemporary technologies for Hawaiian youth in the rural North Kohala. The program connects older generation craftsmen and practitioners with students to preserve traditional knowledge, products and skills. The program has involved about 175 kids a year at Kohala and Honokaa high schools.
Students receive mentoring and instruction in specific areas such as saddle making, culinary arts, automotive technology, animal husbandry, natural farming, graphic arts and tissue culture. Traditional Hawaiian cultural practices such as taro farming are being infused with the techniques of modern “natural farming” which reduces fertilizer needs, uses less water and results in a better, more marketable product, Fuertes said.
Equally important to the Ka Hana Noeau concept is the AVID program, Fuertes said, which emphasizes the academic skills that students will need to be successful. “If we can get kids the academic skills, and if they can apply those skills to real situations, using math and chemistry, it’s self-esteem building, … (and) all of those things are important to meeting the challenges of tomorrow,” he said.
“This award is not just about being a leader in the organization,” said Chris van Bergeijk, vice president of the Hawaii Community Foundation and part of the awards selection committee, “it’s about being a community builder. That’s what David is all about. If you peel back the layers of the community, he’s right at the center.”
Fuertes thanked Ka Hana Noeau’s parent foundation, Partners in Development Foundation, which makes the program possible. “In actuality, the ‘Hookele’ is the steersman of the canoe, but there are so many workers — this wouldn’t have happened without them. They are so dedicated they make us look good,” Fuertes said. “Not just Ka Hana Noeau, it’s the community, and no way I could have done it without the support of my family,” Fuertes said.
So what will he do with the cash? Fuertes, 63, said he’s still discussing it with his wife and three children. But ultimately, “renewal” notwithstanding, the decision will come down to “how it will benefit everybody in the community,” he said.
The other three 2012 Hookele honorees on Tuesday were Jud R. Cunningham, chief executive officer, Aloha House Inc.; Connie Mitchell, executive director, The Institute of Human Services; and Marjorie Ziegler, executive director, Conservation Council for Hawaii.
The Hawaii Community Foundation has been a leading philanthropic organization in the state for the past 96 years, working with individuals, families, foundations, businesses and organizations to improve communities in Hawaii. Last year the Foundation provided more than $44 million in grants and contracts throughout the state. The Hookele awards were established in 2002 in partnership with the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation.
Email Hunter Bishop at hbishop@hawaiitribune-herald.com.