Three Hawaii Island public school principals were among 14 nominated for the Island Insurance Foundation’s 14th annual Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award.
Among the 14 qualifying public school principals were:
• Sharon Beck, Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School.
• Stacey Bello, Keaukaha Elementary School.
• Danny Garcia, Kohala Elementary School.
Island Insurance Foundation President Tyler Tokioka presented each nominee with a $1,000 personal cash award. Special guests included Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Phyllis Unebasami and 14 complex area superintendents and their representatives, as well as state Sens. Laura Thielen, Michelle Kidani and Donna Mercado Kim, and state Rep. Richard Onishi.
The recipient of the Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award will be announced April 19 during the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Dinner on Oahu.
The selected principal will receive $25,000: $15,000 designated for a school project of his or her choice and an additional $10,000 as a personal cash award. Two semifinalists each will receive a $2,000 personal cash award.
The award is named after Island Insurance founder Masayuki Tokioka, an immigrant from Japan who moved to Hawaii at age 12 and graduated from McKinley High School in 1921. He earned a bachelor of arts at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a master of business administration in international commerce from Harvard University in 1927. His business career spanned 70 years.