That's the Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club.

Let's make noise laugh.

Award-winning stuff.

Thank you.

Hello, and welcome everybody.

Thank you all for being here.

The City Council's honorary certificate program honors and acknowledges those individuals and groups who have made an impact in our local, national, and international communities.

Mr.

Clerk, our first recipient.

Good morning, Mr.

Chair and Council members.

Our first presentation recognizes Winward Community College Chancellor, Dr.

Artis Eschenberg for her leadership and commitment to education for our Windward community and the people of Hawaii.

This presentation is made by Councilmember Kia Aina.

Aloha Kaka Hiaka and good morning.

The Honolulu City Council takes great pride in honoring and recognizing Windward Community College Chancellor, Dr.

Artis Eschenberg, who is a highly respected and beloved educator, leader, mentor, and advocate for students in communities across Hawaii.

Please join me in welcoming her to the council chamber.

Her journey with the college began in 2010 when she accepted a deanship position at Windward Community College and served as the Dean of Language, Arts, Humanities, and Academic Support, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

As Chancellor, Artist prioritized strengthening the Winward Community College's connection to the communities of Kool Poco by expanding educational opportunities for Keiki to Kopuna while fostering an environment in which students could thrive academically, culturally, and personally.

Since the implementation of Windward Community College's strategic plan in 2020, the college has experienced significant significant growth in both student access and completion, with enrollment increasing by 20% and time to degree success rates reaching their highest level since 2005 for both full-time and part-time students.

Under her leadership, the college established Kekulo Kamalii Ohana, Ohana Ohanae Ulu, the only Hawaiian immersion child care center within the University of Hawaii system, fulfilling a vision shaped by student advocacy, perseverance, and a commitment to supporting student parents in their educational journey.

Artists championed innovative educational pathways across Hawaii by expanding access to college-level coursework for high school students, prioritizing access for first-generation Native Hawaiian and underserved students, and strengthening partnerships with public charter and Hawaiian immersion schools statewide.

And Winward Community College became the only college in the University of Hawaii system to offer degree programs within the carceral system, expanding educational access to incarcerated individuals in Hawaii and beyond, including the launch of the Associates in Hawaii Studies Pu'oh Honua program at Halava in 2022, reflecting both the college's mission as a native Hawaiian serving institution and artists' belief that education must remain accessible to all members of the community.

During her tenure, Winward Community College advanced programs, including the state's only conservatory of performing arts program, the only Hawaiian Music Certificate program, expanded Hawaiian Studies offerings, the veterinary technology program with statewide access, and the creation of a mental health tech certificate.

Beyond the campus, artists has remained deeply engaged with the Winward community, regularly attending and presenting before neighborhood boards and community meetings to share updates, listen to residents, and strengthen partnerships between the college and the communities it serves.

As Chancellor, Artists has upheld the mission and values of Winworth Community College by thoughtfully weaving the history, culture, and spirit of Koolau Poko into the college's educational programs and learning experiences provided to generations of students.

On behalf of the people of the city and county of Honolulu, the Honolulu City Council honors and recognizes Windward Community College Chancellor, Dr.

Artis Eschenberg, for her leadership and commitment to education for our Winward community and the people of Hawaii, and for her remarkable contributions to Winward Community College, and offer its best wishes for her continued success in all her future endeavors, thank you.

Mr.

Clerk, our next recipient.

Our next presentation recognizes Robert Lopaka Kaponui and Mysteries of Hawaii for 25 years of perpetuating, preserving, and documenting Hawaii's culture, history, and ghost stories.

This presentation is made by Councilmember Talba.

All right, good morning, everybody.

You know, growing up in Hawaii, many of us heard stories that made our hair stand up on the back of our necks.

Maybe it was Kapuna warning you never to whistle at night near ancient trails because it would summon the spirits of ancient warriors.

Maybe it was a warning never to take lava rock from the volcano because Pele's curse would follow you home.

Or perhaps he heard stories of an old lady dressed up in white along a road on Hawaii Island.

Stories like this stay with us, not because they're spooky or give us chicken skin.

They stay with us because these islands are layered with mana sacrifice, love, loss, and history that cannot always be seen with the eye, but can still be felt in the heart.

And for the past 25 years, there's been one storyteller who has dedicated his life to making sure these stories are never forgotten.

Today we honor Robert Lopaca Kaponui, widely known as Hawaii's ghost guy.

Lopaca is a native Hawaii master storyteller, author, actor, Kumuhula, cultural practitioner and protector of Mo'elo Moolelo.

Raised in the tradition of oral storytelling, he uh learned from his family that stories are not simply meant to be entertained, they're meant to preserve knowledge.

In March 1994, Lopaka attended a ghost tour led by historian and author Glenn Grant, the creator of Oahu's first ghost tours.

Lopaca recognized many of the same stories passed down by his own kapuna.

From Glenn, he learned the importance of rigorous research, cultural accuracy, and excellence in preserving and sharing Hawaii's history.

Following Glenn's passing in 2003, Lopaca carried the important work before establishing ghosts of old Honolulu and later mysteries of Hawaii.

For a quarter of a century, Lopaka and his wife Tanya Kaponui have shared Hawaii's haunted historic and cultural significant stories with residents and visitors alike.

Together they explore the eerie and unexplained, the groundwork in history, cultural respect, and ike passed down through generations.

As an author and educator, Lopaka carefully researched and documented Hawaii's supernatural history with integrity and respect.

His book includes Mysteries of Hawaii, a collection of first-hand supernatural accounts, and the mysteries of Honolulu, featuring local skin, uh chicken skin stories tied to places throughout our islands.

Tanya has brought her own lifelong passion of horror, hauntings, and native Hawaiian legends to their work.

Together, they co-authored Hawaii's Night Marchers, documenting eyewitness accounts of cultural history and Kohuna, a modern supernatural thriller rooted in Hawaii.

Their work has earned national recognition for three consecutive years.

Stories that remind us that history is living all around us.

Even here at Honolulu Halle, stories continue to echo throughout the halls.

Security guards working late night have described hearing whispers in empty corridors, children laughing when no one else is around, heavy dragging sounds across the floor during the graveyard shift.

One guard describes seeing a man standing near portraits of a former mayor.

When you look closer, he realized the face resembled Mayor Wilson.