City and County of Honolulu News Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2011    MEMORIAL DAY POSTER CONTEST WINNERS   (Wed., May 4, 2011) – Mayor Peter Carlisle presented award certificates to the winners of the Sew a Lei for Memorial Day Poster Contest today (Wednesday, May 4) in his office.  First-place winners are Kaela FeBenito (Kindergarten), Holomua Elementary School; Kelly Guo (grade 7), Kapolei Middle School; and Ember Hirata (grade 12), Moanalua High School.  The winners received recognition certificates from Mayor Carlisle and prizes donated by Pacific Beach Hotel, First Hawaiian Bank, and Menehune Mac. More than 600 entries were submitted from public and private schools throughout the state.  The contest judges were Jacqueline Emery, Pacific Beach Hotel; Jan Katada, First Hawaiian Bank; Susan Morita, Menehune Mac; Dr. Gary Saito; and Olena Heu and Brianne Randle from KHON 2. The artwork of first-place winners will appear on posters and distributed to the Department of Education, private schools and all city parks and offices, encouraging the public to provide lei to decorate graves for Memorial Day at the National Cemetery of the Pacific and other veterans' cemeteries.  All of the winning and honorable mention posters are exhibited on the third floor of Honolulu Hale through May 31. Each year, the Department of Education is instrumental in coordinating the contest with schools and encouraging students to sew and donate lei for the Memorial Day ceremonies.  Nearly 30,000 lei of the 50,000 required are donated by school children throughout the state, with the majority coming from neighbor island public schools. The Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on Monday, May 30, 2011, from 8:30 a.m., at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.  For more information, contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 768-3002 or visit their website at www.honolulu.gov.   The first- through third-place winners for each grade division are as follows: DIVISION: Kindergarten - 4th grade First Place Kaela FeBenito, Kindergarten Holomua Elementary School   Second Place Celina Shoda, 2nd grade Momilani Elementary School   Third Place Reina Matsui, 1st grade Momilani Elementary School   DIVISION:  5th - 8th grade First Place Kelly Guo, 7th grade Kapolei Middle School   Second Place Arong Lee, 8th grade Stevenson Middle School   Third Place Chylee Tominaga, 8th grade Stevenson Middle School   DIVISION:  9th - 12th grade First Place Ember Hirata, 12th grade Moanalua High School   Second Place Von Dickens Ulsa, 11th grade Farrington High School   Third Place Victor Nhieu, 9th grade Roosevelt High School -30-     Contact: Alex Ching, Department of Parks and Recreation, 768-3028.  Note to Editors:  Photo files are available of the winning posters.