The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources held its 24th Annual Awards Banquet at the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel. The sold-out event honored outstanding members of the CTAHR ʻohana including students, faculty, donors and outstanding alumni.
The event was a magnificent success with proceeds subsidizing the cost of the banquet for students who participated in the Student Research Symposium. The event also raised $35,00 to establish the Mary and Marie Blanco Scholarship Fund.
Marie Blanco, Senator Inouye's chief of staff, has been a dedicated advocate for Hawaiʻi's agriculture and her assistance has strengthened CTAHR's programs and numerous agricultural and related enterprises in the state. She received the college's 2012 Na Lei Hano Heritage Award at the banquet.
The 2012 Outstanding Alumnus who was honored at the banquet is Dr. Paul Singleton (MS and PhD, Agronomy and Soil Sciences, 1982), an agronomist in the college's Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences (TPSS) department. Dr. Singleton is internationally recognized for his innovative work in biological nitrogen fixation technologies and is also a successful entrepreneur, as president of Pacific Produce Inc., the largest producer of premium lettuces in Hawaiʻi.
