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  Home Page | 1970 Yearbook / 2000 30th Class Reunion Photos | IN MEMORY | BITS & PIECES...Do you have any news to share about our classmates? Email your information to nava@hawaii.rr.com....Mahalo!! | Contact Me Page | Slide Show Page | 2002 50th Birthday Las Vegas Reunion Photos | 2002 50th Birthday Las Vegas Reunion Photos (cont'd) | 2005 Hawaii Reunion Photos | 2007 VEGAS SIXTIES REUNION PHOTOS  


Press Release FOR "FREE" OR "LOW COST" PRESCRIPTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2006


Partnership for Prescription Assistance Helps Two Million Americans in One Year

The Partnership Launches "Patient Assistance Day" to Celebrate Anniversary and Raise Awareness;
Adds New Feature to Connect Patients with Physicians

Washington, D.C. -

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a national program sponsored by America's pharmaceutical research companies to help patients in need access prescription medicines, today commemorated its one-year anniversary by launching the first annual "Patient Assistance Day" and enhancing its services. Educational activities are taking place across the country to raise awareness of and help boost enrollment in patient assistance programs. The PPA has helped more than two million uninsured and underinsured patients, but millions more can benefit.

"The PPA is an enormous success," said Billy Tauzin, President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "However, we realize that millions more need assistance. That is why we are doing everything we can to improve the PPA so we can continue to identify and assist patients in need."

The PPA's newest feature connects patients with free health clinics in their community. Over its first year of operations, the PPA learned that access to a physician was often the greatest obstacle to completing applications for prescription assistance programs. The PPA hopes that the free clinic database will alleviate that challenge for millions of patients in need.

"The PPA is making significant strides in helping people who truly need assistance paying for their prescription medicines," said PPA National Spokesman Montel Williams. "I am very proud to partner with the PPA to get patients matched to programs that provide medications at little or no cost."

Through a toll-free number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) and user-friendly Web site (www.pparx.org), the PPA provides a single point of access to more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs that could provide help with more than 2,500 medicines, including a wide range of generic medicines.

More than 1,300 national and local organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Urban League, United Way of America, Easter Seals and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, have partnered with America's pharmaceutical companies to make the PPA a success.

"I know from my own practice that most patients are unaware of patient assistance programs or do not realize they qualify," said Mary E. Frank, M.D., board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). "With continued advertising, on-the-ground activities and the addition of new features which allow patients to identify a personal medical home, the PPA is doing everything it can to help these patients."

For additional information on patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist or visit www.pparx.org.

 

OUR CLASSMATES ON THE MOVE.....

CONGRATULATIONS TO ARCHIE AHUNA FOR WINNING AN EMMY FOR HIS SPECIAL EFFECTS WORK ON THE TV SHOW "LOST"!!!!

Re-printed from The Honolulu Advertiser on: Thursday, July 28, 2005

"Lost" pyrotechnics delivered with punch

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Archie Ahuna helps his wife Fern make a fire-proof tiki torch at his Iwilei tool shop. His crew have been nominated for an Emmy for the TV series "Lost."

Deborah Booker | The Honolulu Advertiser

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When the creators of ABC's "Lost" kick off production on the show's sophomore season this morning, they'll do so secure in the knowledge that Archie Ahuna is on hand to blow up, blow down, ignite, extinguish, suspend or drop anything and everything they put in his path.

The 54-year-old special-effects supervisor played a major role in establishing "Lost" as last season's breakthrough drama.

Drawing on some 35 years of experience in the local film industry, Ahuna helped the show deliver a high-impact visual punch to balance its finely-drawn character studies and intricate, interwoven storylines.

Ahuna's contributions were recognized this month when he and eight of his "Lost" collaborators received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. The series received 12 Emmy nominations in all, tops for a drama.

"I'm still in my own little world over this," Ahuna said of the nomination. "It's like a diploma for all of your hard work. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. Just getting recognized for doing something I love to do is more than enough."

Longtime assistant Bo Ulii said the nomination was "awesome" news for Ahuna and for the local professionals he represents.

"All these years and we never did have a nomination," Ulii said. "We're all stoked. If he wins, it's 100 percent better. It's just a little more to keep us all going."

The Ahuna name is well established in the local film industry. Ahuna's father, Joe, was a set electrician and a business agent for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Mixed Local 665.

Archie Ahuna followed his father into the business, starting with an entry position in craft service on the film "Tora, Tora, Tora" and working his way up.

His first experience in special effects came in the late 1960s, on the set of "Hawaii Five-0." His most valuable instruction, however, came years later while working on "Magnum P.I." with acclaimed special-effects master Jack Faggard.

"He took me under his wing for eight years and taught me everything I needed," Ahuna said. "I owe everything to him."

A specialist in pyrotechnics, Ahuna started his own special-effects company in 1984 and has since become a go-to guy for Mainland TV and film productions passing through Hawai'i.

"Archie has one gift, and that's the ability to make something out of nothing," said set rigger Charlie Raymond. "He gets the shot and that's the only thing that counts."

Ahuna relies heavily on trusted associates, including Raymond, Ulii, Gary McEnroe and Michael Sua. His wife Fern handles much of the "powder" work, supplying spectacular pyrotechnics for films like "Pearl Harbor" and "Tears of the Sun." If necessary, he'll waive equipment rental fees or have the team construct basic props so productions can afford to hire the whole team.

"They each have their specialities, which allows us to handle anything that might come up," Ahuna said. That's invaluable in the volatile world of TV.

"With movies, you might have two weeks to prepare," he said. "With TV, you have one day, sometimes not even that."

Because many Mainland productions need a local "powder license" holder on the crew, Ahuna is often asked to supervise or consult. "I always come in as the second guy, but that's alright," he says. "They're the boss. ... My only concern is that we get the job done in a safe way."

In fact, Ahuna preaches safety the way CEOs preach profit.

"A lot of guys are so afraid of losing their jobs, they take chances," Ahuna said. "As a special-effects person, you have to have imagination and you have to be ready to do anything and everything to make what's in the script come to life. I'll do whatever they want me to do, but only if it can be done without putting anybody at risk."

That sort of attitude has endeared Ahuna to a growing list of Hollywood admirers — including the creators, cast and crew of "Lost."

Whether it's hand-rocking a two-ton airplane model in a tree, dragging Terry O'Quinn by his ankles through a jungle, or drenching the cast in a mock thunderstorm, Ahuna and his team diligently test and retest each effect before the cameras roll.

The irrepressible Evangeline Lilly once felt so secure in her safety rigging that she jumped off her perch from a high tree branch after filming a scene.

"I told Evie that even though she's safe, she shouldn't do that," Ahuna said, laughing. "If something happened, that's big money. Even monkeys fall out of trees."





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"LIVE ALOHA"...SPREADING ALOHA AROUND THE WORLD!*******************************************************************************************
Hawai`i is a place of breathtaking natural beauty. It's an inner beauty called "Aloha" that makes this place so special--a deep sense of belonging to a community and caring for one another.

You don't have to be a politician, Or the president of a company, Or a famous doctor, to make everyone's life better. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference... Here are FOURTEEN ACTS OF ALOHA that we can do everyday:
*Respect your elders and children.
*Leave places better than you find them.
*Hold the door.
*Hold the elevator.
*Plant something.
*Drive with courtesy.
*Let others in.
*Attend an event of another culture.
*Return your shopping cart.
*Get out and enjoy nature.
*Pick up litter.
*Share with your neighbors.
*Create smiles.
*Make a list of your own.

HOW DID THIS "LIVE ALOHA" PROGRAM START? A group of friends decided that they wanted to do something about the gradual disappearance of Aloha in our island community. They started a movement called "Live Aloha" and those colorful bumper stickers began cropping up on hundreds of thousands of vehicles in Hawai`i and around the world. Since the formation of Live Aloha, over two hundred thousand bumper stickers and information cards have been distributed. They are given to anyone who requests one, at no charge. The Live Aloha bumper sticker is a declaration of a commitment to do just that, to Live Aloha. The card contains a brief explanation of how our individual and collective actions can strengthen and build our community. That each of us shares this responsibility. That if we act with courtesy and caring, the Hawai`i and the world we value will thrive and endure. Robbie Alm's, one of the Live Aloha's Founders, says it best: "Sometimes the smallest actions make the biggest difference." The card also features a list of fourteen acts of Aloha (see above). Individuals are encouraged to add to the list, acts which enhance our people and our land. The 14th suggestion is to make your own list. Linda Kramer, another one of the Live Aloha committee members shares a great idea. She says, "Once you make your list be sure to share it with family, friends and neighbors...then watch what happens."

WHAT DOES LIVE ALOHA STAND FOR? Perhaps Pilahi Paki explained it best with use of the Hawaiian huna. Each letter in the word Aloha represents another Hawaiian word, and together these five words most completely express the truth of aloha: "ALOHA IS THE COORDINATION OF MIND AND HEART . . . IT'S WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL. IT BRINGS YOU DOWN TO YOURSELF. YOU MUST THINK AND EMOTE GOOD FEELINGS TO OTHERS.

A stands for AKAHAI, meaning kindness, to be expressed with tenderness.
L stands for LOKAHI, meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony.
O stands for OLU`OLU, meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness.
H stands for HA`AHA`A, meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty.
A stands for AHONUI, meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance."

But, HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS DEFINITION IN OUR LIVES? Moe Keale, a Hawaiian entertainer, teaches us to internalize Pilahi Paki's key to Aloha first in OUR HEART, to apply it next in OUR MIND, and then TO ACT. In Moe's words, "A lot of people have been searching for knowledge and wisdom, traveling to the ends of the earth looking for it. It is right here. It is ALOHA. It starts with each one of us. It starts in the heart, next in the mind. The Kahunas taught us, heart and mind working together. This is what Live Aloha is all about..."


For a free card and bumper sticker for your family, neighbors, company, church, club, school or other group, PLEASE SEND A STAMPED, POSTAGE PAID, SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE, with or without a donation, to P.O.Box 8578, Honolulu, HI 96830. E-mail comments (please, no sticker requests) to:
livealoha@hawaiian.com





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