Richard Kimura
President

Retired from automotive industry in 1991 and the State of Hawaii in 2003.

Took a ukulele building class in 1999 at McKinley night school and decided to build ukes as a hobby when I retired. Retired 2 years ago and took a refresher class at Farrington adult education and have building since, on my 12th at this time.

Took, Mike's Kasha sound board class that improved the sound of the ukes I build.

I have learned a lot from the Guild members as I donate my time to give back, so everyone has a chance to enjoy building and playing the ukulele.

Mahalo, UGH

Twelve years in Honolulu radio has shown Darrell a wide variety of different music. Everything from big band, Christian, classical, country, Hawaiian, Japanese, pop, rock and oldies. The music was as varied as you can get, but none was as sweet to his ears as music played on an ukulele. So much so that in the summer of 2003 Darrell produced his first tenor ukulele in an adult education class taught by one of Mike Chocks’ former students, Glenn Sugioka. Getting to know Mike and the others in the Guild has been nothing less than a joy. Being able to share a common bond that ties us all together – the love for the ukulele – was something that got him involved. Darrell hopes to see the guild continue to grow and also to see the establishment of a permanent ukulele hall of fame in Hawaii.

Denise Takeya
Treasurer

Denise is a stay-at-home mom and a lunch cashier at Kipapa Elementary School.

In her spare time she works with her family helping to run Ukulele Supply of Hawaii.

She also builds ukuleles when she can find the time. She learned how to build from her husband, who took Mike Chock's class.

"Got the 'Jones' badly and alas, the way I'm constructed its all systems go!

Cannot honestly think of anything better to do than Ukuleles and Guitars and lovin every minute of it. A quote from the late George Harrison: 'The uke is …cool'. Ain't no doubt he got that right."

Mike's 'Ukulele making school Hana Lima 'Ia is located here on Oahu.

A Self-taught 'ukulele player since he was 10. B, Has performed with many of Hawaii's great Hawaiian entertainers both locally and abroad. currently performs at Chai's Island Bistro on Monday nights alongside Jerry Santos and Hoku Zuttermeister. A 19 yr. and counting employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Very Passionate on "Anything 'Ukulele! I like bridging the gap between player and builder."

Hinano is a retired State Department of Education teacher. He is also a former high school Athletic Director and coach. He now spends his time giving back to the community by serving as an official in the Maui Interscholastic League. He is involved with the sports of Cross Country, Track, Golf and Football.

Ever since I learned to play the ‘ukulele as a youngster it has been a goal of mine to build an ‘ukulele. Thanks to my “kumu” Guy Sasaki, I have accomplished that goal. Thanks to the ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawai‘i I can now go on to may second goal which is the promotion and preservation of the ‘ukulele.

Larry is a retired woodworking teacher. He started making ukuleles in the early 60's when he was teaching woodshop at Kailua High School. He thought making a ukulele would get local kids excited about woodworking. This was before Irving Sloane wrote his book, "Classic
Guitar Construction" and way before the internet of today. Needless to say there wasn't a wealth of information available on stringed instrument making and he had never made a ukulele or guitar. To start he went to a music store in Kailua and told them he wanted to teach high school students how to make a ukulele. He asked them if he could take some measurements of the ukuleles they had in their store. They were very accomadating, so with measurements in hand he went back to the woodshop and figured out a process to make an ukulele. Since then he has taught many high school students how to make ukuleles and guitars. Then in the middle 80's he began teaching ukulele making at Kamehameha's evening adult school. After retiring from the Department of Education he started teaching high school part-time at Kamehameha in 1994, where he introduced ukulele making in the advanced wood class.
Enrollment grew and soon there were advanced woods classes and he was teaching full-time again.

Born and raised in Hawaii with an early interest in music and ukulele, and retired from the Air National Guard in 2000 with extensive experience in flying, training and management.

Kimo's second-career goal refocused on music. He teaches, performs and is the board chairman of an organization specializing in music therapy.

Lynne Matusow began her quest to master the ‘ukulele in early 2002. She considers herself fortunate to count Byron Yasui and Benny Chong among her teachers, and is working hard to comprehend music theory in addition to learning songs, picking, and all the tricks of the trade. Her motto--instilled by her teachers-- "is practice, practice, practice.”

She is a former marketing executive, active in civic affairs, president of her condo association, and a member of the Hawaii Capital Cultural District Coalition.

Born in Hawaii and raised abroad, Charles returned home to Hawaii in 1970. Now, a manager for a major supermarket chain in Hawaii, Charles has been hooked-on woodworking since an early age and has been doing miscellaneous wood projects for most of his life. While enjoying furniture making as a hobby, Charles' appreciation and love for wood and the art of woodworking magnified in 1986 while learning "how to build a rocking chair" from a Martin & McArthur's artisan through the Kamehameha Schools extension education program.

I enjoy the scientific approach to ukulele building and learning from each one that I design. I have learned a lot from my fellow guild members by just chatting and sharing ideas on the perfect ukulele and the ultimate sound.

I took two of Mike's ukulele building classes in 2000 and 2001 and also his soundboard class in 2003. I have been hooked on ukulele building ever since. Now, if only I knew how to play them.