HONOLULU – The First Insurance Company of Hawaii (FICOH) board of directors has elected Jeff Shonka senior vice president, chief operating officer (COO). Shonka joined FICOH in 2002 as its chief financial officer. With this promotion, Shonka has assumed responsibility for key operational areas of the company, including Claims, Personal and Commercial Lines, Legal, Surety & Fidelity, and First Risk Management Services (FiRMS), a subsidiary brokerage operation for non-standard risks.

“Jeff is an invaluable member of the executive team who during his 10 years with First Insurance has not only earned the respect and trust of our officers, but of his department, our company and other industry leaders in Hawaii,” said Allen Uyeda, president and CEO of First Insurance.

First graders at Palolo Elementary School today have something to cheer about, thanks to Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco). In June and July, Servco employees collected 415 new backpacks and school supplies through an internal drive, to donate to first-graders at seven well-deserving schools across Oahu. In addition to Palolo Elementary, Ben Parker Elementary, Puohala Elementary, Lehua Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Honowai Elementary and Kalihi Elementary all received the special gifts. Each of the schools received backpacks full of school supplies including crayons, markers, portfolios, three-ring binders, pencil boxes, glue, scissors, erasers, pencils, composition books and other necessary items earlier this month.

The backpack drive was initiated by a team of Servco employees who recognized that families may struggle to provide their children with what they need to succeed in school, particularly in these difficult economic times.

The following information is provided by Keith DeMello:

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the release of more than $92.8 million for various Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) designed to maintain, upgrade and expand transportation infrastructure across Hawaii.

"Our highways, airports and harbors are essential to island commerce and our way of life; everyone depends on the daily reliability and functionality of this core infrastructure," said Governor Abercrombie.