Spirit of Aloha | Message of Aloha | January/February 2003

Message of Aloha

Hidden Hero

Paul Pomroy believes in public service-the retired firefighter, now an Aloha contract service agent, volunteers at the Kaua'i Museum and serves in the
Coast Guard Reserve

"There's joy in giving of yourself. That's basically what volunteering is," reflects Paul Pomroy. "I think everybody should volunteer. It could be something you've never done before, or you could find something you're interested in. A lot of organizations out there need help and are waiting for volunteers."

Retired after 27 years as fire captain with the county of Kaua'i in Lihu'e, where he was captain of the island's only rescue unit, Paul is an Aloha Airlines contract service agent at Lihu'e Airport. As a firefighter and rescue captain all those years, and a current member of the Coast Guard Reserve, he is one of our hidden heroes who has saved lives on land and at sea.

In his job at Aloha, he helps passengers check in on the non-Aloha carriers serviced by Aloha. His qualities-founded on a quiet, strong aloha-are also appreciated by the staff of Kaua'i Museum, where he is a longtime volunteer.

" Mostly I do labor," he explains. "Setting up and taking down exhibits, moving easels and display cases, uncrating artworks, moving furniture. I help with the Christmas fairs and annual Lei Day exhibition, which was started by my mother when she was shop manager at the museum through the 1980s."

Paul's mother, Irmalee Pomroy, is renowned as one of the best lei-makers in Hawai'i, winner of numerous awards throughout Hawai'i and the South Pacific. Her husband, Walter Pomroy, worked 50 years for the U.S. Postal Service and has a following of his own. Irmalee is also the sister of Marie McDonald, author of Ka Lei, the definitive tome on lei-making. Because Paul's wife, Noelani, is membership curator at the museum, it was only natural that he volunteer there.

" At first I'd just come in, and when they needed help, I'd help," he recalls. "First I'd help my mom, and when my wife started working here, I'd come to pick her up and wait in the car. Then I'd come in and help, and before you know it, one day, they said, 'Here's Paul, he's one of our volunteers.'

" The museum is a wonderful place, with interesting things that relate to right here, Kaua'i. It's not about other islands or the South Pacific, it's about Kaua'i. It's a great location, the parking's good, and it's a good opportunity for local artists to display their work."

Coming from a family he describes as "artsy craftsy" and deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture, Paul spent his spare time in high school gathering materials and making things. "I attended Kamehameha Schools on O'ahu, and on Saturdays my classmates would come over and we'd make batik eggs," he says. "Not many people know that my mom and dad are award-winning batik egg designers."

But lei-making was the biggest family activity, a Pomroy signature. "Instead of buying lei, we went to the mountain and picked lehua and ferns," he notes. "If you got a lei from us, it wasn't a kui [strung] lei, it was a work of art. We were always out hiking, and if not gathering materials, looking for things that could be used in lei."

Whether at the museum or at Aloha Airlines, Paul is the kind of helper who is usually in the background, but whose work touches many. "Without volunteers who come in and help, the museum wouldn't be able to do what it does," he offers. "It's a nonprofit, so they're always scrimping for money for programs and facilities. Without volunteers, it wouldn't be what it is."

And it's the fortunate Aloha passenger who crosses paths with Paul at the airport. "I see so many different kinds of people," he reflects. "They're happy that they've come to a beautiful place, and sad when it's time to leave. They may be the customer, but I see them as people who have come to visit my home. When they leave, I want them to remember Kaua'i as I do, with that special aloha in their hearts."

Glenn R. Zander
President and Chief Executive Officer, Aloha Airlines

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