Reserve Officer McGuire Named Officer of the Month

Reserve Office Iris McGuire was recognized as the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai’i’s October “Officer of the Month” on Thursday.

According to a Hawai’i Police Department release, McGuire served as a police officer from 1998 until mid-2004, when she resigned to dedicate herself to her position as full-time athletic director at Kea’au High School. Although she resigned, she continued to serve her community as a reserve police officer.

The “Officer of the Month” honor comes following McGuire’s dedication to duty in the Puna District during Tropical Storm Iselle.

As a reserve officer, the minimum requirement for service is 20 hours per month. However, according to the release, McGuire averages 50 hours of service monthly, and just this past August during Tropical Storm Iselle, put in over 65 hours.

In addition to her long hours of service, the release states that on the afternoon of Aug. 7, before Iselle made landfall, McGuire showed up at the Pahoa Police Station with non-perishable food items and beverages. She purchased these items on her own in efforts to help sustain officers tasked with working through the storm.

McGuire then changed into her uniform to work the shift.

“Reserve Officer McGuire had not been asked to report for duty, as district supervisors were well aware that she lived in the lower Puna area and was likely to be impacted by the approaching storm,” Lieutenant Reed Mahuna wrote in nomination papers, according to the release.

McGuire’s honor of “Officer of the Month” makes her eligible for “Officer of the Year”.

The East Hawai’i “Officer of the Month” award is a project of the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai’i.