George Yokoyama Passes Away

George Yokoyama. Courtesy photo.

George Yokoyama, the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council’s former executive director, has passed away unexpectedly, HCEOC Executive Director Jay T. Kimura announced yesterday.

“George was our organization’s heart and soul for over 40 years, leading this organization for many of those years as its executive director,” said Kimura. “He helped serve the low-income population of this community to become more self-sufficient by teaching valuable life skills to thousands.

“George was still an active member of the nonprofit organization, serving as a par- time grant writer and advisor,” said Kimura. “Most recently in September of 2016, George was honored at a 90th birthday party fundraiser for the organization, where he was honored with a key to the city by then Mayor Billy Kenoi.”

In his career at HCOEC, Yokoyama is credited with bringing in over $100,000,000 in grant funding to the County of Hawai‘i and was considered the “Guru of Grant Writing” in the State of Hawai‘i.

“George’s memory and dedication to alleviating the symptoms of poverty will continue to be an inspiration behind the success of HCEOC”, said Kimura.  “We will definitely miss George’s presence here, writing grants and providing valuable insights and ideas on how we can best serve the community, but we have a good team of people working here and an engaged board of directors that are ready to lead this organization for many years to come.”