Farmers Insurance donates cash, food to isle groups

Farmers Insurance Hawaii donated $24,600 and 9,000 pounds of food to three food assistance organizations as a part of the company’s "Drive Out Hunger in Hawaii" campaign. This year’s campaign coincided with Hunger Action Month, a national initiative to help raise awareness about the problem of hunger.

Farmers Insurance presented the money and food yesterday to the Hawaii Foodbank, Lanakila Meals on Wheels and River of Life Mission.

The Foodbank will use the donations to provide more than 27,000 meals to the hungry. Meals on Wheels was able to kick of its new "Groceries to Go" program, providing 200 bags filled with groceries to home-bound seniors.

River of Life Mission provided an additional 100 food boxes to families in need, and will be able to continue to provide 300 meals each day to its guests.

Kona Brewing dedicates solar power system at pub

Kona Brewing Co. dedicated a 228-kilowatt solar energy generating system at its brewery and pub in Kailua-Kona.

The photovoltaic system, designed and installed by Honolulu-based Sunetric, was blessed during a ceremony Monday. Kona Brewing served its latest beer creation, Suncharged Pale Ale, at the event.

The roof-mounted PV system produces an average of 922 kilowatt-hours of electricity each day, allowing Kona Brewing to offset nearly 60 percent of its electricity usage, according to a company news release.

At the entrance to the restaurant, Kona Brewing Co. guests can check out a real-time monitor that shows how much energy the energy system is generating. At the current commercial retail electricity rate, the system is expected to offset more than $100,000 in Kona Brewing’s electricity bill annually.

ON THE MOVE

Olomana Marketing has hired the following specialists:

» Angela M. Britten as director of development. She was previously a director of marketing and public relations at Mutual Publishing.

» Carissa Langley as project manager and marketing specialist. She previously worked on events and promotions for Yelp! Honolulu.

» Liane Hu as project manager and communications specialist. She previously worked for the YWCA in Cambridge, Mass., and the Walt Disney Company in London.

Ko Olina Golf Club has announced Chris Domaloan as its new sales and marketing manager. He will be responsible for overall sales and marketing of the golf club’s services and products. He was previously a project manager for Firefly Interactive/Milici Valenti Ng Pack as well as an Adobe systems account executive for G2 Direct and Digital, a San Francisco digital communications agency.