New cookbook highlights firefighters’ favorite dishes

Firefighters are reputed to be legendary cooks, and the new nonprofit Hawaii Professional Firefighters Foundation will put some of those recipes into the hands of we mere mortals in the coming months through a fundraising cookbook.

The 501(c)(3) foundation was created by the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association union to benefit firefighters statewide as well as the community at large, according to the foundation’s president, Max Hannemann.

Yes, he is related.

Hannemann is a cousin of Mufi Hannemann, former Hono­lulu mayor and incoming president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association.

"I am nowhere close to being a politician," Hannemann laughed, while making it clear that his famous cousin has his "100 percent" support.

An immediate priority for the Hawaii Professional Firefighters Foundation, Hannemann said, is to help firefighters who are battling cancer and to provide assistance to their families. Additional priorities for the foundation include creation of a statewide fire safety campaign, and free soccer clinics for children in all counties to promote active, healthy lifestyles, he said.

The Hawaii Fire Fighters Association represents approximately 3,000 active-duty and retired firefighters throughout the counties’ and state’s fire services in Hawaii, according to the union.

The foundation’s inaugural Malama Celebration, a fundraising dinner and concert, will be Aug. 12 at Willows restaurant.

"We’re really happy" at the support received from the entertainment community, he said, with artists such as Amy Hanai­alii, Willie K and comedian Rodney Villanueva signed on for the night. It may not be a surprise that Ku Kia‘i, a band comprising firefighters, also will perform.

Community leaders to be honored at the gala are Marcia Anton, president of Anton Financial LLC; Raymond Gould, general manager and vice president of disaster recovery company Hawaii DKI LLC; and Dr. Lawrence Tseu, a philanthropist and charter member of the Hono­lulu Fire Commission.

Tickets are $150 each or $1,200 for a table seating eight. Pre-publication orders for the long-awaited firefighter cookbook will be taken at the Malama Celebration.

Firefighters will contribute "recipes they are willing to share, and put a little story behind it," Hannemann said.

The price has yet to be set, but proceeds from cookbook sales also will fund the foundation; it is hoped the book will be published before the holidays. Hannemann expressed gratitude for the former Pan Am flight attendants helping with the cookbook’s production.

The foundation also is planning an inaugural golf tournament fundraiser for Oct. 28 at the Hawaii Prince Golf Club. It welcomes sponsorship inquiries and is accepting registrations.

The foundation was formed by the union to provide a clear and unrestricted path toward participation in charitable, civic and community events, as well as fundraising, Hannemann said.

Because the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association is a labor organization, and the Hawaii Professional Firefighters Foundation is a nonprofit group, two current board members, Bobby Lee and Terry Cano, who also are members of the union board, will be stepping aside to advisory positions once successors are named.

"We would like to keep it separate, for tax purposes," said Hannemann, an attorney. Candidates for the volunteer board positions need not be firefighters, but should "have an appreciation" for the work firefighters do, he said. Those with a firefighter fondness and willingness to serve can contact the foundation office.

Hannemann and Mary­ellen Markley, CEO of First Impressions Inc., will retain their board positions.

For clarity, there is a Hono­lulu Firefighters Foundation that works to fund programs supporting firefighters with the Hono­lulu Fire Department. It stages its own fundraisers in support of community programs such as smoke detector installations for kupuna, in conjunction with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 1186.

Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.