Kona Sunrise started as a breakfast club when a former member of the Rotary Club of Kona, Cynthia Hope, began asking former and current members of the Rotary Club of Kona if they might be interested in starting a new breakfast club. The usual lunch meetings made it difficult for her to leave her job; five other members had left the club for the same reason.

With full District support, Kona Sunrise Rotary was officially chartered on April 9, 2009 with 26 members.

Ms. Hope served as the first president of the club from its official charter date until the end of the 2010 Rotary year, a period of 16 months. Since its inception, the club has averages about 22 members each year, with a high in 2015 of 29 members.


The Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise is one of 5 clubs in the District to become a Peace Builder Club.

Peacebuilder Clubs are a Rotarian movement creating energy and momentum for peaceful conflict resolution around the world. In 2018, our RAGFP Leadership Team decided to champion this program in Rotary Clubs worldwide as an essential call to action for Rotarian peacebuilders. The Peacebuilder Club program is designed to enhance Rotary International’s mission of, "advancing world understanding, goodwill and peace" through the promotion of programs and projects that align with our organization's Seven Areas of Focus – in particular, the first: Peace, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution. Rotarian Peacebuilder Clubs commit to engage in dialogues and projects that promote positive peace both in their communities and across the globe.

On November 28th, 2018, the Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise became one of 5 other clubs in the District to become a Peace Builder Club. The inaugural committee members were Bernice Barnett, David Bateman, Nestorio Domingo, Mike Fraser, Al Jubitz, Bob Kabeiseman, Eve (Jing) Politz, and Dennis Rast.

As part of our Peacebuilder Club commitment, we have installed 8 Peace Poles in West Hawai'i.

In 2021 – 2022 our goal is to provide peace and conflict resolution skills to elementary age girls as part of RI Presidents initiative of "Empowering Girls."


Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Kona Sunrise (Unofficial) Vision:
We are a passionate and fun club of diverse membership, focused on caring and serving our local Ohana to create lasting change.