Crowning achievement
by Donica Kaneshiro | April 29, 2021
Every little girl dreams of being royalty, but Brianne Yamada knows it takes more than dreams to wear a crown. It took passion, poise and perseverance to claim the title of queen at the 69th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, an event to help perpetuate Japanese culture.
This year’s theme was kibou, or hope, a nod to the uncertainty of the pandemic that forced family to watch the Festival Ball, the festival’s final event, via livestream. They celebrated Brianne’s win from their socially-distanced hotel rooms, rather than in the ballroom of the Sheraton Waikiki April 3.
Brianne, a project engineer for our power plant facilities, spent months learning Japanese history and exploring Japanese culture to prepare for the festival.
Brianne had considered the festival in previous years, but said she was hesitant to embrace public speaking on a large stage. In the spirit of continuous improvement, this year she decided to go for it.
“When I thought about just all the public speaking that was involved, it really made me nervous, but I decided to finally build up the courage, and apply. I felt I was ready to put myself out there, and address what was once my biggest fear of public speaking,” Brianne said. “In my career and in my life, I wanted to overcome that nervousness.”
Her journey to the crown was a rewarding one, with cultural classes featuring martial arts, performing arts and visual arts, including Brianne’s favorite, calligraphy, which brought back lessons from childhood.
“This is where I really had the time to appreciate the culture and what we were learning as contestants,” she said.
“I remember as a kid, my grandma would take my brother and I out into her Kauai garage, late at night, and take out her calligraphy supplies, and would teach us simple characters. My brother and I would just joke around and try to paint each other’s arms. We didn’t appreciate what she was trying to teach us. It was only through this class, did it really ring a bell in my head and remind me of what she was trying to teach us.”
It was also in one of these cultural classes that Brianne discovered a Hawaiian Electric connection.
Construction project manager Garrett Matsumoto, who is also chief instructor for Kenshikan Kendo Club, taught the kendo class.
“Bri did very good in learning in such a short time and did very well in her match,” Garrett said after the class, which was conducted virtually. “It was great to see fellow employees getting involved in the community.”
Garrett was proud to hear that Brianne took the top spot in the festival. “It assured me how great our employees are in the workplace and outside of the workplace.”
Those who work with Brianne weren’t surprised to hear that her commitment to collaboration and her positive attitude also won her the titles of Miss Congeniality and Miss Popularity.
Brianne credits her grandmother with teaching her persistence and cultural pride on a three-month trip to Okinawa where she discovered a life-long passion — Okinawan taiko. “There were times where I loved it and there are also times where I wanted to do something that was considered more normal, like play basketball, volleyball or soccer, but my grandmother had instilled in me this value of perseverance, and how to keep going. And I’m so glad I did.”
Fifteen years later, Brianne is still drumming and now teaches others the art form. “I’ve had the unique opportunity to teach students ranging from the ages of 5 to 93 years young, and I’m able to be a role model to my students.”
The Cherry Blossom Court’s goal of giving back to the community is one that is familiar to Brianne.
“Being inclusive and collaborative, being able to listen, and finding ways to bring people together — I thought that there were so many similarities to being a contestant and our company culture,” she said.
Donica Kaneshiro is a communications consultant at Hawaiian Electric Company.
