How One Man Turned His Disability Into Leadership at Tripler

With training and support from Lanakila Pacific, Eugene Lene went from job fair attendee to groundskeeping leader at Tripler Army Medical Center and a finalist for a national award honoring federal workers with disabilities.

Eugene Lene leads a groundskeeping team at Tripler Army Medical Center, a large sloping site covering 367 acres on Moanalua Ridge. Known as a mentor and hard worker, his achievements are all the more remarkable because of an intellectual disability that makes comprehension difficult. But with training and support from Lanakila Pacific, he has made major progress, and today he is a finalist for the national William M. Usdane Award, which celebrates federal contractor employees with disabilities who have exhibited outstanding achievement and exceptional character.

“I’m just grateful and shocked and appreciate” being selected as a finalist for the award, Lene said in an interview.

As for his work, he said, “I’m good when every day I come to work. I’m happy.”

Company Support: Lanakila Pacific is a nonprofit based in Kalihi that provides meals for seniors and people with disabilities, and helps them become self-sufficient through training programs and job opportunities.

Lene said Lanakila Pacific allowed him to grow as a person, a worker and a leader.

“For all those years I’ve been here… I was just happy,” Lene said. “I never did become a leader in any other job, but this job and all this — I really appreciate it.”

Beginnings: Lene grew up in Kalihi, graduated from Farrington High School in 2001 and then entered a Lanakila Pacific training program that prepared him for employment. From there, he worked different jobs, including for a moving company and in security, but none of them offered the kind of work environment he was looking for. So he searched for something new. “To be honest, it was kind of hard at that time looking for a job,” he said.

At a job fair in 2014, he saw the Lanakila Pacific booth and remembered his time in its training program. He joined the nonprofit as a grounds service worker in 2014.

Work Environment: Lene recalled cutting grass with his father at a church in Kailua when he was a kid. “That’s how I learned how to cut grass, from my dad.”

Tripler is Lanakila Pacific’s largest contract worksite. Most of the crew’s work is cutting grass, but they also trim trees, pull weeds and use string trimmers, riding mowers, hole saws and hedgers. They wear safety glasses and gloves when they handle equipment.

Lene said working at Tripler can be “pretty intense, because you are on a sloping area, then your legs become sore.”

Evan Nakatsuka, Lanakila Pacific’s director of workforce programs, said six out of seven members on that crew have an “invisible disability,” which can include an intellectual or mental health challenge or autism. Nakatsuka, who joined in the interview with Lene, said his strength is making the work enjoyable for his team and keeping it simple. “Eugene is the one with his finger on the pulse of the team, so they follow his lead and his positivity,” he said.

Lene said he feels supported by Lanakila Pacific through constant communication and assistance. John Oda, Lanakila Pacific’s assistant manager of the grounds maintenance department, checks in with the crews daily at Tripler and two other locations and will help with the work when needed.

Every morning, Lene and Oda give safety briefings to the crew, focusing on that day’s work site, being mindful of passing vehicles and pedestrians and proper use of protective equipment.

Lene, one of three in the crew who drive themselves to work, also trains new employees and teaches them how to use weed trimmers. Although Tripler has a lot of ground to cover, he tells his co-workers to approach work without stress. They enjoy each other’s company and have fun while still focusing on getting the job done. “The guys I work with, it’s a blessing,” he said, and he thanks his co-workers every day for their hard work.

Challenges: Lene and his co-workers have faced challenges in the past year — the sudden death of a crew member and two others leaving the team — but Lene encourages them to stay positive.

“I want my work environment to be a good work environment.”