John '74 and Carri Morgan – Taking the Long View

When asked why an endowed fund and why now, John and Carri reflected on their 33 years of marriage and shared life values, based on a deep sense of stewardship and responsibility. They live out the belief that "to whom much is given, much is expected," and they are also imbued with a sense of place – as a family they are truly of Hawai'i. And their ties to Hawai'i are inseparable from their feelings for Punahou.

 

"Punahou has meant so much to both of us," John continued, "and to our entire families, on my side going back to Charles Judd in 1842. That's historical, but the more meaningful part to me is how much Punahou has meant in our lives and our children's lives. It's a small thing for us to do – to give back to the future."

For John, Punahou and Hawai'i history are intertwined. He traces his roots in the islands to the early 19th century through his father's Judd family line, and his great-great- grandfather Charles Hastings Judd was in the first class of Punahou students (1842 – 1856). His Morgan grandfather arrived in Hawai'i in 1907 and married a Punahou alumna from the Class of 1914. Six generations of John's family have attended the School.

Carri's journey to Hawai'i was more self-determined. She met a University of Hawai'i counselor at a college fair who encouraged her to consider the School of Social Work, prompting her to leave Albuquerque, New Mexico. She and John met at UH and were friends for quite a while before deciding to date, marry and start a family. They started off working at the Morgan family's Kualoa Ranch, which then had only six employees. Carri initiated the education program at Kualoa and remembers riding on horseback to greet school buses. Today, Kualoa Ranch combines ecotourism with dedicated stewardship of the ahupua'a, which Punahou Trustee Dr. Gerritt P. Judd purchased from Kamehameha III in 1850. Following his family's entrepreneurial spirit, John has taken Kualoa into agriculture, conducting research and development in cacao, banana, papaya, grass-fed beef, shrimp, tilapia and, most recently, Pacific oysters. Carri decided to go into teaching full time, landing at Punahou two decades ago, and today serves as the director of Luke Center for Public Service.

John and Carri reflected on the journey of their children, Jason '01, Kyle '03 and Lindsey '09, through Punahou: "They have a longer view of the future because of their longer view of the past. They realize the importance of their legacy and the opportunities they've had."

"I've loved watching Punahou's journey – merging Hawaiian history and missionary history and looking at the past and the potential for the future," Carri concluded. "I really do think that Punahou has at its core the goal to make the world a better place through education; I can't think of a more worthy cause than giving to Punahou."