He is without question one of the most visible state employees in Hawaii. From natural disasters to man-made blunders --- State Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa was always available. Friday, friends and colleagues said aloha to "their hero."

Emotions filled the room in Mapunapuna as colleagues of Ishikawa wished him well on his next adventure.

"You covered falling rocks, floods, damaged bridges, earthquakes, island wide power outages and who knows what else they threw at you -- our hero," said Oahu district engineer, Pratt Kinimaka.

For five years, Ishikawa was on call 24-7, 365 days a year --- willing, able and always available for the media and the public.

"People always think of him as the person on the news no -- he's the guy behind the scenes that's helping to resolve problems before it starts," said Kinimaka.

"He was on call 24-7 and was always able to communicate in a very effective way what the issue was and there was some big issues during his time," said Governor Linda Lingle.

He was a familiar face to residents and a source of information during some of our biggest disasters and events. From the Kaloko dam break on Kauai -- to floods, earthquakes and rock slides. When copper thieves and graffiti vandals hit freeways -- and when trucks hit freeway over-passes, Ishikawa was just a phone call away.

The former Honolulu Advertiser reporter had a way with people and a way with words.

"I think there's a sale on tape measures at Home Depot," he said following a recent incident on the freeway.

Starting tomorrow, he won't be available to the media.

"Five years being on call 24-7 -- I think my family has sacrificed enough at this point," he said to colleagues. "My son started kindergarten so I just thought it was time."

"Very very big shoes -- somebody is going to have to have big feet to do that job," added Kinimaka.

"Somebody asked my if the last five years was worth and I told him yeah it was worth it," said Ishikawa.

He will join Bright Light Marketing Group as a vice president next eek.