Honolulu Community College will hold a ceremony tomorrow to rename its Kapalama Media Conference Center after the late businessman Norman W.H. Loui, whose estate donated $3.4 million to the college this week.

His gift is the largest single donation to a University of Hawai'i community college.

Loui is best known as one of the brothers who owned equipment rental company Hawaiian Rent-All. Loui started the company with his brother, Gordon Loui, more than 40 years ago.

Loui graduated as a carpentry student from the school in 1961 when it was then Honolulu Technical School. From there, he studied in Chicago at DeVry Electronics Institute.

"We are grateful to the Loui family for their extraordinary investment in the community colleges," said John Morton, vice president for community colleges, in a news release.

Hawaiian Rent-All was sold in 2003. The company at the corner of Beretania and McCully streets is well-known for the humorous sayings on its sign. It's the state's largest equipment rental company.

Before his death on April 21, 2006 at the age of 65, Loui requested that a gift be made to his alma mater, Honolulu Community College, to help future students with financial support and to help the school's technical and trade programs.

The Loui family has a history of supporting UH. In 1987, Bernice Char Loui, Norman Loui's mother, endowed the School of Travel Industry Management with a computer laboratory in memory of her late husband, Leong Hop.

She also contributed to the creation of student exchange programs between the College of Tropical Agriculture and the Human Resources and five similar schools in China.

She's also made contributions to Kapi'olani Community College and the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

The ceremony to honor Norman Loui will be from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at HCC. Part of the Norman Loui estate gift is expected to go toward student scholarships.