NAME: Reneau Kennedy JOB: Clinical and forensic psychologist BEGINNINGS: Kennedy was born and raised in rural Idaho. She received her doctorate in psychology from Boston University in 1994. “I did my dissertation on men who murdered and I did two…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Antique Alley is a collector’s delight and a storehouse of Hawai‘i history and pop culture. Andrew Abraham "Pake" Zane met Julie Lauster…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Name: Dennis Takata Age: 69 Job: Beekeeper & Owner, Hawaiʻi Tropical Honey Beginnings: "My wife's grandfather came to Hawaiʻi from Japan to…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. We want to feel someone really hears us, and that they get what’s going on,” says Darcy Ing, a part-time clinical psychologist for…
Name: Thomas R. Birchard Jr. Age: 50 Job: Senior forecaster, National Weather Service Honolulu/Central Pacific Hurricane Center Beginnings: After high school in the New Jersey/New York area, Birchard joined his mother on Kaua‘i. “I worked as a crew member for…
Name: Samuel K. Peck Age: 57 Job: Heavy equipment operator foreman, Goodfellow Bros. Inc., Waikoloa office, Hawai‘i Island Beginnings: Peck grew up and lives in Waimea, where his father owned a trucking and heavy equipment company. “My dad was my…
Laurie and Gail Baron’s Nohea Gallery offers local art at stores in Kahala Mall and the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Laurie Baron has loved art since childhood. Her early years were spent in Mānoa, then her family moved to Boston when…
Blood from babies’ umbilical cords at birth can be used instead of bone marrow transplants to save the lives of patients with diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia. And the cord blood does not need to match…
Events International has been planning, producing, marketing and servicing events throughout the Pacific since 1987. In 2017, it merged with Arch Hawaii, a custom design and fabrication shop – allowing the combined company to offer customers even more services. “We’re…
Name: Jefferson Chang Age: 40 Job: Geophysicist/seismologist, U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawai‘i Island Beginnings: Chang is from Waimānalo on O‘ahu and a Kailua High School graduate. “I ended up in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I received a B.S. in…
Siletha Hubbard moved to Hawai‘i from North Carolina in 2014 to be closer to her daughter. Two years later the monthly rent on her Waikīkī apartment was raised by $400. “I’m just living on Social Security. I have no pension,”…
Manoa School of Music and the Arts: Providing youngsters "with a refreshed brain for life" Tim Stanton says the Manoa School of Music & the Arts is unique: It’s “the only school in America that has a liquor license and…
Kiley Adolpho, 39, says she tried for years to become a carpenter, but found there was a lot of competition and the field was male-dominated. “I tried to apply for part-time jobs, or full-time jobs when I was between jobs,…
Name: Robert Fram VII Age: 26 Job: Fish buyer, Garden & Valley Isle Seafood Inc. Beginnings: Fram graduated from Hawai‘i Pacific University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in business management. His father started…
Laureen Kukino, 56, is legally blind in her right eye and has only a quarter of her vision remaining in her left eye. The retired Family Court bailiff lost her sight in an accident involving children and a stray volleyball…
Name: Garrett Barker Age: 35 Job: Lieutenant Commander, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter pilot, U.S. Coast Guard Beginnings: Barker was born in Dallas and grew up nearby. “My house was located along a military flight training route and I regularly saw fighter…
Korean Hibiscus BBQ offers traditional dishes localized for Hawai‘i Blake Nuibe, who’s been a customer of Korean Hibiscus BBQ for almost 15 years, calls it “the best Korean takeout on the island: fast, consistent, quality Korean food and the portions…
Aloha Hula Supply in Salt Lake hand makes many of the items it sells For more than 10 years, Leina‘ala Pavao Jardin has been buying hula implements and artificial lei for her hālau’s foreign performances from Aloha Hula Supply. “I…
Emma Tugade says she was wracked with pain, and felt half-dead when she first came to the Gulick Elder Center more than 10 years ago. Today, the 73-year-old says, “I feel like I’m born again!” The center is one of…
Name: Joyce Marvel-Benoist (MAR-velle Ben-WAH) Age: 58 Job: Laughter coach and owner, The Exclusive Hawaii, an addiction treatment center in Hakalau on Hawai‘i Island Beginnings: Marvel-Benoist was born and raised in the rural coastal community of Tillamook County, Oregon. “My…
Name: Johnathan Casey Age: 31 Job: Senior aquarium biologist and laboratory manager, Waikīkī Aquarium Beginnings: “I was first inspired to become an aquarium biologist when I was 6 during a field trip to the Seattle Aquarium,” Casey recalls. “I was…
Moloka‘i is known as The Friendly Isle, but the nonprofit Moloka‘i Child Abuse Prevention Pathways is teaching students about uncomfortable issues and another dimension to friendship. “The MCAPP teachers taught us all about suicide and bullying,” says ‘Ohi‘aku Ritte Camara…
“I feel more hopeful due to the help I’ve received from Parents and Children Together,” says Nannette Fritz, 41, a single mom of two young girls. “They gave me a full-time job so I can support my family. It’s a…
Name: Shaden Sato Age: 37 Job: Banquet and events chef, Halekulani Start: “My first job was as a short order cook at Zippy’s when I was 16” and still in school, he recalls. Sato graduated from the culinary arts program…
The Island Archer has been supplying local enthusiasts for over three decades Mention archery and images of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest or Native Americans hunting on the prairie might come to mind. But what you may not know is…
“I would recommend Hawaiian Community Assets to anybody and everybody. At any stage of life you can benefit from financial education,” says Shyla Lafaele, 32, who works for the housing education nonprofit. “I feel empowered when I help someone because…
Name: Paulette Crammond Job: Hair, makeup and wardrobe stylist for film, TV and stage productions Start: Paulette Crammond was born and raised around Huntington Beach, California. “I was secretary/paddler for the Southern California Outrigger Canoe Association. They come every year…
During a supposedly slow day at The Girls Who Bake Next Door store and kitchen, baking pans fly into ovens, timers are anxiously set and cupcakes deftly frosted. Not your usual definition of “slow.” “It could be worse; we got…
EMSS focused on paper forms when it was founded 31 years ago; today, the company is “a one-stop shop” for paper, tech, consulting and many other solutions. Vietnam veteran Larry Watanabe was the manager of Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s information…
Name: Elise Johnson Age: 56 Job: Private investigator and owner, Busch Investigations Inc., which uses her maiden name. Start: “I grew up watching ‘Charlie’s Angels’ on TV, and I thought I could be Farrah Fawcett,” Johnson quips. “The job’s not…
NAME: Steve Hawkes JOB: Performer and owner, Stevo the Clown START: “When I was 8, I got this pogo stick and a unicycle under the Christmas tree, so I mastered both of them early on,” Hawkes recalls. “I was in…
Kalamaikamala Elouise Margaret Sylvester, 26, moved from American Samoa to Oahu when she was a young child for corrective leg surgery. She lived with her biological aunt and her aunt’s husband. “I was sexually abused by my aunt’s husband at…
The first shop opened in 1938 and today dozens are owned and operated by entrepreneurs with grit, ingenuity and vision. If you’ve passed through a federal state or county office building or a state airport, you’ve probably seen Hawaii’s enterprising…
Name: Lincoln Smith Age: 34 Job: Tow Truck Operator and Owner, Areo Towing & Recovery The Kaimuki High School graduate got the idea to start his own towing company in 2012 when he was working as a security guard at…
All four of Stacy Sur’s daughter’s have attended The Early School. “They absolutely love it. The school focuses on building socialization skills, the ability to explore and think, and it lets the kids be kids,” says the Waialae-Kahala resident. Sur…
Name: Tom Chmielowicz Age: 36 Job: Humane investigator, Hawaiian Humane Society Start: The New Jersey native received a bachelor’s degree in environmental economics from Rutgers University in 2006. He moved to Honolulu in 2014 to be closer to his fiancee’s family. “I had…
When Zac Hosler needed funding in 2014 to build out his aquaponics business in South Kona, he believed he would be rejected by a bank. “Financing for farmers is hard to come by,” says the majority owner of Ha Farms…
Maebo Noodle Factory was founded in 1950 and is still going strong. Maebo Noodle Factory in Hilo, famous for its flavorful One-Ton Chips, is one of those rare local businesses that’s still owned and operated by the same family after…
Island Sound Studios in Hawaii Kai has hosted stars like Kanye West, Beyonce and Rihanna "My thing is keeping this studio open for Hawaii,” Gaylord Holomalia says. “It’s more of a mission for me. I want it to be available…
When Krista Harper’s first son, Hudson, was born in 2016, she was a military wife with few close friends and relatives in Hawaii. “I was really alone when I became a new mom,” says the 31-year-old marriage and family therapist…
Name: Joshua Stanbro Age: 47 Job: Chief Resilience Officer and Executive Director, Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience, City and County of Honolulu Start: The California native graduated from the Berkeley School of Law in 2001 but says he…
Greg Ventayen, 50, has renal failure and congestive heart failure, is blind in his right eye and visually impaired in his left. About two years ago, the former industrial salesman was referred to the nonprofit Assistive Technology Resource Centers of…
Daniel Lankford opened the first store of his Ohana Greenhouse chain when he was just 23. Thirteen years later he has four locations. Daniel Lankford is compelled to succeed. “I’ve worked a full-time job since I was 14 and I…
Name: Kamakaniolu De Dely Age: 36 Job: Unexploded ordnance technician team leader Start: The Waianae High School graduate received a certificate from Texas A&M University's Unexploded Ordinance Technician Level 1 program in 2006 after working as a bomb sweeper for several…
Name: Caden Morikuni Age: 41 Job: Software architect, RevaComm Start: Morikuni was raised in Aiea and went to Iolani School. He has a B.S. in computer and information science from the University of Oregon. “Initially, I was in the architecture program and decided…
Sherrie Coronas says life was unbearable after the death of her 23-year-old son, Ian, from a rare cancer in 2016. “I didn’t think I could go on. It seemed impossible that there could be a future without him,” says Coronas,…
Everyone in this nonprofit has dealt with mental illness “Bud Bowles saved my life. He came to my aid when I was floundering and gave me a kit of tools so I could deal with my mental illness,” says Mark…
Name: Casey Fortuno Age: 35 Job: Party character actor and owner, Storybook Entertainment Inc. Start: Fortuno began singing in musical productions right out of high school and has been a full-time performer ever since. Her husband is Elvis impersonator Johnny Fortuno. “I opened…
Annabel Anae’s mobile business brings hearing help to her patients’ homes. How do you know if you’ve got hearing loss? “Most of my clients say they first experience tinnitus or ringing in the ears, maybe dizziness or they can’t hear…
Alex Franco and Maui Cattle Co. are helping grow Hawaii’s two-century-old ranching industry. "Meat fabrication is an art. We have to identify individual cuts from quartered carcasses slaughtered by a contractor and take them off the bone,” explains Alex Franco,…
Find out who led the way in 14 categories, and how two organizations attract and keep employees despite serious challenges.
Each of the garments made at Kealopiko’s screen-printing workshop are one-of-a-kind and tell a story.
