Godsey, 41, acquired ProService with Dustin Sellers in 2005, with both serving as co-presidents until Sellers left the company at the end of 2013. Born and raised in Ocean Springs, Miss., Godsey has worked on Wall Street and as a biologist studying…
Many of Waikiki’s Homeless Are Mainland Snowbirds Just as tourists trade the cold winters of Minneapolis, Seattle and other cities for the warmth of Waikiki, so do another group of visitors. “There are homeless people who come here in the…
Waikiki is the Honolulu Police Department’ssmallest district, but, at three square miles it is also the most densely populated, says Officer John DeMello, who has been patrolling these streets for the past 10 years. I accompanied DeMello one Friday evening and…
Kosasa, 56, has been at the helm of the family business since 1999. His parents, Minnie and Sidney Kosasa, opened the first ABC Store in Waikiki in 1964. Kosasa talks about the future of ABC, which has about 1,000 employees at…
NAME: Yoshie Miakoda Chihara JOB: Spiritual psychic medium YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: Seven START: “I started out as ahypnotherapist to help people stop smoking. Around the same time, I was having serious relationship problems and nothing was working. I have always…
Restoration is a slow and sometimes painful process for people whose bodies have been battered by strokes, car crashes and other calamities. Helping those people regain their basic skills and abilities is the main goal of the Rehabilitation Hospital of the…
Sellers joined Bank of Hawaii in 1987 as an officer in private financial services and has worked in various management roles since then. In 2003, she assumed responsibility for the risk management division and was promoted to vice chairman and chief risk…
If you have lived in Hawaii for a while, the ranking of the richest and poorest ethnic groups shouldn’t surprise you. The hierarchy has remained the same for the past four decades, says UH ethnic studies professor Jonathan Okamura, who…
Payday is always a great day. It means more money in your wallet or bank account. But imagine if your pay stub had an asterisk and tiny print that was hardly readable: *Each dollar worth only 82 cents. That’s what…
Maurice Kondo has been collecting things since he grew up on the Hamakua Coast. “My elementary school teacher would tell me, ‘Small things entertain small minds,’ ” jokes Kondo, a principal at INK Architects, whose office at Dole Cannery is a menagerie of treasures,…
Ho, 71, took over at the school on June 26, 2007, after nearly 40 years in executive roles at HMSA, including executive VP from 1994 to 2005. He also served as chairman of Damien’s school board from 2002 to 2006.…
The most heated argument about modern offices pits the relative privacy of cubicles and offices versus collaborative nature of open workspaces When the cubicle hit the furnishings market in 1967, it forever changed the landscape of office culture and the…
Grace, a Maori, originally from Turangi, New Zealand, began his career at the Polynesian Cultural Center 30 years ago as a student performer. He climbed the ranks to senior VP of sales and marketing, assumed the newly created post of COO in…
Moy took the helm on May 20 after serving 12 years at Hawaii Gas’s parent company, New York-based Macquarie Infrastructure. As a senior VP at Macquarie, Moy worked on the acquisition of Hawaii Gas in 2005 and 2006. The native…
Kevin Lefforge says there’s nothing like the aroma of a garage housing a classic car. The lifelong “gearhead” and Steeltech project manager was on a quest for a hobby car while living in California in 2005. He ended his search when VW restoration specialist Lenny Copp showed…
Corbett Kalama sits in his one-man outrigger canoe six miles off Kailua Bay, surrounded by porpoises dancing on their tails. For most people, it’s a fantasy, but, for Kalama, it really happens. “At a young age, my father showed me how to interact with the dolphins in a special way,”…
Dustin Sellers is a poster child (and adult) of the evolution of Hawaii soccer. ProService Hawaii’s president of business development and marketing was 5 when the American Youth Soccer Organization launched its first season in the Islands in 1974. “My…
The costs add up because even small sports events need planning, permits, cones, cops, signs, safety and much more On any given Sunday, hundreds or thousands of weekend warriors are on the roads…
The most important person at a school is evaluated yearly on test scores, creating a good “school culture” and other factors Principals say success depends on building a strong team and creating support within the community Every day at Iroquois…
New contract says teachers must be rated as “satisfactory” or better to get pay raises A rating of “unsatisfactory” can get you fired Kristen Brummel spends a lot of time thinking about what “teacher accountability” means. In fact, it was…
Thursday Photographer: David Croxford >> When people on the Neighbor Islands need urgent medical care on Oahu, the employees of Hawaii Life Flight spring into action. Reporter Stacy Yuen and photographer David Croxford went behind the scenes at the company and tagged…
Whether you’re a woman or man, from the Baby Boom, Gen X or Gen Y, liking your job is one thing that everyone agrees is important in the workplace. Beyond that, what drives the genders and age groups can be…
For 13 years, the Hawaii Psychological Association has been recognizing psychologically healthy companies with its annual awards. Program chair Don Kopf says the organization looks at six criteria set by the American Psychological Association: Employee involvement in decision making on company issues;…
Company: Irehab is a Hawaii-based company offering online instructional videos for physical therapists to prescribe to their patients after initial rehab. Product: “Through Web and mobile technology, we provide patients with specific treatment…
Name: LOA WONG Job: GREENS COORDINATOR IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY Years of experience: 20 WHAT’S INVOLVED: “Greens” is a specialty in set dressing involving landscape design and building artificial props, such as fake trees. A greens coordinator…
Friday Morning Pacific Allied Products Ltd., Kapolei Photographer: David Croxford >> Hawaii’s only plastic bottling plant began manufacturing products made with polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, in 1992. The installation of a complete bottling line in 2010 allowed Pacific Allied Products…
Spencer is a serial entrepreneur who has served as president of HVCA since 1999. He talks about venture capital in Hawaii following the death of Act 221 and his plans for offshore fish farming using his patented 200-foot wide “Oceansphere.”…
Chef Chris Okuhara says he wasn’t left with a crumb at the inaugural Honolulu Night Market in Kakaako in October. The co-owner of Miso & Ale, a “pop-up” eatery, says close to 1,000 people visited his booth, which served pork…
Move over, Jet-Puffed, there’s a new marshmallow in town. Kristin and Kui Bento have introduced Marshmahalos, a gourmet take on the spongy confection. “They come in a variety of flavors, including Royal Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Crunch and Strawberry Lemonade,”…
Three Styles: iRun Performance is a short-wired earphone for iPod Shuffle users who wear hats or shirts while they train. iRun Advantage is for those who strap smart phones to their arms or attach iPods to their sports bras. iRun…
Only a few years ago, job seekers anxiously awaited the Sunday newspaper because it was the best way to find a new position. In good economic times, there were as many as 20 pages, filled with hundreds of opportunities. Those…
When Kara Shibata’s son “graduated” from Central Union Preschool in May, she realized she would miss the bag of fresh local produce that was delivered every other week by Holoholo General Store. “I knew it would be difficult to continue…
Brian Kajiyama’s assistance dog, Zeus, is a Labrador retriever that has learned sign language to help Brian, who has cerebral palsy. Beside the usual skills of retrieving items, turning on lights and opening doors, Zeus can even take the jump…
Frank took the helm of the YWCA of Oahu in January. She had been owner of Kimberly Frank Consulting since 2006, and, before that, served as organizational development manager at Servco Pacific Inc. The attorney and mother of three young children talks…
Malia Espinda is a survivor. Her friend, Sydney Kline, wasn’t as lucky. The two were once victims of domestic violence. Espinda is now in a healthy relationship and thriving in her career as a legislative analyst at The Queen’s Health Systems.…
This Sept. 11 marks the 11th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and the 20th anniversary of the day Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai and Oahu’s Waianae Coast. The solemn occasion is a fitting opportunity to publish this photo essay on the men…
The App: HealthCare Alert is a free app created by a Hawaii physician, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, who has an Ewa Beach practice. The app has iPhone, Android and Mobile Web versions that are all designed to alert users of preventive…
Kuriyama has served as A&B CEO since 2010 and previously served as president. He talks about the recent separation of the company’s transportation and land businesses. The split, announced in December 2011, is one of the most historic events in…
And How Their Pay Is Determined There is always a collective gasp and some outrage when the pay of top executives is publicized. In these economically challenging times, many people are angry that the CEOs of big corporations are paid so…
Patrick Novak, CEO of The French Gourmet, a Hawaii company that specialized in artisan frozen pastry dough, reflected on the issues that killed his once-thriving business and kept coming back to the Jones Act. The company was featured in the…
When Taiji Terasaki needs fresh herbs for a pot of stew or the ingredients for an organic salad, he’ll send his 7-year-old son, Kenta, and 4-year-old daughter, Miya, out to the family’s kitchen garden. There’s quite a selection in the…
Gummy-bear keychains, Pop-Tart necklaces and shave-ice rings. The art of “deco sweet” or miniature food jewelry is all the rage in Japan. Local business Bit of Sugar is taking the trendy, handmade treasures to new heights this summer. Co-owner Lei…
Brizee joined AHL in 1995 as a project architect and manager, and was promoted to principal in 2004 and CEO in 2010. He shares his views on rail and the importance of the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design)…
Drop by Hanalei’s Tahiti Nui on what should be a slow weeknight and you will quickly understand what movie-making means to the local economy. The family-owned restaurant and bar, affectionately called “Da Nui” by locals, was packed and buzzing with…
When the University of Central Florida’s football team lost its last scheduled game in 2005 to Tulsa, its consolation prize was a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. “Let me get this right,” coach George O’Leary quipped. “We lost and…
Name: Steve Looney Job: Tattoo artist; owner, Pacific Soul Tattoo Experience: 12 years professionally Start: “I took an interest in tattooing as a 15-year-old growing up in Anaheim, California,” Looney says. He studied graphic design in college but couldn’t find…
The first woman to lead the full-service medical facility in Kailua discusses Castle’s renovations, green efforts and open-heart-surgery program. Castle is undergoing a $26 million renovation. What’s changing? Over the last 10-plus years, we’ve been renovating older areas of the…
Roger Higa, Melissa Chang, George “Chef Mavro” Mavrothalassitis and Shanah Trevenna are very different people with one thing in common: Each experienced a turning point that put them on an unexpected journey to a new calling. For Roger Higa, that…
COMPANY: Tetris Online has been headquartered in Honolulu since its launch in January 2006. Co-founders Henk Rogers and Minoru Arakawa have homes in Hawaii, and Rogers’ other organizations, including Blue Planet Software and Blue Planet Foundation, are based in Honolulu.…
A new company offers Hawaii businesses something unique: a peek at secrets that may be hidden inside their own organizations. Risk Source Hawaii provides customers with a 24-hour whistleblower hotline so the customers’ employees can report workplace problems anonymously. “Through…
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.
