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 inspiration. He taught me how to operate heavy equipment since I was 14,” he says. “It was amazing to be…
This Month’s Expert: Beverly Ament, President, Island Insurance Q: How do I reduce injuries in our office? It is in companies’ best interests to ensure a comfortable and safe work environment for their office workers. That’s because safer offices not only help to reduce workplace injuries and insurance costs, they also make employees happier. Technology has created many conveniences that…
Half of Hawaiʻi barely gets by. Our panel discussed what is being done to help low-income working families.
From left: Steve PetranikHalf of Hawaiʻi’s population is barely getting by. About 11% fall below the federal poverty level and another 37% are members of working families that barely make enough money to cover necessities like food, housing, transportation and child care, according to a report commissioned by Aloha United Way. At the same time, the Islands struggle to solve…
After automated slicing and bagging, a worker at Love’s Bakery fills trays with loaves that will be loaded on delivery trucks. The daily baking of breads, buns and doughnuts is spread over two shifts – 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. and 3 a.m. to noon – with 48 bakers working each shift, says Daryce Matsuda, VP at Love’s. The locally…
The Hawaiian Islands have been synonymous with exploration since Polynesians first crossed vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean to reach these shores. That same spirit of exploration inspires the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, known as Pisces. Its goal is to position Hawai‘i as a leader in space exploration through education programs and by developing sustainable aerospace technologies….
How two brothers are going beyond food service expectations For years, The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl has provided Hawaii with a unique combination of delicious food in a fun-filled atmosphere locals have come to know and love. When brothers and co-owners Dr. Gregg Uyeda and Chef Glenn Uyeda joined the team over a decade ago, they saw an opportunity…
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 she was 9. Her mother, Gail, got her master’s degree in city planning at Harvard while her father served in…
Join us for the 20th anniversary of this much-anticipated annual event! This event is a benefit for the Shidler College of Business Alumni Association. The wine tasting will feature hundreds of wines from around the world, and a craft beer and sake station. There will also be a silent auction and lucky draw available. A special slideshow of the past…
If your company wants to help its employees have happy, healthy and well-balanced lives, consider launching a wellness program. Janis Kushimi, VP of human resources at First Insurance Co. of Hawaii, offers these five steps based on her company’s program, which has earned gold level recognition by the American Heart Association two years in a row. 1. Have Clear Goals…
Hawai‘i’s idyllic setting allows for meeting spaces at some of the most picturesque locations. Depending on the type of event you’re hosting, whether that be a gala, trade show, seminar, convention or company meeting, the array of spaces to choose from are many. The difficult part is deciding, but the end result will be amazing. If you’re looking for…
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 the recipient as closely as bone marrow, yet it’s often discarded as medical waste. “My brother-in-law, Peter Po‘omaihealani, died at…
It was also a major theme at the East Meets West conference, which brought together investors, entrepreneurs and professionals from around the Pacific Venture capital’s investments in startups will focus more on sustainability in the coming decade, according to a diverse mix of investors, entrepreneurs and experts who gathered in Waikīkī for the sixth annual East Meets West conference. Jack…
The editorial team at Hawaii Business Magazine spent a lot of time, energy and brainpower last year producing six CHANGE Reports. I am as proud of those reports as anything I have worked on in 34 years of journalism in Hawai‘i. You can read them at hawaiibusiness.com/change. We want to help maintain the momentum on the CHANGE Initiative in 2020,…
It’s amazing how much passion there is within local businesses to support Hawai‘i’s schools and students. But how to connect the two, because many businesspeople don’t know many teachers and vice versa? Inspired by the momentum for CHANGE in Hawai‘i, Julie Morikawa, Susan Yamada and I created a solution that we call the ClimbHI Bridge. It’s an easy way for…
Have you ever made a bad hire? You’re not alone. While asking thoughtful interview questions can help determine if a candidate is a good fit for your work (or not), there’s one thing you have to watch out for: illegal interview questions. The good news is you can get the information you need while staying within the law, and protecting…
Save now Social Security will probably not be enough to support today’s working population because people are living longer and might have long-term care needs, writes Hua Zan, an assistant researcher at the UH Center on the Family, in an email. She recommends putting money into tax-sheltered accounts, like a 401(k) or individual retirement account, as early as you can…
As the fifth-generation leader of a local company, Jason Fujimoto has seen the lack of affordable housing impact his own Hawai‘i Island community, including people he knows and works with. “We’re now in the second year of population decline in our state because our locals just can’t afford to live here,” says the president and CEO of HPM Building Supply….
Caregiver, carer hand holding elder hand woman in hospice care. Philanthropy kindness to disabled concept.Public Service Recognition WeekKeali‘i Lopez, the Hawai‘i director of AARP, has a village to help her care for her 81-year-old mother: her adult son, daughter-in-law and two sisters chip in to provide around-the-clock care, and the family recently hired someone to help twice a week. Lopez…
The growing number of seniors is a personal challenge for hundreds of thousands of local families and a collective challenge for all of Hawai‘i. IF you donʻt see this silver tsunami coming, you’re not paying attention,” says Jim Shon, president of the Kokua Council, an advocacy and empowerment group that focuses on seniors. From 2020 to 2030, the percentage of…
February is American Heart Month. In Hawaii, the Department of Health (DOH) reports that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and is responsible for nearly 4,000 deaths per year. One of the biggest contributors to cardiovascular disease is stress. Sarah Lavallee, a stress management specialist at Straub Medical Center’s Ornish Lifestyle Medicine™ program and certified yoga teacher, says that how we respond to…
Less than five years ago coworking was considered to be a “movement” and possibly a trend that many believed would fade away. Fast forward to 2020 and coworking is it’s own industry that has disrupted the framework of office real-estate and the way people work. With our island’s road congestion, lack of office spaces available and the high cost of…
Imagine going to your favorite Hawai‘i beach, picnicking on the white sand and snorkeling over a reef teeming with yellow tang. Or hiking through a māmane reserve and hearing palila sing. How much should you pay for such experiences?
Elisia Flores took over as CEO in August 2019 from her father, Eddie Flores Jr. The new CEO starts 2020 with a record 200 L&L franchises and the launch of a new concept – L&L Hawaiian Mixplate – at three Mainland Walmarts. Next on her plate is to boost standardization across the company and to make L&L a household name. …