6 Sunday, July 31, 2016 Hawaii Tribune-Herald HAWAII ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HICCSCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS ATHENA AWARD® The Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce has the honor of annually presenting the internationally recognized ATHENA Award® which recognizes community members who have achieved the highest level of professional excellence, steadfast dedication to community service, and works to improve the quality of life for others in the community and actively assist others, particularly women, in realizing their full leadership potential. Brenda S. Ho, CEO of Hospice of Hilo, was honored as the 2015 ATHENA Award® recipient. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a small, four-person staff to an organization with more than 145 staff members and volunteers. Each year, the ATHENA Award® recipient is awarded a $500 cash award donated by past ATHENA recipients to “Pay It Forward” to assist other women in our community. Roberta Chu is the Chair of the ATHENA® Award Committee. KTA Super Stores and Bank of Hawaii sponsor the annual luncheon. SBA AWARDS Each year, the U.S. Small Business Administration honors the most outstanding small firms in Hawaii to recognize their achievements and highlight the importance of small firms to a vibrant local economy. The Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce has annually recognized the Hawaii County small-business winners at a luncheon and General Membership meeting. A Chamber Member Business Expo was featured at this year’s event. The 2016 Awards luncheon featured guest speaker Lt. Col. Jake Peterson, Commander, Pohakuloa Training Area. The SBA Award winners from Hawaii County included Chamber member Toshihisa Aoki, Hawaiian Fresh Products, Inc., State of Hawaii Small Business Exporter of the Year; Chamber members Wayne Kamitaki, Paul Mizoguchi, Guy Kamitaki and Lynn Ushijima, Maui Varieties, Ltd. (HouseMart), State of Hawaii Entrepreneurial Success of the Year; Chamber member Art Taniguchi, Bank of Hawaii, State of Hawai‘i Small Business Advocate for Financial Services; Chamber members Rob and Cindy Pacheco, Hawaii Forest & Trail, Ltd. and Kohala Zipline, County of Hawaii Small Business Person of the Year; Chamber member Nancy Ginter-Miller, Hawaii Small Business Development Center and Product to Product, Inc., County of Hawaii Small Business Advocate for Minorities; Martha Greenwell, Arthur Greenwell and Rhonda Kavanagh, Kealakekua Past ATHENA Award® Recipients at the 2015 ATHENA Award® Luncheon. Shown, back row, left to right: Mary Begier (2014), Sharon Scheele (1989), Gretchen Lawson (2002), Keynote Speaker Ginny Pressler, Hawaii State Health Director, Sulma Gandhi (2009), and Nancy Cabral (2013). Front row, left to right, Audrey Wilson (2008), Carol Van Camp (2002), 2015 ATHENA Award® Recipient Brenda S. Ho, Phoebe Lambeth (2007) Roberta Chu (2006), Jan Higashi (1995), Irene Nagao (1990). Miles Yoshioka, HICC Executive Officer; ATHENA® Award Sponsors Barry Taniguchi, KTA Super Stores and Roberta Chu, Bank of Hawaii; 2015 ATHENA Award® Recipient Brenda S. Ho and Mike Kaleikini, HICC President. See AWARDS Page 7
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