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Over 50 students from across Maui County, including 3 from Molokai, joined healthcare professionals at Kaiser Permanente’s Maui Lani clinic in November for a Saturday filled with career exploration and hands-on learning. The event, organized by Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) STEMworks™ program and Kaiser Permanente staff, was designed to introduce students to a variety of healthcare specialties through activities run by medical providers themselves.
“With healthcare comprising over 10% of Maui County’s employment, MEDB is committed to supporting the growth of our local healthcare workforce, identified as a top priority by the Maui County Healthcare Partnership,” said Ila Ferris, MEDB’s Healthcare Program Manager. “We’re so grateful for our continuing collaboration with Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi to introduce students to the many career pathways available so they can thrive locally and contribute to the wellbeing of their community.”
The five specialties featured during the event were primary care, physical therapy, pharmacy, wound care, and phlebotomy. Students practiced skills like taking vital signs using a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and drawing blood from a realistic silicone arm. At the physical and occupational therapy station, participants learned about human anatomy and exercises for recovering from sports injuries in Kaiser Permanente’s on-site gym. Students enjoyed a Jeopardy-style game to test their pharmacy knowledge, and the wound care station emphasized the importance of proper wound treatment using fruits to illustrate what wounds look and feel like during the healing process.
Students reflected on their own interests and possible career pathways after hearing about the experiences of the healthcare professionals involved in running the event. “I learned about being an internal medicine doctor and how there are many specialties you can branch off into,” noted Maui High School senior Jasmyn Yun.
“I really loved being able to get hands on and being able to talk with professionals in the medical field…for the short amount of time we had, I think it was really good,” commented Kody Manegdeg, a senior at King Kekaulike High School. “There’s way more to the medical field than just nurses and doctors,” he added.
Building a strong physician and clinician pipeline for Maui starts long before college or medical school; it starts with exposure, encouragement, and opportunity. These career exploration days are another step toward ensuring our Valley Isle students see a place for themselves in the healthcare workforce.
– Dr. Chris Martin, Associate Area Medical Director, Maui, Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi
Giving concerts for the community at various venues around the island, the Maui Community Band, a nonprofit ensemble, offers numerous performances throughout the year. The band is a diverse group of about 45 volunteer musicians, with members from all walks of life, including doctors, opera singers, car salesmen, bankers, teachers, hotel workers, and retirees. Many are also students from local intermediate and high schools who yearn for more performance experience and challenges. The rest are adults who enjoy maintaining their skills as well as mentoring the younger musicians. The band practices year-round at Iao Intermediate band room on Thursday evenings.
The current Maui Community Band Director, Ted Manzano, Jr., is a retired middle-school band teacher and performer with over 40 years of experience as a musician and educator. He joined the band as a musician in 2010 and accepted the director position in 2017, following in the footsteps of the late Lisa Owen, who founded the Maui Community Band in 2003 and was involved in the Maui music scene for over 30 years as a professional tuba player and conductor.
Manzano said, “We’re open to anyone who is interested in playing with us. Most of our members have instruments in their closets they just want to play. They hear about us through the grapevine, which helps fulfill our mission of being here for those who simply love to play music.”
The Community Band has a long-time relationship with the Arts Education for Children Group, who commissioned several original works for them. The band has also performed during the Lahaina 4th of July fireworks show. “We still try to perform in Lahaina,” Manzano noted. “Our fourth of July concert was always at the banyan tree; this past year it was in Kāʻanapali. We will surely perform somewhere on the West Side to be part of the support system for everyone. That’s why we’re here: to be Maui Strong!”
This holiday season, the Maui Community Band concert schedule includes performances on December 6, 3:45 pm at the Shops at Wailea, and December 13, 6:00 pm at South Maui Gardens. The Community Band’s performances are free to the public, and attendees are encouraged to arrive early as seating may be limited.
I love this band! The camaraderie among the musicians is phenomenal! We are currently practicing for our winter holiday concerts, which will be full of traditional music with some new surprises.
Ted Manzano, Jr., Director, Maui Community Band
This fall season, the inaugural Lights for Lahaina and Light March filled the grounds of Maria Lanakila Catholic Church with healing and aloha. From heartfelt activities to the powerful Light March that brought hundreds together, the event was a reminder of Lahaina’s strength, resilience, and spirit. The event was presented by Aloha Amplified, a non-profit, in coordination with Kumu Wilmont Kamaunu Kahaiali‘i from Mālama Maui ‘Ohana Foundation and the community.
“We are thankful for those near and far who joined us to reflect on Lahaina’s past, celebrated its enduring spirit, and who imagine a brighter future, together,” said Aloha Amplified co-founder, Linn Nishikawa. “We created Aloha Amplified so we can step moreinto the grassroots space and stand with our neighbors during times of uncertainty, helping people find resources, strength, and hope. We are deeply honored to have Wilmont Kamaunu Kahaiali‘i serve as a member on our Aloha Amplified Board.”
“This Thanksgiving, I’m filled with gratitude for everyone who came together to honor Lahaina,” said Kahaiali‘i. “As someone who calls this place home, seeing over 850 people gather to remember, to heal, and to hold each other up meant everything. Light has the power to guide us forward, even as we heal from the darkness. That’s what I witnessed: families decorating lanterns in honor of loved ones, keiki sharing hope through art, and hundreds walking silently through our streets during the Light March, carrying that light together.”
Reverend Amy Crowe also reflected, “the Lights for Lahaina experience is part of our kuleana, our sacred responsibility, to support one another and step beyond our comfort zones to embrace each other in new ways.” Crowe is a former pastor of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Lahaina, which had a church building on Front Street that burned in the 2023 fires.
Looking to the future, Aloha Amplified’s new Lahaina Time Capsule project will preserve community member’s messages, photos, and reflections. The time capsule project was introduced to the community during the Lights for Lahaina event, where participants were invited to begin contributing to the capsule’s contents. Those who could not attend can still take part by submitting their entries at www.LightsforLahaina.org/timecapsule. Submissions are open until the end of 2025. In addition to written notes, community members are welcome to submit artwork and recorded video or audio messages. The capsule will be buried at Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in Lahaina in January 2026, and it will be opened on August 8, 2043, twenty years after the 2023 wildfires.
We’re already envisioning Lights for Lahaina 2026 as a two-day gathering that deepens our connection and healing. Lahaina’s spirit has never been extinguished. The fires changed our landscape, but they couldn’t break the bonds that hold us together.
Wilmont Kamaunu Kahaiali‘i, Cultural Practitioner and Board Member Aloha Amplified
The recent 2025 Sister Cities International Conference in Izumisano, Japan continued to build the already strong collaboration between Hawaiʻi and Japan. The event brought together Hawaiʻi’s state and county representatives with their counterparts from Japan. The event helps to facilitate communication with municipalities and expand Sister City relationships.
Sister Cities in different countries form long-term agreements to foster cultural, educational, business, and technical exchanges. The movement was championed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower after World War II through Sister Cities International (SCI), founded in 1956 to advance peace, mutual respect, and understanding through citizen diplomacy and people-to-people partnerships.
“For me, it was a quick trip to Japan, but a wonderful one,” said Deidre Tegarden, Executive Director of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui and recipient of the Nihon Bunka Award in 2023 for her work in promoting Japanese culture and heritage. “I was honored to represent Nisei Veterans as a speaker. The conference presented a Sister City exhibit with numerous attractions and, most importantly, new friends.”
Other speakers included Miku Narisawa of Odyssey Japan, who was instrumental in the Kibou (Hope) for Maui Project. Kibou for Maui brought students from Lahainaluna High School to Japan to learn about resilience, rebuilding, and hope from peers and leaders who suffered during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Now the support has come full-circle.
“At the end of my presentation, I was able to share how many of the returning Nisei veterans created and supported Sister Cities on Maui and across the State,” Tegarden said. “Their motto, ‘For Continuing Service,’ established an ongoing legacy of peace, hope, and human connections. There were many highlights to the conference, including an evening of taiko drumming and Fukushima Ondo kicked-off by Maui Taiko’s co-founder, Kay Fukumoto, who led the whole audience in a powerful and heartfelt performance. In addition, the Mayor of Izumisano shared his intent to come to Maui next year with his city’s taiko group.”
Our panel, ‘Helping Through Heartbreak,’ was about how Sister Cities come to each other’s aid after disasters. Of course, I spoke about the wave of support we received from Japan after the 2023 wildfires.
– Deidre Tegarden, Executive Director, Nisei Veterans Memorial Center
