Sep 28, 2016 | Community
On October 8-9, over 200 cancer survivors and supporters will paddle six-person outrigger canoes across the ‘Au‘au Channel from Lahaina to Lanai. The Pacific Cancer Foundation’s (PCF) 8th Annual Paddle for Life fundraiser, a 34-mile round trip journey to raise funds for Maui’s cancer community, is not a race; it’s a voyage. “The PCF says there is truly a remarkable parallel between an ocean paddling voyage and the journey experienced by cancer patients and survivors,” said Pina Wallace, mammographer at Maui Diagnostic Imaging in Kihei. “Both involve tremendous physical, mental and emotional strength. Both require patience and perseverance. And, ultimately, it takes a team to make the journey successful.”
This summer marks 17 years that Wallace is a mammographer. On August 19th, 2015 she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. “I have had 12 normal mammograms,” said Wallace. “However, my breast tissue was noted on the reports as being extremely dense. Basically my cancer was hidden in the dense breast tissue and was not detected early. Had I had a routine ultrasound for dense breast, it would have been caught at an earlier stage.” Wallace suggests that women need to be familiar with normal lumps and bumps of breast tissue even after a successful mammogram and then discuss it with their doctor.
This year has been surreal for Wallace. She has experienced aggressive chemo therapy, a modified left breast mastectomy, and radiation treatment through her cancer journey. “With Breast Cancer Awareness Month approaching I wanted to take part in the 8th annual Paddle for Life fundraiser,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for me to give back to the county of Maui which has embraced me with the true spirit of aloha.” Excited about the Lanai voyage, Wallace knows it will be very spiritual and healing. “I just finished my last treatment on September 2. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with my teammates on this two-day voyage.” A fundraiser link for Wallace and other participants is http://paddleforlife2016.myevent.com. For more info visit www.pacificcancerfoundation.org.
Many of the paddlers are cancer survivors. Several have had double mastectomies and others are undergoing treatments for other cancers. Mahalo to everyone who supports our voyage and cause.
Pina Wallace, Mammographer, Maui Diagnostic Imaging, Kihei
Sep 7, 2016 | Community
For more than 100 years, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary has been fulfilling its original objectives to serve veterans of this country within our communities. The Auxiliary is the VFW’s highly regarded support organization and is considered its “Partner in Service”. As a member of Maui VFW Auxiliary #3850, Paula Kalanikau has striven for many years to help veterans and their families. She and others raise financial aid for veterans; perform countless hours of community service; and fund cancer research, Special Olympics, and other worthy causes.
“I became a member of the VFW Auxiliary in 1989,” said Kalanikau. “However it wasn’t until 1998, upon my retirement from the Department of Health, that I got fully involved.” Kalanikau served as Junior Vice President, Senior Vice President, and then as Auxiliary President for three years. She was then elected President of the VFW Department of Hawaii where she worked with Maui County in their community work day projects. In 2005 Kalanikau was named Volunteer of the Year in the County and also received the Gene Thompson Lifetime Award. In 2006, she was instrumental in creating the Maui Freedom Walk to mark the 5th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center.
Kalanikau comes from a military family. She served in the Navy Nurse Corps for four years, taking care of the injured and sick. Her husband served in the Hawaii Army National Guard Reserves for 13 years, her brother David served in the Marines, and her brother Gilbert was killed in action in the Korean War. Additionally, Kalanikau served in the medical field at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland where she saw firsthand how the wounded and their families have suffered. “Our veterans need our support to help them maintain their health and their benefits,” said Kalanikau. “We must continue to understand their needs.”
The community is invited to a Kihei VFW All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on Saturday, September 10th from 7am to 10am. There will also be an annual VFW Rummage and Bake Sale. http://www.vfwmaui.com/
The VFW Auxiliary helps to keep the public aware of the sacrifices and commitment of all service members.
Paula Kalanikau, Maui VFW Auxiliary 3850
Aug 17, 2016 | Community
As part of their Innovation Series, Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) workshop Rural Energy for America Program: REAP-ing What You Sow, drew a packed audience. The seminar, led by presenter John Antonio, State Energy Coordinator at the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, offered attendees valuable information about the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). “My goal at the workshop was to introduce REAP to Maui, since not too many people know about the program,” said Antonio. “My job as USDA coordinator is to make the energy grant understandable, and to help increase economic opportunity for rural Americans.” Under this state program, farmers, ranchers and small business owners interested in saving money on their energy bills, or implementing energy-efficient and renewable-energy improvements, have eligibility. Guaranteed loans, grants, or a combination loan and grant for qualified projects are all available.
“It is critically important that Maui businesses are aware of and take advantage of Federal, State, and County cost-saving programs that are available to them,” said Gerry Smith, MEDB Director of Business Development. “At MEDB we’re always seeking out ways to assist businesses. A great way to do that is to bring in the people who run the programs, to share that knowledge with our local community.” Following the workshop, the USDA staff members were available for one-on-one consultations. They talked about the specific needs of the attendees, such as the benefits of increasing profit margins and lower energy costs. Additionally, the different types of eligible projects were discussed.
“I’m here to see if there might be funding opportunities for our agricultural neighborhood project, Hoku Nui Maui,” said workshop participant Gregory Raab. “This farm-residential community, which includes affordable housing, is off-grid and we’re looking into developing photovoltaic and other alternative energy sources.” Attendees were encouraged to look into ways they could improve energy use for their own business or their clients’ businesses. The REAP workshop also motivated attendees to look into other federal and state grant programs.
We came to the REAP workshop to learn more about the grants and loans available here on Maui. The information we learned was helpful for us to proceed with ways to save money and improve our business ventures. Thanks to MEDB for their Innovation Series!
John and Joni Stone, J2 Travels
May 26, 2016 | Community
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) presented this year’s 2016 Startup Weekend Maui on May 13-15. The event offered entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn in 54 hours how to launch a company. “Startup Weekend Maui is about learning by doing,” says Frank De Rego, Jr., Director of Business Development Projects at MEDB. “It provided a platform to acquire the skills and best practices necessary to build a solid business foundation.”
“Life-changing, motivating, and awesome,” was just some of the feedback received from participants at Startup Weekend Maui. The event started on Friday with 60-second open-mic pitches. Then teams were formed around the top-voted startup ideas. They worked through the weekend with the help of mentors and coaches to build viable prototypes and business models that were presented to a panel of judges on Sunday night.
The 2016 Startup Weekend Maui winner, “The Original FaceGuard”, is an idea to destigmatize the traditional medical mask by creating a positive, preventative public health intervention through trendy face apparel. Team members Danielle Travis, Molly Palmer, Lorayne Lipps, Austin Kozaki, and Julie Lewis, won a business assistance prize package valued at more than $3,000. “It’s not just a product,” said team member Travis. “We want to change people’s perceptions of the typical facemask that most think is so scary. Our facemask has a creative aspect, a health aspect, and positivity, making people laugh.”
The team of Zoe Whitney and Dawn Naiwi-Valentino captured second place for their natural anti-mosquito perfume and cologne. “During the weekend I got a better feel for my target market and was able test the product on both locals and visitors of different ages,” said Whitney. “Working together with my Startup Weekend teammate, we worked hard to gather public feedback and even came up with ideas to modify the product’s ingredients. This overall experience helped me realize that this product could work.”
“MEDB, the coaches, mentors, judges, and all of our event sponsors, helped make this event possible because we believe in investing in our local community and our people’s skills,” said De Rego. “It all added up to one incredible weekend where everyone gained valuable experience.”
Startup Weekend Maui fits perfectly with what we’re trying to do, along with MEDB, at the County of Maui. We’re focused on building an entire entrepreneur eco-system to help our local entrepreneurs gain the needed edge and skills to succeed.
Teena Rasmussen, Director County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development
Apr 21, 2016 | Community
The Maui Cookie Lady, Mitzi Toro, has been in business for three extraordinary years. The first year started with baking cookies as a fundraiser for the ICU nurses who cared for her father before he passed away. The second year, making them became a favorite hobby. It wasn’t until this past year that Toro took it seriously as a business. “I had to learn about all the stuff that is not so fun, like budgets, profit margins, packaging, food compliance, business math, taxes and licensing, just to name a few,” she explained. “Once I decided to give it a full-time try, I needed help. My receipts were in a shoe box and I really was not sure what the business was costing. One day I met with the Maui Economic Development Board office, spoke with the Business Development team there, and the rest is sweet history!”
Funded by the County, MEDB offers advice and mentoring for businesses at all levels. Through this mentoring, Toro was able to gain deeper understanding of what the true costs to produce her cookies were and how these affected the price of her product. Far too often, companies don’t understand all of the costs that go into manufacturing a product. By the time they realize their mistakes, it can be too late. MEDB was able to provide tools and instruction that made understanding the relationships between cost and price simple. This kind of analysis can help project future profitability.
Toro also enrolled in MEO’s CORE-4 course which, she said, was “instrumental for me and the company’s survival. By the end of the class I had a 30-page business plan, faith in myself, and the tools to make the business both viable and feasible.” The Maui Cookie Company, chosen as one of 12 start-up businesses having the most potential, was accepted into the Maui Food Innovation Center’s Accelerator Program. “I am so grateful for three months of incredible mentoring and support from successful CEOs and representatives here on Maui. I was honored to win the top three awards and I will compete on Oahu in the near future,” said Toro.
The Maui Cookie Company is expanding, with products now being sold at select stores, hotels and restaurants. Toro currently ships nationwide and internationally. “I love crafting cookies with distinct flavors, using high quality, locally sourced ingredients,” she said. The demand for her cookies, cakes and other items, including the new Cookie Butters from Hawaii, continues to grow rapidly. A single bite shows why! For more information, visit themauicookielady.com.
The support and love from the community for our little island bakery still makes me tear up when I think about it. I feel like I am the little guy who is living the Cookie-preneur dream. The future is bright and full of sweet aroma.
Mitzi Toro, The Maui Cookie Lady
Mar 25, 2016 | Community
Still shrouded in mystery, autism is one of the fastest growing disabilities in the United States. Recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 68 children have an autism spectrum disorder. The term “spectrum” refers to the wide range of symptoms, skills and levels of impairment or disability that children can have. The misunderstandings, false assumptions and myths surrounding autism can be overwhelming for families who must navigate its complicated world. “Many parents do not know where to turn,” said Howard Greenberg, founder of the Maui Autism Center in Kihei and father of a son with autism. Greenberg explained that many children can be helped to improve their situation and many, who have gone through years of therapy, have lost their diagnosis and gone on to graduate from college. “I have personally seen children who could not talk when they came to the Autism Center two years ago, who are speaking in full sentences today,” he said. “We teach children here in a different way because our kids learn differently. We emphasize the importance of working with the disorder, not against it.”
Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. Characteristics include restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, and impairment in important areas of daily functioning. “Each child should be provided with individualized treatment programs,” said Dr. Catherine Heard, Clinical Director at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc., an organization with global outreach. Through quarterly visits to the island, Dr. Heard provides behavioral service consultations for the Maui Autism Center, offering the latest scientifically proven applied behavior analysis to patients and their families. “We excel at creating a safe nurturing environment where children can work on their core deficits and build confidence in their social behaviors,” said Denise Greenberg, executive director of the Maui Autism Center.
“We offer a trained staff, top-notch autism experts, individualized curriculum, speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, counseling behavioral support and parent training with quarterly parent-staff workshops. At the Maui Autism Center many lives have been changed for the better as little gains become big accomplishments.” For more information or free consultation email: autismmanagement@gmail.com or call (808) 879-4111.
This year at the Maui Autism Center the children have planted a community garden and the produce grown is then donated to help feed the homeless. This is a heartfelt service to the whole community as one group helps another right here in Kihei.
Howard and Denise Greenberg, The Maui Autism Center
Dec 30, 2015 | Community
The Hawaiian Islands, home to a culturally and ethnically diverse population, are about to celebrate one of the most fun-filled festivals of the year. Many are laying elaborate plans to usher in the New Year with different customs and foods from different cultures. The common aim is to bring good luck in the transition from old to new, celebrated in what seems to be as many ways as possible.
Native Hawaiians celebrate Makahiki traditions of games and sports, and observing religious ceremonies. In ancient times, the Makahiki season extended through the winter months. The widespread use of firecrackers is one New Year’s custom that everyone seems to enjoy. The tradition, which Chinese immigrants brought to the islands in the 19th century, was originally meant to scare off evil spirits. Now, of course, it’s for wholehearted enjoyment. The New Year is also a time to share and sample food from other cultures. For example, Portuguese prepare bean soup, Filipinos cook up pork adobo (marinated, seasoned and simmered meat) and the Chinese make different kinds of dumplings and noodles, symbolizing longevity. Another popular New Year’s dish is mochi, a type of Japanese rice cake made with sticky rice that is repeatedly pounded in ceremonial tradition. The round shape of the mochi, and its glutinous texture, represent family harmony and cohesiveness. A Japanese tradition of eating sashimi on December 31 finds it roots in local Japanese culture, with the fish representing prosperity for the coming year. While other cultures around the globe have their own New Year’s culinary idiosyncrasies and customs, most indulge in the universal symbol of good fortune — a toast at midnight and a verse of “Auld Lang Syne.” As the New Year approaches, the Maui Economic Development Board, MEDB, Staff would like to be among the first to wish you “Hau’oli Makahiki Hou.” Happy New Year!
Dec 24, 2015 | Community
The holiday season marks the time of year when we take stock and look ahead, often through making resolutions. Five notable holiday resolutions to live by have been compiled by poet and writer Julie-Anne Ford. Among her recommendations:
Learn to Laugh
Celebrate the simple joy of living and open your heart to all life holds for you.
Learn to Listen
Take time to slow down and be still.
Learn to Let Go
Forgive failures and resolve regrets.
Learn to Love
Remember love is not just something you feel, but the things you do.
Learn to Live
Search for your purpose, seek out your passions.
In the generous spirit of the holidays, MEDB wishes everyone a life lifted and lived in aloha. – MEDB staff
Nov 25, 2015 | Community
Recently, A Cup of Cold Water (ACCW) Community Care-Van held its 2nd annual gathering to give thanks for the success of its outreach ministry. In October 2013, the four Episcopal churches on Maui, Good Shepherd, Holy Innocents, St. John’s and Trinity-by-the-Sea, moved on the vision of one man. Keku Akana felt called to serve the growing homeless population on the island. It was in that spirit that Akana, retired Maui County Deputy Chief of Police, formed ACCW. At present, a rotating team of volunteers works to improve the situation of the disadvantaged in the community.
“Our most important program measure is that we offer nourishment and hope to our fellow citizens and neighbors,” said Akana. “We realize these simple acts of ‘no-strings-attached aloha’ are more necessary than ever. We cannot help everyone, but we can help someone. We are not here to solve poverty; we are here to comfort while we look for ways to minimize poverty and restore human dignity.”
The all-volunteer outreach ministry includes participants from various church groups, Hongwanji missions and those with no particular affiliation. ACCW, making three runs a week, visits Central Maui each Wednesday, Lahaina on Saturdays and South Maui on Sundays. In addition to pantry items, the van delivers clothing and slippers, tarps and towels, first aid and hygiene items, toys and books. ACCW also helps clients locate and maintain partnerships with other Maui County support organizations. The volunteer tasks are varied, including van drivers and riders, storage and distribution room organizers, administrators and others.
ACCW is a shining example of how dedicated people can bring compassion into the public arena to serve the common good. “Many of these people, 600-700 homeless men, women and children each month, have no one to lean on, no one to go to,” said Akana. “Outreach is a boomerang that echoes back into our own lives, reminding us that anyone of us could be that person in need. Unfortunately, homelessness on Maui is increasing, not decreasing.” Please contact ACCW (acupofcoldwatermaui@gmail.com) if you are interested in learning more.
ACCW’s most important program measure is that we offer nourishment and hope to our fellow citizens and neighbors. We cannot help everyone, but we can help someone while we look for ways to minimize poverty and restore human dignity.
Keku Akana, A Cup of Cold Water
On October 8-9, over 200 cancer survivors and supporters will paddle six-person outrigger canoes across the ‘Au‘au Channel from Lahaina to Lanai. The Pacific Cancer Foundation’s (PCF) 8th Annual Paddle for Life fundraiser, a 34-mile round trip journey to raise funds for Maui’s cancer community, is not a race; it’s a voyage. “The PCF says there is truly a remarkable parallel between an ocean paddling voyage and the journey experienced by cancer patients and survivors,” said Pina Wallace, mammographer at Maui Diagnostic Imaging in Kihei. “Both involve tremendous physical, mental and emotional strength. Both require patience and perseverance. And, ultimately, it takes a team to make the journey successful.”
