· Employee volunteers provided 12,189 hours to community service events
· Kokua Community Service Champions also award grants to nonprofits
In 2019, Hawaiian Electric gave a total of $1,024,776 in corporate grants, contributions and sponsorships to nonprofit organizations across Oahu, Hawaii Island, and Maui County. Of the total, more than $175,000 supported the advancement of STEM education, curriculum,and initiatives.
Company employees and their family and friends also volunteered 12,189 hours to support science, technology, engineering and math events; highway, stream and beach cleanups; charitable walks and fundraisers; homeless initiatives; military appreciation;environmental stewardship;and social services programs.
Hawaiian Electric also selected six employees to receive the2019 Kokua Community ChampionService Award, a recognition given to honor individuals who have demonstrated exemplary volunteer service in the community over the past year. The employees were judged on level of involvement and community impact. In turn, each honoree selected a nonprofit of their choice to receive a $1,000 grant from the HEI Charitable Foundation.
On Oahu, four employees were honored for their outstanding community service:
Edmund Chang, a consulting engineerbased at Waiau Power Plant, is an active volunteer with the Oahu Chapter and Hawaii MATHCOUNTS® competitions, Francis R. Montgomery Design Competition, and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). For more than three decades, Chang has helped promote interest in math and engineering, and inspired hundreds of HawaiÊ»i students to pursue STEM careers. The Mililani resident awarded a $1,000 grant to ASME, through which he became involved in MATHCOUNTS and the Francis R. Montgomery Design Competition. ASME promotes the art, science and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the world.
Conrad “Ray” Higa, operations manager for Kahe Power Plant and Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station, is active in the West Oahu community where he serves as chair of the Boys & Girls Club (BGCH) of Hawaii Nanakuli NFL YET Center, delivers meals to the needy, volunteers as a Sunday school teacher, and assists with a program to educate at-risk youth.Last year, Higa also organized Kahe Power Plant’s first community blood drive, which helped draw first-time donors and touched the lives of 75 patients. The Nanakuli resident will split the $1,000 grant between the BGCH NFL YET and Waianae BGCH because of the immense positive impact these clubs have on the children and families of West Oahu.
Mehana Hoopii, a transmission and distribution engineer, has embraced the service culture at Hawaiian Electric through participation and leadership. Last year, Hoopii spearheaded a group of employees to help with a Habitat for Humanity Build Day in Waimanalo where volunteers assisted with general construction and the start of framing and roofing a home for a family in need. A month later, she also led the company’s involvement in the Waianae Parade of Farms. For the past four years, the Moiliili residentalso has been helping coach the Kaimuki High School Varsity/JV paddling team.Hoopii selected Sustain Hawaii’s Haehuola Program to receive the $1,000 grantbecause she has been inspired by the program that draws upon local Hawaiian values, principles and practices to improve the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians.
Sean Moura, wildlife biologist and senior environmental scientist, has been instrumental in organizing the Environmental Divisionʻs official adoption of a portion of Manoa Stream and holding twice yearly volunteer cleanup days to pick up trash along the stream and dispose of it. Last year, the Hawaii Kai resident also partnered with the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center to organize a workday at Kanewai Springs to help protect one of the last remaining fresh water springs in Honolulu. Moura also partnered with the nonprofits Hikaalani andKauluakalana at UlupoNui, bringing together employees from HEI and Hawaiian Electric to help plantnativetreesand shrubs, clear invasive vegetation, and conduct a fish census at this sacred site in Kailua. The Lihue, Kauai, native awarded the $1,000 grant to Kauluakalana, a Kailua-based nonprofit he supports because their malama aina-based mission resembles the values of his childhood upbringing.
On Hawaii Island, Dave Okamura, director of Engineering, was recognized for his ongoing support of theAmerican Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life in Hilo as the coordinator ofthe company team. Okamura has consistently led the company’s participation, helping to raise funds for cancer research and services to cancer patients in the local community. The Hilo native also serves as an assistant scoutmaster for the Hilo Hongwanji Boy Scout Troop, helping to prepare the scouts for life and instilling the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Okamura awarded the $1,000 grant to the Friends of Scouting, which helps fund the Boy Scouts in Hawaii.“I find it rewarding to see scouts grow from immature, kolohe tweens to responsible leaders,” said Okamura. “It drives me to keep improving our troop’s program and guiding the scouts to be better leaders and teammates, qualities that we value at Hawaiian Electric.”
On Maui, MikeyBurke, a commercial account manager, servesas a board member of the Maui Facilities and Enginering Leadership Council, andis involved intwo educational nonprofits with a focus on Hawaiian language. At NaLeo Kalele, a parent and teacher hui for the Hawaiian Immersion program serving West Maui, Burke helped lead the annual Hooulu fundraiser for the past four years, helping to ensure resources and supplies are provided to students. At Punana Leo o Lahaina, a Hawaiian language immersion preschool in her hometown, Burke is an engaged parent supporting the school through various volunteer responsibilities.The Lahaina nativeawarded the $1,000 grant to Punana Leo o Lahaina because, “It is everyone’s kuleanato ensure a living Hawaiian language and I chose to auamo thatkuleana by putting our ohana on the path of Hawaiian language immersion education.”
In 2019, Hawaiian Electric’s corporate contributions topped $1 million and employees and their families and friends volunteered more than 12,000 hours to community service projects across its service territories. Six employees received the Kokua Community Champion Service Award in recognition of their exemplary volunteer service over the past year. Left to right: Alan Oshima, Hawaiian Electric president and CEO, congratulates the 2019 Kokua Champions Edmund Chang, Mehana HoÊ»opiÊ»i, Conrad “Ray” Higa, and Sean Moura
Hawaiian Electric’s Edmund Chang, a consulting engineer at Waiau Power Plant in Pearl City, was among six employees to receive the Kokua Community Champion Service Award, recognizing outstanding volunteer service in the community. For more than three decades, Chang has helped promote interest in math and engineering, and inspired hundreds of students to pursue STEM careers through his volunteer work with the OÊ»ahu Chapter and HawaiÊ»i State MATHCOUNTS® competitions, Francis R. Montgomery Design Competition, and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).