John Henry Felix yesterday was named as Hawai'i's representative to the national Jefferson Awards program, in which four people will be chosen from nominees across the country as the nation's top volunteers.

The Jefferson Award for Public Service top awards will be given at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., June 15 to 17. More than 90 people who were chosen by their communities as their best volunteer will participate.

Felix, 78, is president and chief executive officer of Hawaii Medical Assurance Association, a health insurer. He was instrumental in founding Hawai'i Public Radio as well as the Red Cross Societies in Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and was an international delegate and governor for the National Red Cross.

The award was created in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sen. Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard. Past national honorees include first ladies Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, entertainer Bob Hope and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Four awards are handed out at the national level. The categories are: Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged and Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under.

Ivalee Sinclair, an advocate for special-education programs, was Hawai'i's 2008 representative at the national ceremony. Hawai'i has not yet had a national award winner.