Posted on: Monday, January 2, 2006
No Ka 'Oi
Advertiser Staff
Maui Economic Opportunity Inc., which offers small entrepreneurial loans on Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i, as well as partially funded training programs for business owners — boasts that it provides a "Hand Up — not a Handout." For the first time, the group's Business Development Corp. has given the concept tangible existence with an Annual Hand-Up Entrepreneurial Award for the Maui small business that best exemplifies the motto. The MEO's Business Development Corp. has given the first award to DIANE BEAUCAIRE, owner of Diane's Cleaning in Kihei, a single mother of four who turned a personal goal of starting her own business and buying a home into reality. Expanding on her original 1998 window-cleaning business, by 2001, she had branched into residential cleaning and finally, becoming one of only two cleaning companies on Maui qualified to bid on clean-up work for union construction projects. In 2004, she purchased her first home. "These people helped me when no one else would," said Beaucaire, of MEO.
SHELDON KUBOTA, manager of the Kane'ohe Jack in the Box restaurant, got to meet "The Big Cheese" — so to speak. Kubota was one of fewer than 200 restaurant managers and area coaches chosen from more than 2,000 Jack in the Box restaurants nationwide to be honored personally by Jack, the food chain's so-called "Big Cheese," for superior guest service and operational achievement. The event, the annual Circle of Excellence award ceremony, was held in December.
For the eighth consecutive year, the HAWAI'I CONVENTION CENTER. managed by SMG, has received Facilities and Destinations magazine's Prime Site Award. The awards are voted on by leaders in the meetings and conventions industry, including promoters, booking agents and event planners. Ranked as North America's most attractive convention center in a METROPOLL X study by Gerard Murphy & Associates, the 1-million-square-foot facility is characterized by its soaring, glass-front entry, 70-foot misting waterfall and mature palm trees. The center's technological amenities — including fiber-optic cabling, multilingual translation stations, satellite and microwave broadcast capability and video conferencing — are also factors in the center's selection. Voting is based on convenience of location, facility attractiveness and maintenance, professionalism of staff, food and beverage functions, and technological capabilities.
In part thanks to a community collaboration that included West Maui residents and employees, government, and local and national designers, Maui Land & Pineapple Co.'s proposed Pulelehua planned housing development was awarded the "Current Topic Award: Housing Choice and Affordability" by the American Planning Association's local chapter. In response to a need for quality affordable and moderately-priced housing in West Maui, at least 51 percent of the 882 proposed homes would quality as rental or sale affordable housing. The 310-acre community, planned for West Maui between Ka'anapali and Kapalua Resort, would use "traditional neighborhood design," in a mix of residential, commercial and public amenities, including parks and open spaces, a school, biking and walking paths, town center and pedestrian friendly streets.
Announcements of business-related awards and honors can be sent to: Business Awards, Business Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Ho-nolulu, HI 96802; faxed to 525-6763, or e-mailed to dbutts@honoluluadvertiser.com. For e-mailed releases, please make sure the information is included in the body of the message, not as an attachment.
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