Bank of Hawaii Awards $25,000 to Maui Organizations

Representatives of Bank of Hawaii and the Lyons family present the 2012 Bank of Hawaii Mike Lyons Maui Community Award. (From left): Peter Biggs, Bank of Hawaii vice chair and chief retail officer; Medical Director Mary Francl of Lana‘i Community Health Center; Executive Director Sherri Dodson of Habitat for Humanity Maui; Executive Director Jeanne Skog of Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.; Donna Tanoue, Bank of Hawaii vice chair and president of Bank of Hawaii Foundation; Anders Lyons (son of Mike Lyons); and Kevin Baptist, Bank of Hawaii senior vice president and Maui regional and island manager. Photo courtesy of Bank of Hawaii.

By Sonia Isotov

The Bank of Hawaii Foundation continued the legacy of “giving back” fostered by the former senior vice president Michael H. Lyons II through donations to three Maui community organizations totaling $25,000.

Lana’i Community Health Center, Habitat for Humanity Maui and the Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. are the 2012 recipients of the  Bank of Hawaii Mike Lyons Maui Community Awards.

The organizations were recognized for their community work at a special reception held at the Maui Culinary Academy’s Class Act Restaurant on June 27. Lana‘i Community Health Center received $15,000. Habitat for Humanity Maui and Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. were each awarded $5,000.

The award is presented annually by the Bank of Hawaii Foundation in honor of the late retired Bank of Hawaii senior vice president and Maui district manager Michael H. Lyons II. Lyons was a dedicated community leader and served as a role model throughout his 41-year career with the bank.

Lana‘i Community Health Center is a hub of resources for healthcare and social services for the island. The center will be using the award to purchase a diagnostic blood analysis machine so that blood work will no longer need to be sent to Oahu for analysis.

Habitat for Humanity Maui, which helps people on Maui reside in clean and decent homes, will use the award to support its home-ownership classes and building program.

Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. will use the award to continue its annual outreach to more than 10,000 Maui County students, teachers and businesses with its innovative education-to-workforce programs.

This is the ninth annual Bank of Hawaii Mike Lyons Maui Community Award presentation. Last year’s recipients were Hale Mahaolu, Community Clinic of Maui (dba Malama I Ke Ola Health Center Clinic of Maui), and Hui Malama Learning Center.

The award is open to any nonprofit 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization in Maui County. Selection is based on: a) exemplary fulfillment of the organization’s mission; b) the leadership demonstrated by the organization’s executive director and board; and c) the organization’s engagement in one of the following focus areas: community development, education, human services, and arts and culture.