Hasegawa General Store owners honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

By Wendy Osher

Harry & Neil Hasegawa were honored with the Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Friday night’s 2010 Mayor’s Small Business Awards Dinner. The father and son are the current owners of the family’s 100 year old Hasegawa General Store in Hana, Maui that has been passed down through five generations, and has survived two world wars and a fire. The store sells everything from soup to nuts and nuts to bolts and is dedicated to serving the Hana Community. The quaint Hasegawa General Store even has a song written in its honor and was dedicated to buying local long before it was popular.

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Mayor Charmaine Tavares presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to Harry and Neil Hasegawa, owners of the 100-year-old Hasegawa General Store in Hana, Maui.

Finalists in the Lifetime Achievement category were:

• David Gleason, Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course
• Harry & Neil Hasegawa, Hasegawa General Store (winner)
• Jennifer Lynn Brittin-Fulton, Employers Options

Other winners included Rusty Gage of Valley Isle Gymnastics for Small Business with 0-11 Employees; Anne Oishi of Island Honda for Small Business with 11-50 Employees; Duane Ting of Flyin Hawaiian Zipline for Young Businessperson of the Year; and Paul Halvorson of Pacific Source was honored with the Non-Profit Angel Award. Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares also issued her Mayor’s Award to Brian Yoshikawa, owner of Maui Sporting Goods and founder of the Roi Roundup. Earning special recognition as well were Tessie, creator of Got Choice Think Local theme; and Anna Ribucan, small business advocate for Maui County.

Finalist in the Young Businessperson Category were:

• Duane Ting, Flyin Hawaiian Zipline (winner)
• Erin Brittin, Horses R Us
• Jason Evans, SilverShark Media
• Josh Jerman, The Wailea Group
• Kapono’ai Molitau, Native Intelligence

Finalists in the Small Business categories were:

• Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course, David Gleason
• Gilbert & Associates, Larry Gilbert
• Island Honda, Anne Oishi (winner business with 11-50 employees)
• Kalei Koa Farm, Rick Tamanaha
• Kula Country Farm, Monden Family
• Maui Thing, Saedene Ota
• Native Intelligence, Kapono’ai Molitau
• Playbook Consulting Group, Leslie Mullens
• Valley Isle Gymnastics, Rusty Gage (winner business with 0-10 employees)

Finalists in the Non-Profit Angel Award category were:

• Kai Kanani, Roger Gildersleeve
• Maui Communicators, Sara Folley & Norm Bezane
• Pacific Source, Paul Halvorson (winner)

***** If you enjoyed this post, you may also like our story on Maui’s Economic Forecast by First Hawaiian Bank Economist Dr. Leroy Laney or our feature on Maui’s Young Small Business Person of the Year, Duane Ting! You may also want to check out the 2010 Small Business of the Year award winner.