Maui Nisei Veterans to Issue Inaugural HERO Awards

Nisei Veterans at the opening ceremony of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center, Education Center. File photo 2013 Credit: Melanie Agrabante.

The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center is accepting applications for its inaugural HERO Awards.

The recognition, which includes a trophy and $1,000, will be presented at the NVMC annual dinner on Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 at the King Kamehameha Golf Club.

The awards are sponsored by HouseMart and Miyake Concrete, and applications are open to all residents of Maui County.

This year’s dinner theme is “Finding the Hero in Yourself”.

“The Nisei Veterans hold a special place in our community’s heart”, said Brian Moto, President of the NVMC. “These brave men volunteered to serve their country even as their loyalty was questioned. However, they proved their loyalty on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific, becoming the most highly decorated unit in the US Army for its size. We want to honor the ‘everyday’ hero and perpetuate the values of the Nisei Veterans – the catalysts for this award.”

The Courage and Leadership Hero Awards celebrate the Nisei Veterans and aim to honor the men and women in the Maui Community who reflect those values of the Nisei.

Applications are available online at www.nvmc.org and are due on Friday, October 14, 2016. Awardees will be notified in October, receiving the award on November 4th at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center Heroes Dinner.

NVMC’s mission is to ignite the potential in people by inspiring them to find the hero in themselves through the legacy of the Nisei Veterans.

The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center is a non-profit organization that aspires to a world where people act selflessly for the greater good. NVMC owns and manages an intergenerational campus on Go For Broke Place in Kahului that serves as a home for Kansha Preschool, Maui Adult Day Care Center’s Oceanview facility, the Stanley Izumigawa Pavilion and the NVMC Education Center. To learn more, visit www.nvmc.org.