Fitness specialist and housing developer earn Volunteer and Benefactor of Year awards
Fitness and wellness specialist Justin Yanagida and affordable housing developer Highridge Costa were honored as Volunteer of the Year and Benefactor of the Year, respectively, at Maui Economic Opportunity’s 38th Volunteer Celebration held Wednesday.
About 100 people attended the annual Valentine’s Day luncheon at the Maui Beach Hotel, including Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee. Other attendees included other government officials; MEO volunteers, board members and staff; previous Volunteer of the Year awardees; and others.
Yanagida, operator of Yanagida Fitness and author of “Fighting Sickness With Fitness,” was nominated by MEO Youth Services for working with the program’s middle and high schoolers.
Since 2021, he has run sessions for the youth, offering basic stretching techniques and sharing his philosophy of fighting illness through fitness, the benefits of eating healthier foods and the negative effects of sugary drinks.
Other nominees, who were chosen by MEO departments, follow:
- Mickey “Buddy” Auld, Early Childhood Services, a Head Start parent who cleans the playground each morning and makes sure it is safe for the children.
- John Poe, Moloka‘i office, cleans buses, washes windows and answers phones.
- Venture Physical Therapy, Transportation, provided onsite massages and wellness treatment for drivers, mechanics, office staff and management.
Highridge Costa was named MEO Benefactor of the Year for supporting the agency and the community by building affordable housing and making donations to MEO, especially after the wildfires to fund agency efforts to help those impacted. Moe Mohanna, president of Highridge Costa, accepted the award.
The company has partnered with MEO and Hale Mahaolu to build the 120-unit, 100% affordable Hale Mahaolu Ke Kahua Affordable Housing Community in Waiehu. The company also is developing other affordable projects on Maui and throughout the state and helping to relieve the critical shortage of units, according to MEO.
When the wildfires struck, Highridge Costa made donations and encouraged their partners to give to MEO relief programs, bringing additional funds. The company also has been an annual sponsor of the MEO Gala.
Peter Horovitz, who left the MEO Board in January, was recognized for his eight years on the board and supporting agency efforts with the Ke Kahua project and other legal matters.
Lt. Gov. Luke, who flew in from Oʻahu for the luncheon, lauded MEO as one of the agencies the state turns to during emergencies.
“You folks have a track record of being able to reach the community and . . . recognize the vulnerable populations, people who are in need, and at the same time be able to get things out to people in an expeditious and the quickest way possible,” she said.
Luke discussed her Ready Keiki Initiative to provide preschool to families, alongside existing programs such as MEO’s Head Start. She noted that 50% of preschool eligible children are not enrolled in programs due to cost, about $1,500 a month, and proximity to home.
Lee also talked about MEO working alongside the county and a nonprofit she and her son run, New Leaf Ranch, that assists recently released male inmates. She noted that MEO has begun a program to support recently released women.
“We are very strong supporters of this organization year after year after year,” she said. “This is such a giving organization that has helped us through the hard times with the recovery in Lahaina and all the other challenges we have had throughout the years.”
The mayor expressed his gratitude to all volunteers to the community, including MEO. The wildfire relief efforts are indicative of the value of volunteers.
“Now more than ever, we see the importance of everyday residents who accomplish extraordinary things by donating their time, especially their energy, to our community,” Bissen said. “In the aftermath of the wildfires, volunteers mobilized in a way that much of the world has not seen.
“People near and far showed that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and that kindness and aloha can illuminate the path forward for all of us.”
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