Maui High School Hall of Honor dinner to honor graduates Rachel Kondo, Faith Ito, Katsugo Miho, Glenn Otani

In July, Janell Ito was a little miffed at her mom, Faith Ito. Janell Ito had to learn from her childhood friend Rachel Kondo that her mom was being inducted into the Maui High School Hall of Honor, along with Kondo.

“How come Rachel was the one who had to tell me?” Janell asked her mother. To which the 78-year-old Faith Ito responded: “I didn’t tell anybody because I thought, ‘Okay, maybe they made a mistake or something.'”

That’s when Faith Ito knew: “I gotta tell the rest of the people out there.”

Kondo, Class of 1999, and Faith Ito, Class of 1965, are entering their alma mater’s Hall of Honor with Katsugo Miho, Class of 1940, and Glenn Otani, Class of 1969, who are both deceased.

The Honor Banquet will be held at the Maui High School gymnasium on Tuesday, with the doors opening at 5 p.m. and event starting at 5:30 p.m.

Kondo and Faith Ito are humbled to the point that they feel a little hesitant about the honor being bestowed. 

“I feel shy standing next to pillars of the community, like Faith Ito — a quiet, yet resounding example of what it means to give,” Kondo said of a lady she grew up around in Upcountry Maui from pre-school through middle school.

The 44-year-old Kondo won an Emmy Award in 2024 as Executive Producer for the Outstanding Drama Series, Shogun, one of numerous awards she has received during her career in the entertainment industry.

Ito was a 30-year elementary school teacher on Maui before retiring in 2005. She has excelled as a volunteer on several different levels.

“At times, especially these days, it feels so much that what I do is less relevant and important than civic service,” Kondo said. “Nevertheless, I’m very honored and grateful to be acknowledged.”

Kondo is being presented the Award of Excellence given to a Maui High School alumnus who has excelled in their field or profession. Faith Ito is being given the Sabers Spirit Award presented to an individual who is an unsung hero to the school.

The two deceased recipients are impressive as well.

“Kats” Miho, who died Sept. 11, 2011, at the age of 83, is being presented with the Silversword Heritage Award given to an alumnus who is distinguished in life and work. Miho was a resilient Nisei leader and World War II veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

He went on to a successful career as a lawyer, Hawai’i state legislator and Family Court judge, famously authoring the 1961 Horizontal Property Regime Act for condominiums. This made Hawai’i the first state to pass a law to enable the creation of condominiums. Katsugo also tirelessly fostered Japan-Hawaii relations, co-founding the 442nd Veterans Club and earning Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun. 

Otani, who died in 2020 at the age of 68, is being presented the Spirit of Maui Award as an alumnus who made a difference in the community.

Otani was a dedicated fixture in Maui County baseball for more than 25 years. He was best known as the official scorekeeper for the Maui Interscholastic League at Maehara Stadium, a role he held from 2000 to 2020.

Otani’s commitment extended to various levels of youth and amateur baseball, where he served as a coach, official and scorekeeper. The score booth at Maehara Stadium was dubbed by the County of Maui as the Glenn H. Otani Score Booth shortly after his death.

The new foursome brings the total of the Maui High School Hall of Honor to 69.

Faith Ito also is deeply involved within Maui’s community, serving as a member of the Tenrikyo Maui Church and Alpha Delta Kappa, an educational sorority, actively participating in numerous altruistic projects that benefit schools, support local events, and preserve heritage. She also volunteers her time as a docent at the A&B Sugar Museum, at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, and for various church functions. 

Maui High School Foundation Executive Director Jamie Yap, who retired as principal at the school in December 2024, said the Hall of Honor dinner is an important fundraising event for the foundation. Tuesday is the 14th annual version of the event.

“We wanted to celebrate our Maui High community and at the same time, use the event as a fundraiser and bring people back to the school,” Yap said.

One prominent member of the Maui High School family who left the school in December 2023 will be in attendance. Aaron Kondo was a social studies teacher at the school for 21 years before complications from Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy forced him to retire in 2023.

Emery-Dreyfuss is a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects the skeletal muscles, causing progressive weakness in the heart, and leading to serious and potentially life-threatening problems.

Aaron Kondo is now in a customized wheelchair after suffering a major stroke on Dec. 23, 2023, as he was awaiting a heart procedure. He spent most of 2024 on the mainland for medical rehabilitation before returning home after a specialized medical flight arranged by family and financed largely by his sisters Rachel and Naomi Kondo.

Aaron Kondo’s wife Crystal Kondo still works at Maui High as a sophomore class counselor. The couple have three children.

Even if Aaron Kondo wanted to sit out the special night for his sister, “his wife said he doesn’t have a choice,” Rachel Kondo said with a laugh. “I asked him and he said no, but Crystal’s the boss and said he’s going.”

Rachel Kondo looks at her brother and wonders how she is entering the Maui High School Hall of Honor before him. While Rachel Kondo was building her impressive career on the mainland before returning home with husband Justin Marks in 2022, Aaron Kondo returned home to teach at Maui High School after graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2001.

“I feel like someone like my brother should be recognized before someone like me,” Rachel Kondo said. “I left the island for 22 years and stayed away for a while to do my thing. And he came right back after school and he has given his entire … career, but also what’s going to amount to most of his adult life to the kids who have gone through Maui High.”

Rachel Kondo’s moment to speak on Tuesday will be dedicated her brother.

“It’s kind of my chance to be really proud of him,” she said. “And make sure his contribution is remembered.”

Tickets are still available for the Honor Banquet, priced at $125 individually or $2,500 or $5,000 per table.

“Maui High, when you come to the gym, you’re going to find yourself surrounded by greatness,” Yap said. “People who did great things to support the Maui community.”