Maui High School Hall of Honor names 2023 Class

A Hollywood director, Maui County Board of Supervisor and state House member, an influential labor and community leader, a couple who support students and their college aspirations, and a longtime athletic director are members of the 2023 Class of the Maui High School Hall of Honor.

This is the 13th class of Hall of Honor members in a program established by the Maui High School Foundation in 2011 to annually recognize individuals with ties to Maui High School who have made outstanding contributions to the legacy of the school and community.

This year’s class includes:

• Tom Tagawa, Class of 1932, The Silversword Heritage Award, presented to an alumnus who is distinguished in life and work.
• Destin Daniel Cretton, 1996, winner of The Award of Excellence, presented to an alumnus who has excelled in his or her field or profession.
• Bruce Uʻu, 1985, The Spirit of Maui, awarded to an alumnus who has made a difference in the community.
• Michael Ban, Maui High Athletic Director, The Inspiration Award, presented to a faculty member past or present who has made a difference to the students of the school.
• Charles and Mitch (Misao) Ota, who is Class of 1951, The Saber Spirit Award, presented to individuals who are unsung heroes to the school.

Tagawa served on the Maui County Board of Supervisors, the predecessor to the Maui County Council, from 1952 to 1964, and in the state House from 1964 to 1968.

He had a hand in building Kepaniwai Park and Kūihelani Highway and setting up the Maui County fire department. There is a bridge named in his honor, the Tom Tagawa Bridge, in Wailuku near his family home.

Prior to winning elected office, Tagawa was a labor leader with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union and fought to end the plantation’s stranglehold on wages and other worker rights.

He tragically died on May 20,1973, at age 59, in a vehicle collision with a drunken driver. 

Tagawa, and his wife Dorothy, were the first Maui High supporters to name the Maui High School Foundation in their will.

Cretton is an award-winning film and TV director, who is part of the Marvel Universe. He directed “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which was released in 2021, and is currently working on “Wonderman.”

The Haʻikū-born director got his big break with “Short Term 12,” starring Brie Larson, which captured the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the prestigious South by Southwest festival.

His other film and television credits include “The Glass Castle,” starring Woody Harrelson; “American Born Chinese,” with Academy Award winning Michelle Yeoh; and “Just Mercy,” with Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

Uʻu has been building things all his life — structures, his family and his community.

After graduating from Maui High, the father of five — including Council Member Nohe Uʻu Hodgins —  completed his apprenticeship with the Hawaiʻi Carpenters in 1994 and later served as an apprentice instructor at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College.

He put those skills to good use as a volunteer for the community by helping to build the Hui Aloha Playground at Keōpūolani Park and library shelving, shade structure for the agriculture department and temporary wheelchair ramps at commencement for his alma mater.

Uʻu has served as an officer on the nonprofit Na Hale O Maui, which creates affordable housing through a land lease program, and on key boards and commissions, including the Maui Planning, Cultural Resource and Liquor commissions.

Ban has been Athletic Director for the last 14 years at Maui High, managing two dozen programs. Under his watch, the Sabers have captured two state championships, Division I baseball in 2017 and Division I boys cross country in 2018, and countless Maui Interscholastic League titles.

He has managed improvements to the athletic infrastructure, including the Patsy T. Mink Softball Field renovations and new wrestling and weight room and Shine “Izumi” Matsui Maui High Gym floor, as well as a new girls locker room and field house currently in the planning stages.

Marketing also has been a part of his tenure. He rebranded the athletic department with the “M” as the logo and emphasized the use of the phrase “Sabers Legacy.”

Passionate about building character in students, Ban has pushed for gender equality, a student voice through the Student Athletic Council and athlete safety. Sportsmanship, integrity, excellence, pride and hard work are part of his mantra.

He also has worked to improve coaching through an annual Coaches Conference.

Charles and Mitch Ota, who set up a foundation in their names, have quietly supported hundreds of students at Maui schools, including the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at Maui High.

The couple was an anonymous donor to the MHS Foundation for the AVID program, funding trips for students to attend college fairs and visit campuses and scholarships. The Ota’s Foundation continued to support Maui High after the couple’s passing.

The Otas are the largest contributors to the Maui High School Foundation with more than $360,000 in donations since 2009.

The foundation was formed with the mission of assisting Maui’s youth to go to college, even outside of the state.

Mitch (Misao) Ota, Maui High Class of 1951, lived the mission, attending the University of California at Davis in the 1960s to further her home economics knowledge. She was a teacher at Baldwin High for many years and a businesswoman upon retirement.

Charles Ota also attended college on the Mainland, Grinnell College in Iowa, and became a successful Maui businessman. He won election to the Maui County Council and served on the UH Board of Regents and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

He also received a Purple Heart as a member of the 442nd/100th Infantry Battalion. 

The 2023 Hall of Honor class will be honored at a banquet at the Maui Beach Hotel Moana Ballroom on Feb. 13, beginning at 6 p.m. The banquet, headed up this year by Greg Peros, is the primary annual fundraiser for the Foundation. 

The banquet for the 2023 honorees had originally been planned for September 2023 but was postponed due to the tragedies of the wildfires on Aug. 8.

Event details, sponsorships and tickets are available on the Foundation website at www.mauihighschoolfoundation.com.

For more information, email  hallofhonor@mauihighschoolfoundation.com.

The Maui High School Foundation is a nonprofit 501c(3) whose mission is to promote and foster the development of Maui High School.