Luis Fuentes honored with Hero Award by the nonprofit organization for selfless acts during 2023 Lahaina wildfire

Luis Fuentes saved lives in Lahaina on Aug. 8, 2023, and is a fitting winner of the Maui Non-Profit Directors first Community Impact Hero of the Year Award. 

He fought back emotions as emcee Kathy Collins read the account of Fuentes’ heroism prior to the presentation of the award Thursday night at the organization’s annual meeting, held at the Maui Beach Hotel.

After pulling two children and their grandmother from their car on Front Street, he hurried them into the water as Bubba Gump Shrimp exploded in flames nearby. He videotaped a message on his cellphone, expressing to his family how much he loved them, then stashed the phone in his backpack and secured it with a rock up against a wall.

He dove into the ocean and treaded water for nine hours while supporting a 9-year-old boy. Numb from the chest down and burned shoulders up, Fuentes came ashore. Firefighters found him after midnight lying in the sand with his face buried in the rocks and gasping.

“This award is for the heroic efforts you took during the wildfires in putting others’ lives before your own,” Collins said.  

After the fires, Chef Fuentes of Island Catering volunteered his time, feeding those impacted by the fires. 

“Maui Non-Profit Directors association wants you to know it did not want your heroic efforts and your service to our community in a time of need to go unnoticed,” Collins said.

Recognizing Fuentes was one of the more touching moments of the evening with the organization honoring the Humanitarian of the Year, Community Business of the Year and one of its own as the Executive Director of the Year.

Before the awards, 2nd Circuit District Family Court Judge James Rouse swore in the organization’s officers: President Paul Tonnessen of the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center Maui; Vice President JD Wyatt, Ka Lima O Maui; Secretary Kandice Johns, UVSC (Us Versus Cancer); and Treasurer Richard Carr, Hawai‘i Animal Rescue Foundation. 

Board members at large are Judge Bevanne Bowers, Maui Mediation Services; Courtney Ikawa, Big Brothers Big Sisters; Nicole Hokoana, Maui Behavioral Health Resources; and Maggie Pulver, Hawai‘i Community Foundation.

The winner of the Humanitarian of the Year award was Greg Peros, who was nominated by the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center. Through his leadership with the Kiwanis Club of Maui Foundation, Peros raised funds during the holidays to provide 2,000 gifts to children in the Lahaina and Upcountry areas impacted by the wildfires. The drive was so successful, Peros was able to distribute leftover gifts to MEO and Children & Family Service.

The other nominees were Bri Collo, who spearheaded a group of Moms to collect school supplies to fill backpacks for children. Their efforts led to the distribution of 239 backpacks last year and the establishing of the nonprofit UNTO-ONE Foundation, which nominated her.

Justin Yanagida of Yanagida Fitness is an example of how fitness can change lives. An overweight child with asthma, he turned his life around through exercise and fitness. The author of “Fighting Sickness With Fitness,” he volunteers to work with MEO Youth Services middle and high schoolers on healthy lifestyles and self-defense.

The Community Business Award was presented to Mason Services of Maui, nominated by Big Brothers Big Sisters. The company has funded a scholarship for a Big Brothers Big Sisters high school graduate and has been a reliable sponsor for the organization’s two major fundraising events. Edgar Tomas accepted the award.

The other nominees were Hawai‘i Community Foundation, nominated by The Spirit Horse Ranch; Highridge Costa, MEO; Island Catering, Friends of the Children’s Justice Center; Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate, Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate, Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center; and T S Restaurants, UVSC. 

Ikawa, Maui Regional Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters, was selected Executive Director of the Year by an independent committee that included business, government and other community leaders.

She “demonstrates the concept of leading from the front,” said her nominator Jessica Crouse, a Big Brother Big Sisters of Maui Regional Board member. “She is more than willing to take on any of the tasks she expects of her team and works alongside them.”

The other nominees were Matthew Bachman, Habitat for Humanity; Paige Deponte, Spirit Horse Ranch; Susie Thieman, Lōkahi Pacific; King Van Norstrand, Nā Hoaloha; and Art Vento, Maui Arts & Cultural Center.