In late 1991 Art Vento’s life changed with a phone conversation.

“I was told Pundy would be calling me,” he said. “My first thought was, ‘What’s a Pundy?’”

Then a registered architect with Benjamin Thompson and Associates in Cambridge, Mass., one of the top architectural firms in the country, Vento soon connected with the man who would become one of his greatest sources of inspiration.

Masaru “Pundy” Yokouchi, chairman of the board for the proposed $32 million Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC), was looking to hire a project manager to oversee construction. At the time, Vento was wrapping up work as the site architect for the $60 million Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A consultant working on both projects had recommended Vento to Yokouchi.

“I truly wasn’t interested at first, but I accepted Pundy’s invitation to go to Maui and learn more,” Vento said. “I spent a lot of time with him, and we talked about the wonderful things a performing arts center can do for a community. It can be a gathering place where people share live experiences and create lasting memories. When I left Maui a week later, I knew our core beliefs and interests were completely aligned, so I became extremely excited about the MACC project.”

Vento took the job and moved to Maui in February 1992. Construction began the following month on Kuhio Day, March 26. He intended to return to the mainland when it was done; instead, he wound up staying at the center in various executive positions before being named president and CEO in 2010.

He credits Yokouchi for being the driving force behind the world-class, multidisciplinary arts center. Humble, soft-spoken, well liked and well respected, Yokouchi had left his family’s Wailuku bakery business in 1964, at age 38, to launch a career in real estate that supported his many philanthropic endeavors.

“We wouldn’t have MACC if it weren’t for Pundy,” Vento said. “He was committed to building what had been dreamed because he believed art enriches life and is a fundamental part of education. MACC was just an idea for a long time, then Pundy personally saw it to fruition. The tireless and often thankless work of consensus building, gathering community input, fundraising and groundwork had to be done before construction began, and most of it happened because of Pundy.”

More than half of the center’s budget came from the private sector, including Alexander & Baldwin, the McCoy Foundation and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. Countless people at the grass-roots level also stepped up to the plate. The Kihei Canoe Club donated $1,000 that it had won in a race. Waihee Elementary School students contributed $2,000 from sales of pogs (milk bottle caps). The Japanese Cultural Society sponsored a fashion show and film benefit that raised $27,000.

When the center opened, its facilities included a hula platform, the 1,200-seat Castle Theater, the 300-seat McCoy Studio Theater, the 4,100-square-foot Schaefer International Gallery and the 5,000-seat Alexander & Baldwin Amphitheater with its dramatic backdrop of eighty 80-foot palm trees.

“It was actually a dual opening,” Vento said. “Carlos Santana christened the amphitheater for our first performance on April 28, 1994. Then, starting on May 13, there was a three-day community celebration, where 30,000 people toured the facilities and enjoyed performances all day and into the evening.”

In 2003 the center’s box office, dance studios, classrooms, meeting rooms and administrative offices underwent extensive renovations and refinements. The Yokouchi Pavilion/Courtyard was added in 2012. Named in honor of Pundy, who died on Nov. 30, 2006, it features food and beverage bars and a glass-roofed stage and seating area.

Today the Maui Arts & Cultural Center is the venue for plays, concerts, musicals, dance performances, fashion shows, culinary festivals, movie screenings, art classes and exhibits, Hawaiian cultural discussions and much more. It also offers presentations in the community and welcomes students for field trips that include a hands-on art experience. Some 350 events each year are free.

“We hosted 1,700 events last year alone,” Vento said. “Six or more events are sometimes scheduled in a single day, often simultaneously. It may be a dance class for 50 or an Elton John concert for 5,000.”

In addition to local headliners such as Amy Hanaiali‘i Gillion, Jake Shimabukuro and Keali‘i Reichel, dozens of nationally renowned performers have appeared at the center, among them Yo-Yo Ma, Journey, the Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, Tony Bennett, Sting, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

“MACC brings the best of the world to Maui and showcases the best of Hawaii to the world,” Vento said. “I sure hope Pundy would be proud.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.