Good people all around us

In a tough, austere year, they made things happen.

Each day for the last 10 days, the Star-Advertiser has recognized "10 who made a difference" in our island community in 2011.

Some are familiar figures used to the limelight; others made their impacts more quietly. All, though, were passionate in their causes, and their perseverance effected change.

Among the 10 were Peter Ho of Bank of Hawaii, Mark Dunkerley of Hawaiian Airlines and outgoing First Hawaiian Bank CEO Don Horner.

For Ho, it wasn’t only that he guided the state’s second-largest bank to one of the best financial performances in the nation, he also chaired the Hawaii Host Committee of the successful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the largest gathering of world leaders in Hawaii’s history.

In a year in which many businesses struggled to survive, Hawaiian Air was busily buying planes and expanding into new markets. Dunkerley made it all look easy — and by year’s end, the airline was casting to fill some 500 new jobs next year.

Horner, who retires today as First Hawaiian Bank’s CEO, has already segued heartily into civic duty. He was the governor’s first appointee to the state Board of Education as its chairman, and assuredly filled the hot seat as finance chairman of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, which oversees Oahu’s rail transit system.

Also deserving applause are these others who made a difference this year:

» Susan Ichinose, chairwoman of the Judicial Selection Commission, which screens Hawaii judge applicants. Under her, the panel sent a strong message for government transparency when it changed its rules to disclose the names of judicial candidates forwarded to the governor. This countered Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who — in breaking from his predecessors — had refused to reveal the short list to the public, sparking a lawsuit he would later lose.

» Glenn Mason, a preservation architect who worked to restore the landmark control tower on Ford Island. Mason also has been instrumental in preserving much of Hawaii’s historic urban landscape, from Bishop Museum’s Hawaii Hall, to the University of Hawaii’s College Hill, to reviving traditional housing at Hickam Air Force Base.

» Derek Kanehira and Suzun Weeks-Pell. These First Insurance Co. employees came up with an ambitious way to celebrate the company’s centennial this year: complete 100 community service projects with 100 percent participation in at least one event by more than 300 employees. They succeeded wildly: Events raised $20,000, collecting some $8,000 in goods, and employees logged roughly 2,250 volunteer hours.

» The team behind the Aloha for Japan campaign, who helped inspire a statewide effort to aid Japanese victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The effort by GRP Home Co. — including Lanai Tabura, BJ Sabate, Kyle Shimabukuro and Jun Jo — generated more than $8 million in donations.

» Anton C. Krucky, co-founder of Tissue Genesis, an emerging leader in adult stem cell and regenerative medicine. The company initiated FDA human clinical trials this year using patients’ own adult stem cells; the cutting-edge technology earned it a spot aboard NASA’s final space shuttle launch.

» Pamela DeBoard, founder of Hawaii Education of the ARTS (HEARTS), a Kailua-based nonprofit that provides affordable arts and cultural education to boys and girls. This year, she established the Waimanalo Outreach Choir to enable homeless children to be a part of a choral group.

» Kanani Danielson, a UH Wahine volleyball senior whose stellar versatility, litany of awards and leadership epitomized the best in Hawaii’s college scholar athletes.

As 2011 comes to a close today, a new year awaits — with the opportunity for you, too, to make a positive difference for others.