Aio has hired marketing and communications professional Julie Hirano Kaneko to its family of companies as director of marketing and communications in a new division. She has nearly 15 years of experience in communications, most recently as the communications manager at Pacific Resource Partnership. She also has held communications positions at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and Stryker Weiner &Yokota Public Relations, where she provided strategic counsel, public relations and media support, and led marketing campaigns for organizations in construction, health care, tourism, government, nonprofit and more.

HUGS (Help Understanding &Group Support), a nonprofit organization that assists Hawaii’s families with seriously ill children, has added new members and announced its 2023 officers for its board of directors:

The newly elected board members are Kanani Kaopua Sr., vice president/senior community portfolio manager for Hawaiian Properties Ltd.; and Gregory Charles Pietsch, owner and operator of Sunset Ranch Hawaii.

Some of the 2023 HUGS officers of the board of directors include:

President: Ben Morgan, vice president, customer operations, Hawaiian Telcom.

Vice president: Julie Hirano Kaneko, director of marketing and communications, aio Media Group.

Vice president: Charles Loomis, retired.

Vice president: Kevin Yim, vice president, marketing, FCH Enterprises.

Secretary: Catha Combs, CPA, managing director, Wikoff Combs &Co. LLC.

Treasurer: JoAnn Lumsden, CPA, retired.

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