Each year, the Star-Bulletin recognizes 10 individuals or groups instrumental in bringing about change in Hawaii. Some worked quietly behind the scenes, others were bold in their public acts. The people selected this year come from the areas of education, entertainment, sports, community activism, law, medicine and government. Their actions have not always been popular, but their devotion is without question.
Inspired by the plight of a young child stricken with a rare form of leukemia, Hawaii residents responded in overwhelming numbers to the Dung family's plea for help during a bone-marrow drive from April to June.
More than 30,000 people were registered in the 12-week drive, which helped boost the Hawaii Bone Marrow Registry's donor rolls from 15,000-plus to more than 50,000.
"Alana increased awareness, and the importance of the drive to our local community is that we've increased the number of (registered) Asian donors," said Dr. Kaye Kawahara, director of bone-marrow transplants for Queen's and St. Francis hospitals.
An unrelated donor for Alana was located by the Tzu-Chi Foundation in Taiwan and the 2-year-old girl received a transplant to rebuild her immune system in July at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
She is living at home and progressing as well as can be expected, says her uncle, Dr. Alvin Chung.
A group of 10 relatives and friends met shortly after Alana was diagnosed with acute myeloid, type M-7 leukemia on April 5 to discuss what to do about finding a donor.
"When we first met, we asked each person to bring in 50 people," Chung said. "It just started to snowball from there."
Chung, a dentist, recalled a bone-marrow drive at the Hawaii Dental Association convention last year, and requested one for Alana in mid-April. About 2,210 people signed up on the first day of the convention at Blaisdell Center.
"If 20 or 30 people signed up the year before, they were extremely happy," he said. "The turnout was more than we were prepared for."
Throughout the drive, Alana's parents, Stephen and Adelia Dung, maintained that even if a donor was not found for their daughter, they were happy to be helping others.
"None of this would have happened if it were not for the people," Chung said. "We're grateful for their support and they did make a difference.
"We were looking for a needle in a haystack and this proves that a needle can be found," he added. "Everyone deserves that chance and we encourage people to register."
Renee Hirata of the Hawaii Bone Marrow Registry said more than 500 preliminary matches have been identified this year and two people from the 1996 group have consented to be donors.
But only now, she says, is she ready to take it a notch higher by helping to decide policy for native Hawaiians as a trustee-elect for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
"I think at this stage in my life, in combination with these experiences and some credibility, that the Hawaiian community has some sense of me," said Apoliona, executive director of Alu Like. "I think that is a natural next step."
Apoliona, 47, has made a difference since she decided in high school to make Hawaiians her life's work. After earning her University of Hawaii master's degree in social work in 1976, she worked briefly as a probation officer for Big Island Circuit Court in Hilo before returning to Oahu. A year later, she joined Alu Like as a counselor. The job served as a catalyst for her civic and broad-based community work.
Now, 18 years later, Apoliona will resign from Alu Like to begin her job as OHA trustee, which she won by defeating incumbent Kina'u Boyd Kamali'i in November's elections.
Apoliona credits her parents, Eugene and Anne Grote Apoliona of St. Louis Heights, for her motivation and dedication. She recalled how her father, a former state land agent, would assist Hawaiians through the state bureaucracy even though it was not his job.
"He always recognized that a state bureaucracy can be problematic to those that don't understand the process," she said. "And through his own work, he attempted to help Hawaiian people."
Apoliona also learned to work hard toward goals, and to gain from experiences. Still, she admits many notches in her career were happenstance. She has served on nearly three dozen boards, committees and commissions, including the White House Conference on Aging and the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce.
Musically, Apoliona is a master slack-key guitarist who has won Na Hoku Hanohano awards, and a member of the group Olomana.
"So many things in my life, they've not always been things that I've sought," she said. "Opportunities have presented themselves and at that point in time, you have to make a decision: Do you go this way or go that way."
"She was the key leader raising public awareness on the effects of molestation on children," said Elaine Yamashita, an instructor for early childhood education at Maui Community College.
As Maui chapter president of the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, Doi spoke on behalf of the victims of child abuse and their families.
She helped to organize a petition on behalf of her members, criticizing elected officials for choosing "a political obligation over a child's shattered life . . . "
Among those writing to Circuit Judge E. John McConnell before Murakami's sentencing were House Speaker Joe Souki, state Sen. Rosalyn Baker and Maui County Council Chairwoman Alice Lee.
While many other groups were silent, Doi on behalf of her association spoke out about the moral responsibility of elected officials.
"They represent the people, and you want to make sure the persons representing you have the right values and are informed," said Doi, 44, who has a 10-year-old daughter.
Some Maui residents walked into the voting booth with a list of Murakami supporters and voted against them. Souki narrowly won re-election over relatively unknown Republican candidate Danilo "Danny" Agsalog, 2,847 to 2,399.
Professional acquaintances describe Doi as usually quiet and reserved. But she's also known as a leader in the child-care community on Maui and staunch advocate for the well-being of children.
"She takes her role seriously," said Terry Lock, the county's early childhood resource coordinator.
Doi, a preschool teacher at Kahului Union Church and former director of the Maui Pineapple Co.'s preschool, twice has been elected president of the local chapter with 1,000 members statewide and 150 members in Maui County. She also has served on the association's state board.
Like Doi, members volunteer to provide training workshops for child-care providers, sponsor a children's fair annually and promote legislation for early childhood development.
"If she says she's going to do something, it will be done no matter what," said Yamashita.
He was applauded by the Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy Aid for what he has done for more than 20 years, giving outsiders a personal look into the life of Hawaii's leprosy victims who, until 1969, were held in isolation.
Marks, 67, owns and operates Damien Tours on the remote Molokai peninsula which was made a place of banishment in the mid-1800s when leprosy became epidemic in the islands. The National Park Service now administers the historical sites, and the tiny village is home to about 70 patients who may come and go as they choose.
When the average visitor leaves Kalaupapa, it is with head spinning with an intense concentration of historical facts, anecdotes about the life of a Hansen's disease patient in the 19th century and today, and exposure to the adamant opinions of their loquacious tour guide. Marks is likely the only victim of the disease whom most people, including Hawaii residents, will ever meet.
He was diagnosed with the disease - which is now named after the researcher who identified the leprosy microorganism - at the age of 19. It meant he became a ward of the state, no longer allowed to continue his travels as a merchant seaman.
He is one of a handful of patients who became activists, challenging the Department of Health and state Legislature to end the enforced confinement of patients and to provide them with pensions for their work at the settlement. The isolation law was not changed until 20 years after the use of sulfone drugs rendered the disease no longer contagious.
Marks made the most of his circumstances when he went into the tour business, which became highly successful because the law requires that visitors be escorted while in Kalaupapa. His narrative, full of pithy criticism of government agencies' actions in the settlement and colorful recreations of history, grabs the visitor's attention leaving the airport as he points out the first cemetery and announces that his brother, father, uncle and grandmother are buried there.
Among the visitors he has befriended are several members of the DeVeuster family from Belgium, descendants of the family of Father Damien DeVeuster, who ministered to victims until he died of the disease in 1889.
Like all patients with children, Marks and his wife, Gloria, had to relinquish his sons and her daughters to be raised by family members outside.
"He has overcome adversity and gone on to change the face of our thoughts toward this disease," said Howard Crouch, president of the New York-based Damien-Dutton Society.
Can 300,000 people be wrong? The Special Events Arena rocked all year long, the fan base crossing all age and gender barriers.
Wilton's Rainbows became the first men's volleyball program to pay for itself en route to a second-place finish at last May's final four. Shoji's Wahine, the NCAA runners-up last month, bailed out the financially troubled athletic department with a $500,000 surplus.
"It's been a rough year at the university, with all the controversy and financial woes," said Shoji, whose team broke the NCAA attendance mark for the third straight season (184,314). "We feel good about being able to bring some happiness to people's lives. Everyone feels good about a program when you're winning.
"But the biggest contribution is that we're a role model for the rest of the country. Other programs are slowly getting to where we are. I think it will happen like it has here within the next five years."
Maybe. Maybe not. But being the pioneers of popularity will always be special.
"I think our program has given the community another volleyball program to be proud of," said Wilton. "We got the younger generation involved and have created a fan base for the future. Our program has exposed the sport of volleyball to the community and has created a great interest for the sport as a whole.
"Our athletes are also good role models, not just because they are good athletes, but because they get involved in community-related projects. The people of Hawaii can relate to our athletes because of the diverse backgrounds in the islands and on our team. We work together toward a common goal and I think that reflects well to the people of the community as well."
The Rainbows were the rock stars. The Wahine were the girls next door you wanted to succeed.
Behind Shoji and Wilton, the two teams made a state proud and forever changed the face of collegiate volleyball.
After a 3-1/2-year battle against a powerful police union, student journalists at the University of Hawaii won their case for open government.
The state's highest court in November sided with the UH chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in their effort to force the Honolulu Police Department to release names of disciplined or suspended police officers.
The journalists sued the department in 1994 after it refused the group's 1993 request to disclose the information.
Jahan Byrne, who pushed the lawsuit when he was president of the student chapter from 1992 to 1994, said in most U.S. cities such a request wouldn't have become a big issue.
"This kind of information would be considered public without any question," he said.
Byrne wonders whether the students' court victory will trigger more backlash. The Legislature likely will succumb to lobbying efforts of public employee unions and further erode the public's right to information, he said.
After the lawsuit was filed, the Legislature passed a measure in 1995 that permits the withholding of disciplinary information about police officers except when the officers are fired.
Byrne, now a California resident, said he was surprised at how strongly the Hawaii Supreme Court sided with the students.
"I'm gratified that we won on virtually every point," he said.
Not only did the court stipulate that the names must be released, it said public-worker unions cannot reach accords with the government that compromises the public's right to know about disciplinary matters.
The Supreme Court decision has raised some question about what exactly will be released.
An attorney for the students has said he believes the ruling covers all police officers suspended or fired between January 1991 and July 1995, when the new law took effect.
But the police union's attorney said the ruling applies only to four officers who sought to keep their names confidential.
Makamae Masuda's experience began as a nightmare. Diagnosed with bone cancer at age 15, Masuda's right wrist and most of his right forearm were removed and he entered a period of intense and debilitating chemotherapy. "It was pretty scary because when I went into the limb-salvage surgery, I didn't know if I was going to wake up with a hand or not," he says.
The hand was saved - it has limited mobility in one direction - but the shattering experience should have soured him on hospitals forever.
Instead, the 16-year-old Iolani junior returned to the Pediatric Oncology Program at Kapiolani Hospital for Woman and Children as a volunteer, sharing his insights into the experience of cancer with new patients.
"Mostly I do the usual volunteer stuff, like helping out on the floor, or making labels for bottles," said Masuda. "But they allow me to talk to some of the kids to help them through their surgery and therapy."
Masuda's refusal to succumb to the disease took a physical toll, but his spirit never wavered. He has been there, and returned, and this provides hope to other teens with cancer.
"Without question, Makamae's willingness to confront his own feelings and experiences about cancer have made him a precious resource for others," said Mae Au, a medical social worker at the hospital. "Every youth who has met Makamae has appreciated his 'I have been there' perspective."
"What's special about Maka," said oncology nurse practitioner Diane Fochtman, "is that he understands and is always looking out for the best interest of the children."
Masuda is more modest. "I just tell them it'll probably be OK, and they need to stay positive. I'm someone who made it through the experience. I'm living proof!"
The 43-year-old judge said the state failed to offer a compelling reason to justify sex discrimination in a law that allows a man and a woman to marry, but bars two men or two women from the same legal rights.
The ruling moved Hawaii a step closer to being the nation's first state to allow same-sex marriage, in a state where more than 60 percent of those polled over several years have opposed such unions. (Chang's ruling is now on appeal before the Hawaii Supreme Court, which is expected to affirm it.)
But attorneys, including the one representing the state in the September trial, say Chang was just doing his job when he made worldwide headlines and further fueled national and local efforts to stop same-sex marriage with laws and amendments.
"I don't think he relished in making a decision against the state," said Deputy Attorney General Rich Eichor, who argued that children have the best chance of reaching optimal development if raised by biological parents.
"I don't think he did this to try to make a name for himself. I think he did it because he felt it was right based on the law and the facts."
The fact that Chang, who declined to be interviewed for this story, did his job was as significant as the ruling to some.
"Above all else, Judge Chang's decision reaffirmed my faith in the judiciary," said James A. Kawachika, president-elect of the Hawaii State Bar and chair of the Disciplinary Counsel.
"It was courageous, albeit an unpopular one," said Kawachika, expressing his personal views.
Kawachika, who has known Chang for 15 years, said Chang has been a "straight arrow" during his three years as a judge, unaffected by personal feelings or one's position in society. He also said opposing parties sought Chang as an arbitrator when he was a law partner with Watanabe, Ing and Kawashima.
Dan Foley, attorney for the three same-sex couples who sued to marry, said the judge's opinion gives a look at Chang the man.
"It's thorough, thoughtful and reasoned," he said. "That's obviously Judge Chang."
The 55-year-old chairman and chief executive of First Hawaiian Inc. toiled to achieve a number of notable personal and corporate milestones during the past year.
As many local companies were downsizing this year, Dods helped launch the parent of First Hawaiian Bank on an aggressive expansion into the U.S. mainland. The company also completed its ambitious redevelopment of its $175 million corporate headquarters, on time and on budget.
Dods capped the year when he assumed the helm of of the American Bankers Association in October, making him the first local bank chief executive officer to serve as president of the powerful, 121-year-old trade organization.
"He adds value to the bank," said Richard Dole, analyst with Fry & Co., a local stock brokerage.
Perhaps the most visible and lasting sign of that value is First Hawaiian Center, the bank's 30-story, state-of-the-art headquarters, which was completed in October.
For Dods, the 430-foot-tall building - the state's tallest - is a symbol of the bank's optimism in Hawaii's economic future.
Dods, First Hawaiian's chief executive since 1989, began the year with a mainland shopping spree, acquiring 32 bank branches in Oregon, Washington state and Idaho for $38 million from U.S. Bancorp. He snapped up another four branches in Washington when it bought ANB Financial Corp. in July.
He has also announced plans to merge the Pioneer Federal Savings unit into First Hawaiian Bank next year.
For his efforts, Dods is one of the highest paid executives in Hawaii. A survey by the Star-Bulletin in May found that Dods earned about $1.35 million in salaries, bonuses and other compensation at First Hawaiian in 1995.
That's in addition to the $600,000 in commissions he earned as a trustee of the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon, which is First Hawaiian's largest shareholder.
The energetic, curious Wong quickly put his stamp on the organization. A Vancouver resident who was born in Hong Kong, Wong was associate conductor for the New York Philharmonic when he got the call. He studied music and medicine at Harvard (he holds a degree in ophthalmology and internal medicine, but does not practice - except on the piano).
Wife Hae-Young Wong is a violinist with the New York Philharmonic.
Wong has guest-directed orchestras in Tokyo, Montreal, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brussels, Mexico City and Tel Aviv, as well as Honolulu. Wong's international tastes and openness to innovation were among the deciding factors that brought him to Honolulu.
"Maestro Wong brings great enthusiasm and artistry to Hawaii," says Honolulu Symphony Orchestra executive director Michael Tiknis. "He is known and respected throughout the world. A new era has definitely begun for the Honolulu Symphony."
More to the point, the musicians are "real happy," said Milton Carter, president of the Musicians union local.
Wong has instituted a full season with a variety of musical tastes broken down into categories called "Masterworks," "Pops," "Pau Hana" and "Ohana." Also on tap will be stars such as Anton Kuerti, Judy Collins and Richard Chamberlain.