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Gary Hogan leaves Pleasant Holidays

Gary Hogan has announced his resignation from travel company Pleasant Holidays LLC, where he has worked for 24 years.

The Automobile Club of Southern California bought the company from the Hogan family in 1998, though the family maintains other interests in the islands including two hotels, real estate developments and the Hogan Family Foundation.

For the past 17 years, Hogan has served as president of the company's Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays and Pleasant Island Holidays divisions. Company patriarch, Ed Hogan, established Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays in the 1950s, selling Hawaii tours through travel agents with his wife Lynn.

The younger Hogan will lead the redevelopment of the family-owned Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui, oversee the family's charitable efforts, and will explore other entrepreneurial opportunities, according to a statement.

Convention center snags top rank

The $350 million Hawaii Convention Center was ranked as the most attractive convention site in North America in a study of 40 major meeting venues.

The Metropoll X study also ranked the convention center third in "good food served" and said it had no "strong weaknesses."

The study, by California-based Gerard Murphy & Associates, a market research and consulting firm for the travel and meeting industry, ranked convention centers on 21 attributes. The Hawaii Convention Center ranked in the top 10 on five attributes and in the top 20 in 19 areas.

The center's other top 10 rankings came in the areas of exhibit setup and service costs, convenience to the airport, management competence, and banquet facilities. Its lowest ranking was 22nd for "sufficient exhibit space."

The study was conducted between May and July 2003 and looked at convention centers in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and other major cities.

SBA plans Hanalei outreach

Representatives from First Hawaiian Bank and a pair of small-business incubators will take part in door-to-door walks in Hanalei aimed at apprising Kauai businesses of the various resources available to them.

The bank will be joined by representatives of the Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network and the Pacific Gateway Center. The two groups are part of Honolulu's Small Business Resource Center, a grouping of organizations that offer counseling, training and computer services to small businesses.

"A lot of mom-and-pop businesses don't realize these things are available," said Lyn Womack, an economic development specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which is organizing the walk. "Many don't have e-mail, they're not online and not really plugged in to the business community."

Womack said the walks are also aimed at raising awareness of financing options, such as small-business loans guaranteed by the SBA.

The SBA has staged the walks in other areas throughout the islands and plans similar walks in Hilo on May 25 and in Kona on May 26.

Former Cyanotech CFO leaves board

Ron Scott, who resigned as chief financial officer of Kona aquaculture company Cyanotech Corp. at the end of February, stepped down yesterday from its board of directors.

Scott joined Cyanotech in 1990 as vice president of finance and administration, and in 1995 was elected to the board and promoted to the positions of executive vice president and CFO.

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[Hawaii Inc.]

RECOGNITION

>> Hawaii Hotel Association's 13th Annual Na Poe Paahana Awards have honored 11 Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii employees: Pauline Galera, Bernadine Reeves and Stan Tokunaga, manager of the year; Harold Higashi, Clifford Pu and Sione Manupuna, engineer/maintenance of the year; Panilo Balantac and Michael Preddy, bell/valet person of the year; and Elsie Badua, Lolita Sotero and Nora Guzman, housekeeper of the year.

>> Properties of the Pacific honors the following award winners for 2003: Sharon Au, top producer; Herwin Hung, top salesperson; and Jacqueline Mansard, top listor.

>> Ruth D. Merz, Hawaii Birth Defects Program administrator for the past 15 years, received the President's Award for 2003 from National Birth Defects Prevention Network Inc.

>> St. Francis Medical Center honors the following people with the Mother Marianne Award: James Pang, accounting; Hermie Gaspar, surgery; Zona Rodrigues, home care; Lydia Chock, utilization management; and Livingston Wong, St. Francis Transplant Institute of the Pacific medical director.

>> Daniel Bent has received the "Lawyer as Problem Solver" award from the Mediation Center of the Pacific. The award is given to someone who has exhibited extraordinary skills in promoting the concept of lawyer as problem solver or resolving individual, institutional, community, state, national or international problems.