Salad Creations announced Ron Richards as owner of Salad Creations in Downtown Honolulu at 1102 Bishop St.

Baron Horiuchi, a Hilo horticulturist at the Big Island's Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, was named the 2009 Refuge Employee of the Year.

Horiuchi has spent the last 13 years working on propagation and planting methods for endangered Hawaiian plants.

Natalia Cardona of Mililani won the George C. Marshall Award as the top Army ROTC cadet at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She will join key military officials at the 2009 George C. Marshall ROTC Seminar in Lexington, Va. to discuss national security issues.

Shelley Ka'imi Akiona, formerly of Honolulu, was recognized by the California Stanislaus Arts Council for excellence in Hawaiian dance. She moved to Modesto, Calif., in 1987, and started teaching keiki hula in 1990.