Nominations sought for annual People Who Made a Difference Maui News feature

With the holiday season around the corner, The Maui News is asking for readers’ nominations for the 27th People Who Made A Difference feature.

Nominees must be Maui County residents, groups or organizations, public or private, who have made a positive difference in the Maui County community in 2021. These could include residents who performed heroic acts, solved a problem in the community or helped out others in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year’s winners were Maui County’s frontline health care workers, who put their lives on the line to treat patients during the earliest waves of COVID-19; Maui Police Department Lt. William Hankins, who sought to clamp down on impaired driving; Gary Marks, whose family mobilized to provide free, healthy foods to families struggling during the pandemic; Jennifer Oberg, who launched the Maui Face Mask Project and the Sewing Hui of Maui to make masks for local first responders; and Cristina and Devin Pagaduan of Pastele House Maui, who made sure kids missing out on free school meals didn’t go hungry.

The awards are not meant as lifetime achievement awards, and the nominees must be living.

The staff of The Maui News will be selecting the 2021 People Who Made A Difference based on the submissions from the public. A tabloid will appear in the Dec. 25 Weekender issue of The Maui News with profiles and pictures of the awardees.

Please submit nominations via email to citydesk@ mauinews.com, fax at 2429087 or mail to The Maui News, 100 Mahalani St., Wailuku 96793. The deadline to submit nominations is 5 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Nominations should include:

● The correct spelling of the name or group.

● An explanation of the nomination (no more than 300 words).

● A phone number or email address of the nominee, if possible.

● A phone number of the nominator (for contact purposes only).