Honoree
Business Hall of Fame welcomes Jimmy Chan as newest Honoree
Jimmy Chan started the Hawaiian Chip Company in the year 2000 by making sweet potato chips on a little table top fryer to sell at the open markets.
Eventually stores took notice and KTA on the Big Island was the first supermarket to pick up the chips. By the second year Hawaiian Chip Co. was struggling
and on the brink of bankruptcy due to inexperience. Chan got a full time job at Waldenbooks that helped pay monthly bills and provided medical insurance.
He also got to keep, as many as he could carry, the empty shipping boxes for books.
For the next five years, those boxes were what the chips were sold in. With guidance from other leaders in Hawaii’s business community, the company survived.
The company is now profitable, with the chips sold statewide including Costco. It also has a factory retail store in Kalihi featuring taro and
sweet potato chips that are made to order. Chan has also served as a board member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii,
the Hawaii Export Council, and the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association.
Past Hawai‘i Island recipients of the prestigious JA Business Hall of Fame award include Bobby Fujimoto of HPM Building Supply (1990), Allan Ikawa of Big Island Candies (1995), Tony Taniguchi (1998) and Barry Taniguchi (2010) of KTA Super Stores, Monty Richards of Kahua Ranch (2009), Ric Maiava and Debbie Ching-Maiava of Ponds and Ken’s House of Pancakes (2012), Sharon Scheele (2022), Sidney Fuke (2023), and many more pillars of Hawai‘i Island’s business community.
Distinguished Supporter
Lee Wilson, Recipient of this year's Distinguished Supporter Award
Lee Wilson was born in upstate New York but grew up on Maui, where he developed an appreciation for community, creativity, and connection. After earning a degree in Business Administration from Boston University, he jumped into the world of marketing, advertising, and business development.
For the last 20 years, Lee was a key part of HPM Building Supply, first leading its marketing efforts and later taking on broader company initiatives to
support growth and innovation. His work played a role in strengthening HPM’s brand and expanding its retail presence across the state.
Before that, he held marketing leadership roles at Sprint, Verizon, and various Hawaii advertising agencies.
Beyond his career, Lee has spent more than 30 years giving back to his community. He’s been an active volunteer with Junior Achievement, helping young people develop business and financial skills. Lee also has served on both the state and local Big Island boards for Easter Seals Hawaii,
supporting programs for individuals with disabilities.
But above all, family is at the heart of everything he does. Lee and his wife, Adri, take pride in the lives and accomplishments of their two adult sons, Reyn and Rhys. Now retired, Lee is embracing this next chapter—spending more time with loved ones, exploring new interests, and continuing to find ways to
contribute to his community.
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Past Hawai‘i Island recipients of the Distinguished Supporter Award include Art Taniguchi (2019), Jackie De Luz Meyer (2020), Susan Labrenz (2020), and Irene Nagao (2023). JA of Hawai‘i Island created the JA Distinguished Supporter Award in 2019 to recognize individuals who’ve significantly contributed to the long-term success of JA on Hawai‘i Island.
About JAHI
About Junior Achievement of Hawai‘i Island (JAHI)
Junior Achievement of Hawai‘i Island (JAHI) delivers JA's financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to more than 4,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students on Hawai‘i Island each year. JAHI is a district of Junior Achievement of Hawai‘i, Inc. operating in East Hawai‘i Island, and is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization.
JAHI’s high school Company Program was the only one of its kind in the State of Hawai‘i. The hands-on program ran annually from September through December. Students, from freshmen to seniors and from all East Hawai‘i high schools, joined a company team, sponsored by local businesses and advised by local business people. For 15 weeks the companies created brands, developed product ideas and then manufactured, marketed and sold their products. Throughout the program, teams accounted for their expenses and revenues, managed their time, deliverables and human resources, and also performed community service activities.
For more than 20 years JAHI has provided scholarships to high school seniors based on applicant’s academic achievement, extra-curricular activity involvement, community service and leadership skills. Scholarship recipients were announced, and company and individual awards were presented at JAHI’s annual “Futures Unlimited Banquet.”
Junior Achievement's High School Heroes program gives high school students the opportunity to become role models and mentors by teaching JA lessons to younger students, typically in elementary or middle school. Before stepping into the classroom, high schoolers are trained by JAHI's board members, who guide them through the curriculum and help build their confidence, public speaking, and leadership skills. As "Heroes," these teens deliver fun, hand-on lessons focused on financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship - making a real impact in their communities while gaining valuable life experiences themselves.
Junior Achievement's purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.
Junior Achievement has over 100 local JA Areas across the nation, and together we are the nation's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA's programs—in the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy—ignite the spark in young people to experience and realize the opportunities and realities of work and life in the 21st century.
Sponsors
List of our generous Sponsors
Mahalo to all of our sponsors!
Proceeds from this auction will help JAHI continue to provide opportunities for Hawai‘i Island students from kindergarten through high school. JA programs prepare our keiki by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.
[sponsors all]