Steve Petranik

The judges honored our reporting on Lahaina’s recovery, housing, immigration, workplace culture and other issues that shaped Hawaiʻi in 2025. We also won for our design, digital work, illustrations and photography. Hawaii Business Magazine earned 23 statewide honors Wednesday – including nine first-place prizes – at the annual awards dinner for the Hawai‘i chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Summer Shelverton graduated third in her law school class while raising a newborn, and now leads trusts and estates at Hawai‘i's largest law firm. Photo Courtesy: Aaron Yoshino Summer Shelverton says her job as a trusts and estates attorney is technical and precise, but fundamentally it’s about helping families today and for generations to come. “My work helps families protect what they have built and pass it on in a thoughtful, sustainable way.

Redefining growth as stability and opportunity for members, this first-generation college graduate leads HSFCU's boldest era of expansion yet. Photo Courtesy: Aaron Yoshino The leaders of Hawaii State Federal Credit Union chose Executive Vice President Warren Altona to be their first chief growth officer in 2025 because of his exceptional leadership skills and broad vision for growth. “For me, growth isn’t about more branches or bigger numbers,” Altona says.