2017 Pa‘i Award Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in Hawaii Publishers Association’s 32nd annual Pa‘i Awards. Congratulations to the talented writers, designers, artists and photographers who won in this year’s competition!

STUDENT STORY
First Place
Ka Leo O Hawai‘i
“Former UH Foundation Employee Claims He Was Fired After Raising Alarm About a $165K Website That Didn’t Work”
Alex Bitter, Alden Alayvilla, Noelle Fujii, Victor Ong, Courtney Teague, David McCracken
“(The) winning entry demonstrated a combination of outstanding investigative reporting and strong journalistic writing, presenting a complicated issue in an understandable package.”

Second Place
Ka La
“Finally Ready to Take on the Whole World”
Vania Graves

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place
Ka Leo O Hawai‘i
“Slacking Can Be a Hobby”
Antonina Javier
“Nice image. I like that the subject’s arm is forming a leading line.”

Second Place
Ka Mana‘o
“Lanterns”
Marcel Saragena
“I really love this image. I love the shallow depth of field and how the lanterns in the back almost look like stars … Very well done.”

STUDENT DESIGN (PRINT)
First Place
Ka La
“Art & Soul”
Nekemiah Williams, Tiera Spencer, Vania Graves, Alyssa Baligad, Steffanie Sobitz
“Fabulous design with a mixture of the widest variety of elements I’ve seen. I’m impressed and inspired by the ways you’ve represented tattoo art, bonsai art and the breadth of colorful, detailed photographs and drawings.”

Second Place
Ka Mana‘o
“Winter 2016”
Ka Mana‘o Staff
“Excellent mix of text and art, with varying design elements and themes.”

STUDENT VIDEO
First Place
Ka Leo O Hawai‘i
“A ‘CLEAR’ Path From Student Debt”
Agatha Danglapin, Andrew Menor
“Overall, clear and concise. Good use of graphics.”

Second Place
Ka La
“Art & Soul”
Tiera Spencer, Nekemiah Williams, Alyssa Baligad

SCHOOL NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE
First Place
Ka Leo O Hawai‘i
“Excellent design, and very broad and deep range of coverage that was clearly the class of this competition. I appreciated the in-depth coverage in particular.”

Second Place
Ka Mana‘o
“Fabulous design — and strong coverage across a wide range of topics.”

NON-DAILY NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE
First Place
Pacific Business News

VISITOR PUBLICATION EXCELLENCE
First Place
Halekulani Living
“(A) high-quality magazine with important stories about disappearing sights in Hawaii, sugar cane and beekeeping. Stark, artistic black and white images paired with vivid, vibrant, detailed photography.”

Second Place
Hana Hou!
“One of the most professional magazines I’ve seen this year, with a meaningful, eye-catching cover, important stories, 200 pages of great content, well-integrated ads and impressive images.”

SPECIAL SECTION EXCELLENCE
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Remember Pearl Harbor”
Willis Hoover
“You served your readers very well with this section. Content pushed this entry into first place with compelling stories that are well written and engaging … Overall, very nice work!”

Second Place
FLUX Hawaii
“Living Well”
FLUX Hawaii Staff
“Excellent work … I’m an enthusiast of interior design, and this section had it all — good writing, interesting stories and strong photos. While a second-place finisher, this section is nonetheless a blue-chip entry.”

DIRECTORIES
First Place
Where
“Meet Hawaii Meeting Planner Guide”
Haines Wilkerson, Jane Frey, Gene Faught
“I especially liked the online elements, and the pullout pieces of the hardcopy edition were super user-friendly.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“2017 All-Island Restaurant Guide”
Honolulu Magazine Staff
“Incredible photography, exhilarating design — a terrific effort.”

GENERAL WEBSITE EXCELLENCE
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Bright, well-organized pages. Good use of photos to bring out the sections on the main pages and article pages.”

Second Place
Pacific Business News
“Solid content, and a good mix.”

ONLINE VIDEO
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Remember Pearl Harbor”
Diane Lee
“Good open. Nice audio and video matches.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Kamaka Looks Forward”
Diane Lee, Aaron Yoshino
“I like the idea of an educational series … Good use of chord cue inset.”

ONLINE REPORTING
Honolulu Magazine
“Remember Pearl Harbor”
Diane Lee, Enjy El-Kadi

SOCIAL MEDIA EXCELLENCE
First Place
Honolulu Magazine

Second Place
Hawaii Magazine

DIGITAL NEWSLETTER EXCELLENCE
Honolulu Magazine
“Honolulu Weekend Picks”
Diane Lee, Enjy El-Kadi, Marisa Heung, Christy Davis

EXCELLENCE IN COVER DESIGN (COATED STOCK)
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Where To Eat Now”
Kristin Lipman
“Clean, expressive, focused design with a bright, vibrant, hard-to-capture image. Well done!”

Second Place
Hawaii Magazine
“The Islands Are Calling”
Cody Kawamoto, Christine Hitt, Matthew Dekneef
“Minimalist and attractive front that directs the eye and calls for attention.”

EXCELLENCE IN ILLUSTRATION
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“How Hawaii Charmed Mark Twain”
AJ Frena
“Very artistic, especially in its detail, its color contrast and use of flora, fauna and fire. Works beautifully with the text.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Cats vs. Birds (and Everyone Else)
Michael Byers
“Graphic-novelesque approach communicates the point very effectively. Works well with the text.”

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN (NEWSPRINT)
First Place
Pacific Business News
“The Hawaii Vacation Rental Revolution”
Bethany Bickley

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN (COATED STOCK)
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Cheap Eats”
Kristin Lipman
“It’s all about the drama! It was a creative choice to choose to photograph the food using a graphic, fearless style. The result is vivid and precisely art-directed photos … The layout is fun and engaging.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Farm Fresh”
Kelsey Ige
“The designer effectively combined a variety of images, illustration techniques and text into a visually exciting layout.”

VISITOR PUBLICATION PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place
Royal Hawaiian Center
“Summer Style”
Hudson Taylor, Serena Taylor, Tiare Thomas, Haines Wilkerson
“Good job making use of colors in the outfits that accent the floors in the background.”

Second Place
Wailea Magazine
“You Say ‘Ahi, I Say Mahimahi”
Rachel Olsson, Isaac Arjonilla
“Impressive. I love this image. It shows a nice slice of life.”

ESSAY PHOTOGRAPHY (COATED STOCK)
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Model Citizens”
Tommy Shih
“Wow. This photographer took some chances and had some fun. I appreciate all the time and effort that went into this photo shoot.”

Second Place
Hana Hou!
“Bittersweet Harvest”
Dana Edmunds, Matt Mallams, Samuel Lee
“This is a great story both visually and historically … The opening image was powerful and a good choice.”

ESSAY PHOTOGRAPHY (NEWSPRINT)
First Place
Maui News
“End of Sugar”
Matthew Thayer

SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place
Hana Hou!
“Native Intelligence”
Logan Mock-Bunting
“Excellent example of playing with light. You went behind-the-scenes and told me a bit of a story that would be a challenge to see any other way.”

Second Place
Maui News
“Makawao Rodeo Entrants Cowboy Up”
Matthew Thayer
“Some excellent action at an event probably not a lot of people saw — and the stop-action helps show some details of a fast-moving event.”

FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY (COATED STOCK)
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Model Citizens”
Tommy Shih
“Phenomenal series here … What I want to compliment is the planning these images took. You didn’t just place a subject in a pretty place and click the shutter. These images took a lot of work and technical proficiency.”

Second Place
Hana Hou!
“Bittersweet Harvest”
Dana Edmunds
“I adore this image. The texture of the wall, the subject’s expression, the complementary tones and the gorgeous directional lighting are all great. Picking between first and second place was incredibly difficult.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
First Place
Hana Hou!
“From a Hill on Molokai”
Shannon Wianecki
“This writer weaves together historical research, interviews and first-hand observations seamlessly. The reader never notices the twists and turns of the journey to the end of the story. Great writing.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Kamaka Looks Forward”
James Charisma
“What a fun family to get to know! The writer does a great job introducing us to a family with a unique business and outlook on their work.”

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REPORTING
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“The Essential Guide to Local Fruit”
Catherine Toth Fox, Don Wallace, Katrina Valcourt
“The top entries placed told stories of important and compelling issues through the lens of individuals, making the stories not just about the issue, but also about the person in the story.”

Second Place
Hana Hou!
“Bittersweet Harvest”
Paul Wood

SPORTS REPORTING
First Place
FLUX Hawaii
“Against the Wind”
Sonny Ganaden, Jonathan Canlas, John Hook
“All the entries were excellent examples of strong sports feature writing. The winning piece about Red Raider nations takes the crown because of its hyper-local focus on a high school football team that is nationally renowned … Beautifully written with a broad appeal — even if you don’t care about football, you will enjoy this story.”

Second Place
Hawaii Magazine
“Women Who Conquer the Kaiwi”
Matthew Dekneef, Christine Hitt

EDITORIAL COLUMN
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Ono: Food and Dining”
Catherine Toth Fox
“Catherine Toth Fox eloquently writes her reviews through the story of the food, the chef and/or the restaurant. Each piece gives us not only a review, but also a story on the side — and the writing is captivating.”

Second Place
Pacific Business News
“Pupu Platter”
A. Kam Napier

EDITORIAL OPINION
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Who Owns Hawaii’s Culture?
Don Wallace
“Great writing. Although the topic has received a great deal of attention in recent months, this writer gives it a freshness from beginning to end.”

Second Place
For Kauai
“Editor’s Notes”
Leo Azambuja
“Great narrative with global implications and local tie-ins.”

EDITORIAL SERIES
First Place
Maui News
“End of Cane”
Lila Fujimoto, Colleen Uechi, Melissa Tanji

EDITORIAL FEATURE
First Place
Honolulu Magazine
“Shark!”
Don Wallace
“Oh my god… Great lead, terrific storytelling, nice mix of concrete details and broad-stroking science reporting — but as an occasional surfer back in the day, I got back to ‘oh my god.”

Second Place
Honolulu Magazine
“End of Sugar”
Michael Keany
“Loved the extended lead … In this case, the length of the piece became an asset. Sophisticated, intelligent and ultimately empathetic. Nicely done.”

SPOT NEWS REPORTING
First Place
Maui News
“HC&S Closing”
Brian Perry, Melissa Tanji, Chris Sugidono
“Great job with quotes, which allows (the) reader a deep sense of the impact of this loss.”

Second Place
Maui News
“Capobianco Verdict”
Lila Fujimoto, Chris Sugidono
“Well written and detailed.”