'Sweepsteaks' winners Mindy Willers of Ewa Beach won first prize in Building Industry magazine's inaugural "Sweepsteaks" contest -- a $100 gift certificate to Hy's Steak House. Also, Jocelyn Des Laurier of Mililani and June Yago of Hawaii Kai each won $50 gift certificates to Hy's.
The "Sweepsteaks" continues in February
Johnson Named 2012 Guam
Executive of the YearJerrold C. "Jere" Johnson, president of Hawaiian Rock Products, has been named 2012 Guam Business Magazine's Executive of the Year, beating seven other nominees for the award.
Hawaiian Rock Products is the largest supplier of primarily ready mixed concrete, hot mixed asphalt and concrete masonry blocks on Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Palau. The company has about 400 workers at its four locations in the region. It also has a fleet of more than 200 construction vehicles and occupies more than 300 acres in Mangilao, as well as batch plants in Agat and at Andersen Air Force Base.
Johnson, 62, was honored on Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Guam. The annual award recognizes executives who have made outstanding contributions to the local business community and raised the bar in the field in which they are involved.
Along with his business success, Johnson considers the company's community involvement an important aspect of its operations. "As a good corporate citizen, we contribute to a long list of nonprofit companies," he said.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972, he was hired as a construction engineer by Hawaiian Dredging. He remained there until 1984, rising to general superintendent.
In 1985, he moved to Guam as vice president and general manager of Hawaiian Rock. He became president of the company in 1990.
Robert H. Jones (left), CEO of Triple J Group and Guam Business Magazine's 1983 Executive of Year, congratulates Jere Johnson, president of Hawaiian Rock Products, for being named 2012 Executive of the Year.
A&B Completes KIUC Solar Plant
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) announced the completion of construction of a 6megawatt solar PV (photovoltaic) facility at Port Allen. The facility, on a 20-acre parcel owned by A&B adjacent to KIUC's Port Allen Station power plant, is the largest solar generation plant in the state.
The solar facility is expected to generate, on average, approximately 10,200 megawatt hours of electricity per year, and will provide KIUC and its members with clean, renewable solar energy for at least the next 20 years.
"The Port Allen Solar facility, along with our existing hydroelectric facilities at Wainiha and Kalaheo, will generate nearly 40,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy each year, making A&B the leading generator of renewable energy on Kauai," said Christopher J. Benjamin, president and chief operating officer of A&B.
David Bissell, president and CEO of KIUC, said the Port Allen facility is the first of three utility-scale solar PV projects that will come on line on Kauai over the next two years.
"The A&B solar facility will supply almost 10 percent of KIUC's daytime electrical load and annually produce about 3 percent of the total energy used on Kauai," Bissell said. "By 2015, KIUC expects to draw 50 percent of its daytime electrical load from PV systems, the highest percentage of solar on any grid in the U.S."
The Port Allen Solar facility was developed by A&B's subsidiary, McBryde Sugar Company, LLC. Originally announced in July 2011, the project was constructed in less than nine months.
