YWCA of Hawaii Island will celebrate two pillars of the community, Carol Ignacio and Irene Nagao, at the 13th annual Remarkable People luncheon next week.
The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel’s Moku‘ola Ballroom.
For tickets and table sponsorship opportunities, call (808) 930-5705 or email tuyemura@ywcahawaiiisland.org, or see www.ywcahawaiiisland.org/event/remarkable-people-event/.
“YWCA created the Remarkable People event to recognize and honor our most compassionate, impactful and community-minded individuals,” said Margaret Almada Collins, president of YWCA’s Board of Directors, in a press release. “This year we invite the community to join us in celebrating Carol and Irene, two remarkable citizens who have made such a positive difference for women and the disadvantaged on Hawaii Island.”
Born and raised in Pa‘auilo, Ignacio leveraged her almost 30-year career with the Catholic Diocese to pioneer numerous grassroots initiatives to aid the hungry, unhoused, formerly incarcerated and unemployed. Among her many accomplishments was the founding of the Hawaii Island Food Bank (now The Food Basket), and the Care-A-Van program delivering aid to the houseless population living in remote areas on the island.
Upon stepping down from the Diocese, Ignacio started another career establishing the Blue Zones Project on Hawaii Island. Well-acquainted with the power of good food, she became manager of Gramma’s Kitchen, her beloved family-owned Honokaa restaurant, before her “third retirement” in 2023.
Nagao was born in Honolulu in 1936, the eldest of six girls. She achieved a degree in accounting which took her to Chicago, where she worked for Standard Oil and the Chicago Blood Bank, started a family, and then moved to her husband’s hometown, Hilo. After more than two decades at JC Penney, Irene’s husband died, followed soon after by the murder of her son.
Ever resilient, Irene stepped in to raise her orphaned grandson, and parlayed her grief into an unstoppable desire to help others through education. She headed the education committees of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She co-founded STARS, a support group for families who have lost a loved one by homicide, and helped start Going Home, the program to assist men, women and youth with reintegration upon release from correctional institutions. She has served on the Junior Achievement board for more than 25 years, Friends of the Big Island Drug Court for 18 years, and Zonta Club of Hilo for 45 years.
Funds raised from the luncheon and silent auction stay in the county to ensure YWCA of Hawaii Island’s vital services are available to those who need them.