December 2025 Gleanings
Great deals to be had: Auction ends this week!
You don't want to miss our online auction! We've got some great deals from local hoteliers, tour companies and merchants. All proceeds go for scholarships for Big Island communications and journalism students. Click now: https://givebutter.com/c/nwJKeY/auction .
We're also excited about the proposed slate of officers up for vote Saturday. Read all about them below.
Our annual Torch of Light luncheon is Saturday, Dec. 13, in Pahala, where we'll honor the late Julia Neal, founder of Ka'u's community newspaper. We'll also hear all about news deserts and what we can to do about it from Civil Beat's Amy Pyle. We're almost sold out, but a few tickets and rooms are still available. Click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bipc-torch-of-light-honoring-julia-neal-tickets-1976372656819?aff=oddtdtcreator
Our Big Island Press site https://www.bigislandpressclub.org is having technical problems with credit cards, but you can sign up and pay dues by submitting checks. We're working on it!
Have news to share? Email Gleanings editor Nancy Cook Lauer at nclauer@gmail.com . Hope to see you soon!
Presenting ... (drum roll) ... Our proposed 2026 Board of Directors
This is exciting! We've packed the new board with professional journalists, communicators and old and new faces. A vote will be taken Saturday, Dec. 13, during our annual meeting and Torch of Light presentation in Pahala.
President: Maya-Lin Green
Science communications research fellow, USGS Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PICASC). University of Hawaii at Hilo student who just completed a bachelor's degree in mass communications and media journalism and a former staff writer for the student-led newspaper Ke Kalahea. mayalin@bigislandpressclub.org
Vice President: Kevin Dayton
Civil Beat reporter, former Capitol Bureau chief for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, former Capitol Bureau chief and Big Island Bureau chief for The Honolulu Advertiser, formerly with Hawaii Tribune-Herald in Hilo, the Honolulu bureau of the Associated Press, former executive director for Hawaiʻi County Mayor Billy Kenoi. BA in journalism from University of Arizona, masters in political science from University of Hawaii-Manoa. kdayton@civilbeat.org
Secretary: John Burnett
Award-winning journalist, Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Previously spent 30 years in radio, 12 in Honolulu and 18 in Hilo as a disc jockey, newscaster, talk-show host, program director and sports play-by-play announcer. Bachelor's degree in English and a teaching certificate at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and a master's degree in education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald.com
Treasurer: Nancy Cook Lauer
Retired after 30 years as an award-winning newspaper journalist in Florida and Hawaii, currently University of Hawaii-Hilo student publications advisor, freelancer and blogger at www.allhawaiinews.com . Vice president of the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She holds a B.S. in psychology, summa cum laude, from Old Dominion University and an MLIS from Florida State University. nclauer@gmail.com
Immediate Past President: Tiffany Edwards Hunt
Middle school social studies teacher and a "Greenwaves Gazette" adviser at Kea'au Middle School. Prior to teaching and advising full-time, Hunt worked as an investigative reporter, freelance writer and publisher of Big Island Chronicle. She has been a member of BIPC since 2001. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications/mass media and journalism from the University of Wyoming and a master's in education from Chaminade University. newswoman@mac.com.
Director: Ross Wilson
Principal, Current Events, a Strategic Communications Agency. Co-Chair of Ahu’ena Heiau, Inc., Chair of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee, President, Home Corporation, board service on Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation, Hawaii Community Builders, West Hawaii Housing Foundation, and is a member of Hawaii Community College Chancellor’s Advisory Board, among many others. Bachelor's degree at University of Hawaii-Manoa. rossw@current-events.com
Director: Patsy Iwasaki
Professor of English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She teaches the introductory and advanced media writing courses, as well as rhetoric, multicultural literature and professional writing. She has published a graphic novel Hāmākua Hero: A True Plantation Story. Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and also has an M.Ed. in education. piwasaki@hawaii.edu
Director: John Atwell
Former CIA Senior Operations Officer. He is currently editor of The Weekly Intelligence Notes (a periodical of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers), author of The Island Intelligencer (a monthly column in the Hawaii Tribune Herald) and editor in chief for a private intelligence company in Europe. He regularly gives public talks on espionage issues and media literacy. Bachelor's degree in Southeast Asian studies and archeology, University of Virginia, continued education at Kelogg Executive Education. jno.p.atwell@gmail.com
Director: Peter Serafin
Journalist/writer/broadcaster at Golden Angel Studio. Former editor of Hawaii Island Journal. Former reporter in Tokyo for The Japan Times and Billboard magazine, and has written for numerous other publications both domestically and abroad. Studied English at University of Illinois Chicago. goldenangel808@gmail.com
Director Emeritus: Robert Duerr
Longtime BIPC Treasurer. Award-winning writer, film maker. Award-winning films for NASA, the Department of the Treasury, World Healing in Hawaii and top music entertainers including AC/DC. Member of Outdoor Writers of America Association and has written for Surfing, Paddling, Cousteau Society, Outdoor Life. Columnist for Hawaii Fishing News. BA with honors in political science and philosophy from Bowdoin College and master's credits in education at Adelphi University.surf77@me.com
Board Adjunct: Laila Moiré-Selvage
Following board approval, contracted Webmaster and BIPC board adjunct. Founder/Manager at Coconut City Creative, media director at Action For Nature and Freelance, photo assistant at Susan Adler Photography. Bachelor's degree in media studies and anthropology from University of California-Berkeley. laila@bigislandpressclub.org
Remembering Jim: Big Island publisher and longtime BIPC Board official, community advocate Jim Wilson dies at 92
Jim was a stalwart BIPC member, board official, rational and experienced voice, donor and journalism advocate. But more than that, he was our friend. He held his post as vice president, making board meetings and participating in committees most of this year until he announced his retirement.
A celebration of life is being planned for Jan. 10 at the Hilo Meishoin Mission.
Please read John Burnett's news obit, reprinted below with the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's permission.
Jim Wilson, retired longtime publisher of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, died Friday morning (Nov. 21) at home in Hilo. He was 92.
Wilson suffered in recent years from post-polio syndrome and had traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for treatment. He had been in hospice care for the past week, according to his wife of 32 years, Audrey.
“He was a good man, and he was always concerned about the community,” she said. “He was always there whenever anyone asked, and he was a good listener.
“His involvement in the community meant everything to him.”
Born Oct. 11, 1933, in Boswell, Oklahoma, Wilson graduated from Chandler High School in Chandler, Okla., a town of 3,000.
“When he was 15, he was stricken by polio, and this was in 1949,” Audrey Wilson said. “There were four people in his community that got it, and I think two passed away — one ended up in an iron lung. Jim spent the year in the hospital. He reminds me all the time he was so upset that he couldn’t learn to drive when he was 16, because at that time, they kept him in the hospital for a year.”
Tall and tenacious, Wilson earned dual bachelor’s degrees in journalism and business from Oklahoma State University.
He joined Donrey Media Group, which later became Stephens Media Group, in 1962, as an advertising sales representative at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was promoted to assistant retail advertising sales manager at the Las Vegas paper in 1966 and transferred within the company to the Tribune-Herald as advertising sales manager in 1967.
Wilson was promoted to general manager — a position later renamed publisher — in 1973.
In addition, Wilson became Stephens Media’s division manager, adding responsibilities for West Hawaii Today and five West Coast dailies. He retired in 2002, after four decades with the company.
He wrote a publisher’s column while at the helm of the Tribune-Herald, oftentimes critical of elected officials and others in authority. More than a decade after retirement, he threw his hat into the political ring, running in 2014 for the County Council’s District 6 seat.
“As a newspaper, we spent a lot of time criticizing. It’s time to put up or shut up,” Wilson said at the time, adding that, as a councilman, he could offer “common sense business practices.”
He finished third in a three-person primary race, with Maile David-Medeiros capturing almost 60% of the vote and rendering a general election runoff unnecessary.
Despite retirement and the election loss, Wilson’s community involvement never slowed until health issues made it difficult for him to leave home.
He was inducted into the Hawaii Publishers Association Hall of Fame, was a past president of the Hawaii Publishers Association, and created the organization’s Pa‘i Awards, recognizing excellence in journalism statewide. He also was a past president of the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii and created the Neighbor Island Dailies Association.
In addition, Wilson was a founding member of the Pacific Tsunami Museum, which was deeply important to him because he believed wholeheartedly in its mission. According to Marlene Murray, the museum’s former executive director, Wilson was board president for decades.
“Even after stepping down, Jim continued to support the organization as a chair emeritus,” Murray said. “Through difficult periods, Jim’s leadership and unwavering commitment were instrumental in keeping the museum alive.
“On a personal note, he was one of the smartest, kindest and most generous people I have ever known. He always made time to listen and to offer thoughtful, steady guidance. I will miss him dearly.”
The Pacific Tsunami Museum also was a personal cause for Audrey Wilson. Her maternal grandparents were killed in the April 1, 1946, tsunami that leveled the former Shinmachi on the Hilo waterfront. Her mother, Fusae Takaki, couldn’t swim, but was rescued.
“I wasn’t yet born,” Audrey Wilson said. “But I always appreciated his involvement in the tsunami museum because of my mother’s history with the tsunami.”
Former President Joe Biden recognized Wilson with the President’s Volunteer Service Award. It will be presented posthumously by the Pacific Tsunami Museum in March during a recognition ceremony for the museum’s longtime volunteers and contributors.
Wilson’s list of community activities was extensive enough to exhaust a person half his age. A partial list includes: president, Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce; president, Destination Hilo; president, Volcano Art Center; member, Governor’s Council on Literacy; secretary and longtime member, Rotary Club of South Hilo; charter member and board member, Big Island Press Club; vice president, Big Island Substance Abuse Council; board member, Hawaii Island United Way; board member, Crime Stoppers; member, Japanese Chamber of Commerce; and commodore, Hilo Yacht Club.
“Jim was a generous and tireless advocate for the community, both as publisher and well after retirement. He never stopped caring and serving,” said David Bock, current publisher and editor of the Tribune-Herald, who Wilson hired in 1996 to be the paper’s news editor. “He also was a great mentor and friend. He truly was one of a kind, and he will be sorely missed.”
The Wilsons also were world travelers. Audrey Wilson, the Tribune-Herald’s food columnist, capitalized on their sojourns to further hone her culinary chops.
“I had a chance to thank him for all the travels,” she said. “I told him that without you, I would never have traveled to Paris and Italy and Hong Kong and Africa. We traveled so much and had a lot of good memories.”
And, most importantly, she said her husband never thought of nor treated any of her children from a previous marriage as stepchildren.
“He always treated them as his children, and they always thought of him as their father,” she said.
In addition to Audrey Wilson, he is survived by sons, Alex DeVilbiss, Neil Shigeoka, Reid Shigeoka and Dean (Ariana Bassett) Shigeoka, and grandchildren, Whitney (Nick Jacobs) DeVilbiss, Paige DeVilbiss, Quentin Bassett and Artemis Bassett. One son, Eric DeVilbiss, is deceased.
2025 Big Island Press Club Board
Please feel free to contact any board members with your suggestions, or if you wish to volunteer!
President: Maya-Lin Green, education and communications team member, Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center <mlgreen@hawaii.edu>
Vice President: Kevin Dayton, Civil Beat reporter <kdayton@civilbeat.org >
Secretary: John Burnett, journalist, Tribune-Herald <jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald.com>
Treasurer: Nancy Cook Lauer, retired journalist, UHH student publications advisor, blogger www.allhawaiinews.com <nclauer@gmail.com>
Immediate Past President: Tiffany Edwards Hunt, former journalist, middle school teacher <newswoman@mac.com>
Director: Patsy Iwasaki, professor, University of Hawaii-Hilo
<piwasaki@hawaii.edu>
Director: John Atwell, former CIA Senior Operations Officer, columnist, editor <jno.p.atwell@gmail.com>
Director: Ross Wilson, PR, Current Events rossw@current-events.com
Director Emeritus: Robert Duerr, filmmaker and journalist, Hawaii Fishing News <surf77@me.com>
Board Adjunct: Laila Moiré-Selvage, Communications professional, webmaster, Founder of Coconut City Creative
< laila@bigislandpressclub.org >
