January 2026 Gleanings
BIPC Gleanings January 2026: New year, new board, Lava Tube, Torch of Light nominations sought, let's honor Jim
Happy New Year! Now entering its 59th year, your Big Island Press Club is still going strong! We've added two new board members, as well as an adjunct board member and a bookkeeper to enhance our mission, and we're continuing our programs to promote openness in government and grow new journalists to keep us informed.
Important deadlines:
Torch of Light/Lava Tube nominations due March 1
Scholarship Application deadline April 30
https://forms.gle/op1VrdytXhMrVAKQ9
Our monthly board meetings are continuing via Zoom, and all members can attend our next one at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, by using this link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/84672370655 . Questions? contact Treasurer Nancy Cook Lauer at nclauer@gmail.com
BIPC 2025 Torch of Light luncheon was a huge hit!
Please check you favorite social media for many more photos and stories.
Full recording on YouTube:
Memorial Service Jan. 10: Please join BIPC in honoring charter member and longtime board member Jim Wilson.
Visitation will be held on Jan. 10, 2026 (Saturday) at Hilo Meishoin Buddhist Temple (97 Olona Street) from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; celebration of life service will begin at 11 a.m. Casual attire is requested. No flowers.
Message from the President
Greetings Members,
As we move into 2026, this year will be about strengthening the Big Island Press Club’s foundation so we can continue and expand the important work that has been underway since 1967.
Our focus is on increasing our impact, strengthening our membership and partnerships and speaking more consistently on the issues that matter most to our Hawaiʻi journalism community. The 2025 strategic planning session, organized by immediate past president Tiffany Edwards Hunt, offered valuable insight into what is working well and where we have opportunities to grow. Building on that work, our priorities for 2026 include strengthening our website, increasing marketing and outreach, growing membership and streamlining internal processes to make engagement and giving easier for our members.
Thank you for your continued dedication to the Press Club! Please do not hesitate to reach out with comments, questions or suggestions. I look forward to working alongside you as we build a strong, collaborative and impactful year ahead.
Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou,
Maya-Lin Green
President
Seeking nominations for Torch of Light and Lava Tube awards
Do you know someone especially deserving of the BIPC Torch of Light or Lava Tube awards? Here's your chance to put in nominations, based on actions -- positive or negative -- individuals or groups conducted in 2025, furthering or inhibiting the public's right to know..
The Torch of Light award is given to an individual or entity for illuminating the public’s right to know, while the Lava Tube dishonor is given for a lack of communication and keeping the public in the dark.
Please email nominations and your reasoning on why they deserve the award to one of the BIPC board members listed at the end of this newsletter. All nominators are kept confidential. We'll be discussing the nominations at the Feb. 8 BIPC Board meeting, so please submit nominations as soon as you can, so they can get a good airing by the board.
As it has for past 29 years, the 59-year-old press club announces the awards yearly on March 16, Freedom of Information Day, the birthday of James Madison, who was widely regarded as the father of the U.S. Constitution and the leading advocate for openness in government among our founders.
Here are lists of previous honorees and dishonorees to give you an idea. But don't let the list intimidate you. We're open to just about anyone, as long as you can provide a compelling reason why they should be honored or dishonored.
2026 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 <maya-lin@bigislandpressclub.org>
Vice President: Kevin Dayton, Civil Beat reporter, formerly with Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii Tribune-Herald. <kdayton@civilbeat.org>
Secretary: John Burnett, journalist, Tribune-Herald <jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald.com>
Treasurer: Nancy Cook Lauer, retired journalist, 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: Peter Serafin. Journalist/writer/broadcaster at Golden Angel Studio. Former editor of Hawaii Island Journal. <peter@goldenangel.org>
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: Founder/Manager at Coconut City Creative, Media Director at Action For Nature <laila@bigislandpressclub.org>
