As president and chief executive officer of the state’s largest private hospital, Art Ushijima has a critical role in the midst of one of the industry’s biggest transformational periods to date.

Based on his long tenure hyping Las Vegas as sales and promotions manager for Vacations Hawaii, you might think Kevin Kaneshiro always had his sights laser-focused on the ninth island. But growing up in Kaneohe as part of the local Nazarene church, a close relationship with Sin City was hardly part of the plan.

For years, Christa Wittmier has been a pillar in Hawai‘i’s art, music and nightlife scenes. “I’ve been a storyteller since I moved here,” says Wittmier, who originally made a name for herself in Honolulu as a nightlife blogger. Whereas some storytellers merely retell occurrences, Wittmier is helping write the story.