BBB Honors Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers with 2017 Torch Award

Thomas and Vicki Nelson, owners of Puna Kamalii Flowers, Inc. (center) pictured with BBB Chair Cleota Brown and BBB President and CEO Gregory Dunn. Photo courtesy of BBB Hawaii.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) honored Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers, Inc. with its Torch Award on March 31, recognizing the Keaʻau-based business for outstanding service and community contributions.

Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers was among over 80 businesses and nonprofits nominated in Hawai‘i for the BBB’s Torch Award this year–a record-breaking number of nominees.

Established nearly 20 years ago, Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers is a family-owned, award-winning florist offering custom tropical flower arrangements for all occasions. Through their business, they support persons with developmental disabilities by offering vocational training, employment and provider services.

Bestselling author and keynote speaker at the 2017 Torch Awards, Stephen M.R. Covey. Photo courtesy of BBB Hawaii.

Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers and three other Torch Award Finalists were honored during an event at the Sheraton Waikiki Ballrooms featuring New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Stephen M.R. Covey, as keynote speaker. Covey spoke on the importance of trust and its power and impact in business.

The BBB’s 2017 Torch awardees included finalists from the categories of small, medium, large businesses and nonprofits. Puna Kamaliʻi Flowers won the medium-sized business category. Each was selected for demonstrating exceptionally high standards in customer service, employee and shareholder relations, and integrity in advertising and sales practices, as well as notable contributions to their industry and community.

The other 2017 BBB Torch Award finalists included:

• Small Business – Honey Bee Cleaners, LLC.: Founded in October 2010, Honey Bee Cleaners is the only green cleaning company accredited by Green Cleaning Institute in the State of Hawai‘i. Their mission is to deliver high-quality, cost-efficient and eco-friendly cleaning services for local commercial and residential properties.
• Large Business – Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. (HEMIC): Created as a kama’aina company in 1996, HEMIC was founded in response to many challenges facing Hawai‘i’s workers’ compensation system. With a spirit of excellence, HEMIC now serves over 6,000 businesses and 75,000 workers and is Hawai‘i’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance.
• Non-Profit – YWCA Oahu: Founded in 1990, YWCA of O‘ahu is the oldest and largest women’s membership organization in Hawai‘i supporting women and girls through housing, economic self-sufficiency, professional development, and health and wellness.