Sentry receives Community Business Award from Maui nonprofit directors

KAHULUI, Maui, Hawaii (October 14, 2022) – The Maui Nonprofit Directors Association (MNPDA) has honored Sentry with its 2022 Community Business Award.

The MNPDA did so recently at an awards ceremony and officer installation at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. It marked the first time in recent memory, if not ever, that the nonprofit directors chose to give the award to a business not located on the island, said Paul Tonnessen, Executive Director of the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui, who nominated Sentry. Paul is pictured here on the left with Max Novena (right), Executive Director of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, who accepted the award on Sentry’s behalf.

Since becoming title sponsor of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2017, Sentry—a mutual insurer based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin—has made it a priority to spend time on the island building relationships with community leaders and organizations.

“During the COVID crisis, Sentry went above and beyond to ensure the needs of the community were met,” Tonnessen said. “For someone to come in from the outside and invest so much in our community, it hasn’t happened before. They showed all of us the true meaning of giving.”

Through relationships, Sentry identified needs and helped fill gaps in community services, like it does in Stevens Point and other communities where its employees live and work.

This includes creating a scholarship program for graduates of Maui Public Schools and providing support to the Maui United Way for COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts and to help address childhood hunger in Maui County. Sentry has also spearheaded a Connected Communities initiative that connects similar organizations on Maui and in Stevens Point in the areas of community service, arts, education, and agriculture to exchange ideas and best practices for the benefit of both communities.

“Sentry has come to consider Maui our second home, and this special recognition is a great example of how we’ve been welcomed as family—ohana,” said Kalynn Pempek, Executive Director of the Sentry Insurance Foundation. “We were honored to learn that the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center nominated Sentry for the Community Business Award. Through the Sentry Tournament of Champions, we’re pleased to support the important work the nonprofit does on island to help children—keiki—who have been abused or neglected. All of our charitable partners do important work to help the Maui community, and we’re thankful for this recognition by the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association.”

Tonnessen shared another reason why his organization nominated Sentry, stating the company’s committed to making a difference year-round in the Maui community—not just during the week of the PGA TOUR event in January. That, and Sentry has extended its commitment to the tournament and island through 2035.

This past summer, the Maui United Way recognized Sentry with its Hand Up award.