For Immediate Release                                                              Contact:  Scott Broadbent
March 1, 2006                                808.984.3471

A&B ENDOWS FIRST-EVER MCC CULINARY ARTS SCHOLARSHIP

KAHULUI, MAUI - (March 1, 2006) – With a $35,000 grant, the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has established the A&B Culinary Arts Scholarship at Maui Community College’s Maui Culinary Academy, the first endowed scholarship established for the Academy. The scholarship will support the full cost of tuition, books and supplies for one Culinary Arts student selected each year who graduated from a Maui high school.

“The A&B Culinary Arts Scholarship is about Maui and for Maui. Not only does it support this very unique, and increasingly popular and successful program at Maui’s only community college, but our intent is that the scholarship be awarded annually to graduates of Maui’s high schools, to support Maui’s homegrown youth as well,” said the Foundation’s Hawaii Contributions Committee Chair Meredith J. Ching. “Furthermore, this scholarship was established in support of the Maui Culinary Academy’s successful partnerships with the local agricultural community, including Maui’s largest farming operation, A&B’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, HC&S.  We commend the Maui Culinary Academy for its achievements in training students to work in—and to establish—Maui’s finest food and beverage establishments.  Just as HC&S has sustained agricultural operations for well over a century, our hope is that this endowed scholarship, too, will help to sustain the Culinary Academy and future generations of Maui youth.”

“We are deeply honored to have the support of the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation,” said Robert Santos, MCC Culinary Arts Program Coordinator.

“Alexander & Baldwin’s endowed grant ensures a future for our culinary students. I believe that our culinary student graduates also ensure the future of Maui’s restaurants. Together, we are keeping Maui the number one destination in the world.”
The Culinary Arts program at the Maui Culinary Academy focuses on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for success in the industry. Both Associate in Applied Science specialty degrees in Culinary Arts and Baking are fully accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation. The program has strong hospitality industry ties and serves as a primary source for skilled culinary arts professionals.  For more information visit website www.maui.hawaii.edu or www.mauiculinary.com.

The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation is funded by the business activities of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its subsidiaries.  On Maui, these subsidiaries include Matson Navigation Company, A&B Properties, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S), and Kahului Trucking & Storage, Inc. (KT&S).  For more information about the A&B Foundation, visit website www.alexanderbaldwin.com.

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