Meet the 2025 Kokua Community Champions: Alexander Lim & John Gomes

The Kokua Community Champion Service Award honors individual employees at HEI and Hawaiian Electric who’ve demonstrated exemplary volunteer service over the past year and rewards them by donating $1,000 to a charitable organization of their choice. In 2025, six outstanding employee volunteers were nominated by their peers and selected based on their level of involvement and impact on the community. This week let’s meet our final two champions of 2025, Alexander Lim (HEI Strategy & Corporate Sustainability, Oahu) and John Gomes (Billing, Oahu), who are donating their awards to help strengthen the health and safety of our communities.

Paying it forward to serve Hawaii families — Alexander Lim

To know Alex Lim is to see a positive, humble and compassionate individual who balances a demanding professional role as the director of strategy and sustainability at HEI while also fulfilling family responsibilities and dedicating significant time to making a meaningful difference in his community.

“I benefitted from scholarships, nonprofits, and other social programs when I was growing up and feel fortunate to be in a position to give back today,” said Alex, who was born and raised in Kaimuki. Although his family struggled financially, Alex sought opportunities to pursue higher education and graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in Economics and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

In 2018, Alex joined the Hawaiian Electric ohana in the corporate strategy area of the company and moved to HEI in 2022 where his role includes developing HEI’s strategic plans, priorities, sustainability disclosures and other special projects. “Volunteering is such a big part of the culture at both HEI and Hawaiian Electric,” he said, noting it’s been a meaningful way for him to meet new people and learn new skills. “I’m always inspired to see the many ways our teammates make their communities better.”

Over the past several years, Alex has been on the board and strategic communications committee for Family Promise of Hawaii, a nonprofit serving families with children facing homelessness on Oahu and Maui. He works with the organization’s leadership to set goals and evaluate programs and volunteers his time to support the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts, events, long-term investment decisions and overall strategy.

Alex also is on the board and finance committee for Easterseals Hawaii, the nonprofit statewide leader serving adults and children with disabilities; is a member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii Young Professionals steering committee; and currently serves as chair of the Onward Hawaii Fellows program, a new initiative launched by the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii to develop emerging young leaders dedicated to Hawaii. In this role, Alex develops the program’s goals and strategies, coordinates the planning team and plans and moderates discussions with local leaders.

When asked what nonprofit to designate his Kokua Champion award, Alex said, “I chose to support Family Promise of Hawaii because of the incredible work they do. Last year alone, FPH grew its impact to serve more than 2,000 people across Oahu and Maui, operating multiple interim housing sites and providing important resources to help families navigate difficult situations. As someone who grew up in a lower-income household and whose family benefitted from community support, I have a deep appreciation for the opportunity and stability FPH brings to Hawaii.”

Since 2005, Family Promise of Hawaii has provided shelter, case management, homelessness prevention, and stabilization services to more than 7,000 family members, with the goal of keeping families together. About 94% of families in FPH’s shelter program are moved directly to stable housing through its intensive case management and community support. The nonprofit engages about 200 dedicated volunteers annually to make a difference in families’ lives and in the community. To learn more or to donate, visit familypromisehawaii.org.

Helping law enforcement keep our communities safe — John Gomes

He may not wear a cape, but John Gomes is a superhero to his colleagues, family and friends. He exemplifies the true spirit of kokua by his selfless giving of time, dedication to the community and willingness to help others while demonstrating a consistently positive attitude.

“Being safe in my personal and work activities has been a top priority for me,” said John, a customer billing representative at Hawaiian Electric and 7-year volunteer with CrimeStoppers Honolulu, the nonprofit that operates in partnership with the Honolulu Police Department, media and community to reduce crime and improve the quality of life for our residents. The organization was John’s choice to receive the company donation.

Since his acceptance into the CrimeStoppers program in 2019, John has logged over 2,500 hours as a volunteer at the main police station. In his position, John assists with a variety of office duties and plays a vital role in receiving and processing calls from the public regarding criminal activities in the community. He handles tips related to wanted persons, missing individuals and reports on drug or gambling activities, which helps to ensure that valuable information reaches the HPD quickly and effectively. Most times the callers are anonymous.

“Volunteering at CrimeStoppers has been a rewarding activity where I can do my part to protect my family, friends and myself in the community we all live in,” John said, adding that he has several friends and family that work in law enforcement and public service fields. “Being involved in an organization where I can do my part to keep our community safe while supporting my family, friends and the police department has been a multi-winner for me.”

John’s interest in community safety and justice goes beyond his volunteer work with CrimeStoppers. He serves as his division’s safety lead, a role that requires certification in SafeStart which is a safety and human error reduction training used by worksites and companies to cut down on common states and errors that lead to injuries and fatalities. John regularly presents safety minutes or lessons learned at his division’s meetings, keeping safety awareness top of mind for colleagues. They compliment his leadership and enthusiasm which inspires them to stay vigilant and proactive about safety in the workplace and the community.

In his spare time, John also volunteers at the Institute for Human Services men’s shelter and is the vice-chairman for the IBEW Local 1260 Unit 1 committee. In 2025, he volunteered with Hawaiian Electric at a Chinatown beautification project to revitalize the area and foster community pride; participated in the Honolulu Pride Parade Walk in October with other employees to show support for inclusion, unity and acceptance in our community; and supported IBEW Local 1260 in November at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s fundraiser.

Born and raised in Kaimuki, Oahu, John earned associate’s degrees in liberal arts and science accounting from Kapiolani Community College and a B.S. in Finance from Hawaii Pacific University. He joined Hawaiian Electric in 1993 as a night mail driver, earning successive promotions. When asked who his role models are, John named his late parents and other individuals who used personal challenges and hardships as a steppingstone to future successes. “I’ve always believed we should learn from the past, appreciate what we have and prepare for the future and the generations ahead of us,” closed John.

We applaud Alex and John for demonstrating their passion, commitment and service for the greater good of our community!