Alan Y. Sunio

Alan Y. Sunio

When you meet Alan Sunio, you might be surprised to learn that this soft-spoken, well-mannered, easy-
going man is the person who makes things happen in the event planning industry in Hawaii and across
the Mainland.

His experience runs the gamut from coordinating and managing security staffing for the International
Comic Con at the San Diego Convention Center to consultant for community events and local nonprofit
organization fundraisers. The companies and organizations who have used Alan’s services read like a
who’s who of major corporations: the NFL (Pro Bowl), PGA (SONY Open), American Dental
Association (ADA convention), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO convention) at the
Chicago McCormack Center, NBA/NBC Sports (Hoop-It-Up “3-on-3” Street Basketball – 800 teams)
and NIKE (Honolulu 5K run – their most successful kids’ run for 10 years).

Alan is well-known in footrace circles having served for 23 years as the Race Director and Coordinator
of Honolulu’s The Great Aloha Run, one of the top 100 footraces in the U.S.A., attracting 32,000
participants at its peak. From 1994 to 1999, Alan was invited to be a guest speaker for the annual
International Race Directors Conference and Workshop in Portland, Oregon. He was also nominated for
National Race Director of the Year in 2005, and recognized as nominee finalist at the Race Director
Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

More than 18,000 local, national and international runners and walkers had the privilege of competing in
the H-3 Run because of Alan Sunio’s work as the Race Director and Coordinator. The 10-mile footrace
took runners from Windward Oahu thru the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels in the Ko`olau mountains and
finishing inside Aloha Stadium – the largest first year run in Hawaii’s history.

Alan is also known for being involved with many of Hawaii’s local events: Concert Manager for the
week-long multi-venue Hawaii Romance Festival; coordinator for celebrity black-tie dinners; director
for food festivals, fitness challenges, golf tournaments, and special events.

Alan has been a member of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), the American
Society of Industrial Security (ASIS), the Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association
(HHVISA); is currently on the membership committee of the Kina `Ole Chapter of Business Network
International, and Friends of Hickam (FOH – an Honorary Squadron Commander); and is a familiar face
on several local 501C-3 charity boards. His 30+ years in the events industry include retail management;
sport, festival and concert planning and management; private security training and management; staff
and volunteer leadership roles for nonprofits. He is certified by the National Incident Management
System (NIMS); has been awarded the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (FEMA) Certificate of
Achievement, and is an American Heart Association BLS Instructor.

At home in Pearl City, Oahu, with his wife, Dottie, Alan Sunio enjoys biking, running, hiking, working
around the house and yard (where does he find the time?). While on his hikes thru mountain trails and
strolls on the beach, he collects tree branches and driftwood which he hand carves into decorative
pieces. Maybe we’ll have to plan an event to celebrate Alan and his artwork – of course, we couldn’t do
it without his expertise.