Wendy Botelho, CEO of the Hawaii Island YMCA, was selected as the 2023 Remarkable Woman of the Year for the State of Hawaii.
Her nomination among 42 others across the state stood out because of her achievements and contributions to the community.
“I am honored and humbled to have received the recognition of this award,” Botelho said in a statement. “I am thankful for the support of my hard-working, dedicated team that supports me and embraces the changes and improvements we make to become a better YMCA and support our community’s growth and needs.”
Botelho joined other winners from across the U.S. at the national Remarkable Woman program in Hollywood, Calif., on April 2-3.
Botelho also was recognized as an honoree by the Pacific Business News as “Women Who Mean Business” in Hawaii at the publication’s annual event March 30 at the Royal Hawaiian Resort.
Botelho’s biggest accomplishments in 2022 were with the New Horizons Youth Day Camp Program.
The YMCA had an all-time high attendance of 180 kids at the summer youth camp.
Highlights of the program included career day experiences with police officers, volcanologists, honeybee gardeners, future pharmacists, nutrition education, cultural education and energy wayfinders.
During the pandemic when school was not in session, the day camp allowed parents to work, and provided tens of thousands of meals to the children.
Children did distant learning, socialized safely, and were supervised from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 pm. Grant funding was used that provided care for kids ages 5 1/2 to 13 at no cost to working parents.