From a Maui Plantation Camp to a Multimillion-Dollar Legacy
How does a poor plantation boy from Maui grow up to become an inventor, entrepreneur and multimillionaire—and ultimately give millions back to the very community where his story began?
This is the remarkable true story of Harrison “Harry” Miyahira—a Maui boy whose life would take him far beyond anything he could have imagined growing up in a sugar plantation camp.
Born in 1935 and raised with humble beginnings on Maui, Harrison learned early the value of hard work, perseverance and making the most of an opportunity. When he left Hawaiʻi to attend Purdue University, money was so tight that he sometimes skipped meals and washed his clothes in a restroom sink to save what little he had.
But Harrison kept going.
That determination eventually led him to become an engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. In 1971, he founded HM Electronics (HME) and went on to pioneer groundbreaking wireless communications technology, including the first wireless drive-thru headset system—technology that helped transform the fast-food industry.
His journey from a Maui plantation camp to becoming a multimillionaire was anything but a straight line. Harrison’s story is filled with enormous risks, setbacks, unexpected opportunities, breakthrough ideas and what he describes as divine miracles. Again and again, when quitting might have been easier, Harrison chose to keep moving forward.
A Success Story Built by Two
Harrison is also very clear about something else: he didn’t build this life alone.
At the heart of his story is his wife, Helen, his Maui High School sweetheart and lifelong partner. Harrison gives tremendous credit to Helen for her love, sacrifice, encouragement and unwavering belief in him throughout their journey.
This is as much a story about partnership and family as it is about business success—a reminder that behind extraordinary accomplishments are often the people who believed in us long before the rest of the world did.
Coming Full Circle to Maui
Perhaps one of the most meaningful parts of Harrison and Helen’s story is what they chose to do after achieving extraordinary success.
They never forgot where they came from.
In 2024, Harrison and Helen made an extraordinary $10 million endowment gift to Maui High School, their alma mater, creating a lasting source of support for the school and generations of students to come. The historic gift represented the culmination of Harrison’s journey—from a Maui plantation boy who once struggled to afford his own education to a man able to give millions back to the public school that helped shape his life. Maui High publicly announced the $10 million alumni endowment in April 2024. This is the single largest donation to a Hawai‘i public school from an alum.
That same year, Maui High celebrated the opening of the Harrison and Helen Miyahira STEM Center, permanently connecting their names and legacy with education, innovation and opportunity for Maui’s future generations.
It is an extraordinary full-circle moment: a boy who came from very little ultimately returned home able to give the next generation opportunities he could never have imagined having himself.
About the Author & Creation of the Book
This biography was personally interviewed and written by Maui-born journalist and author Britt Yap, who spent time with Harrison capturing his memories, stories, lessons and reflections in his own voice.
Britt also personally laid out and designed the entire book and its cover, taking the project from interviews and storytelling through the final visual presentation.
The result is an intimate preservation of Harrison and Helen’s extraordinary journey—and a Maui story about what can happen when determination meets opportunity, the right person stands beside you, and success becomes a way to give back.
For entrepreneurs, dreamers, students, families—and anyone who has ever wondered whether where you begin determines how far you can go—Harrison’s story is a powerful reminder: your beginning does not have to define your ending. And when you believe in God and miracles, anything is possible.
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