Saturday Briefing

By Ruthann Yamanaka
(Dr. Richard Kelley is traveling. His column will return on June 13.)

Mahalo, Outrigger Enterprises Group! In true Outrigger fashion, you ran, you walked, you enlisted family and friends, and you donated time and/or money in support of an exceptional 31st annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk last Saturday, May 16!

Through your generous support, the Walk, which helps fund more than 200 local organizations that have come to depend on the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association (HHLA) to deliver, raised over $925,000 statewide, and this number is expected to rise as donations continue to be received!

In total, on all islands, Outrigger’s participants helped swell the ranks of the 8,235 walkers who covered a total of more than 41,000 miles, stepping it up in a show of solidarity with the communities in which we live, work, and play.

On Oahu, we love our checkpoint home at Waikiki Beach Walk®. It was once again the perfect spot to host the 4,800 walkers who received Outrigger fans with which to cool themselves, along with McDonald’s refreshing Apple Dippers and cold water. Walkers entered the halfway point under a red-white-and-blue arch of balloons and through an extremely popular cooling spray mister, a welcome relief from the mid-morning heat. Strollers along the promenade were greeted by special guest Billy V of Hawaiian 105 KINE and Sunrise on KGMB. He pumped up, energized, and motivated the walkers with his fun, upbeat music.

This year Outrigger integrated the Charity Walk with our own Heart & Sole walking program. The Heart & Sole program was created to help our Outrigger ‘ohana increase daily physical activity and exercise through walking and to have fun doing it! The program is based on the American Heart Association’s 10,000 steps a day benchmark, and the Charity Walk was a perfect fit! This year’s Charity Walk T-shirt sported the Heart & Sole logo, along with our Outrigger Enterprises Group logo.

The Big Island’s 3.5-mile walk began and ended at Anaehoomalu Bay at the Waikoloa Beach Resort. After the walk, participants were entertained by Local Kine Entertainment. All in all, 850 Big Island walkers raised $150,000 for local charities.

On Kauai, the 2.9-mile walk began and ended at the Historic County Building Lawn. KGMB News Anchor Keahi Tucker was the Master of Ceremonies at the finish line, and walkers were treated to entertainment by Henry Kapono. The 1,300 Garden Island walkers raised over $165,000!

Maui’s five-mile walk began and ended at the War Memorial Soccer Field. One of Hawaii’s favorite comedians, Frank DeLima, was on hand to entertain walkers as they finished. The Valley Isle’s 1,200 walkers raised over $271,000 for charity. And on May 9, 85 Charity Walk participants on Molokai raised over $7,800.

An event of this magnitude takes the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers, not only on the day of the walk, but also for months and months leading up to the big day. My sincere thanks to all those who participated—from the organizers, recruiters, and the thousands of walkers, to the hundreds of volunteers who have a tradition of making this a delightful walk for a great cause.

Special thanks to our Charity Walk Committee: Danette Bolosan, Peggy Chasteen, Lauren Chow, Nancy Daniels, Jerry Dolak, Kathy Foley, Kathy Hansberry, Pila Hanson, Ka‘ipo Ho, Mercedes Lanza, Char Luning, Alison Nagamine, Michelle Paiaina-Makua, Sheryl Yee, and Jo-Ann Yonamine; to our property and department recruiters; and to our Oahu checkpoint volunteers: Danette Bolosan, Peggy Chasteen, Dan Daniels, Nancy Daniels, Heather Doeringer, Jerry Dolak, Suzanne Doty, Adam Dumadag, Nurhan Enustun, Nicky Fa, Ally Fa, Kathy Foley, Patty Foley, Kathy Hansberry, Pila Hanson, Ellen Isidro, Patricia “P.K.” Kaahanui, Sandy Kaleohano, Dr. Chuck Kelley, Myra Kuboyama, Les La‘a, Charlene Luning, Edlynne Makue, Conchita Malaqui, Alison Nagamine, Daniel Nakasone, Sharon Okada, Kathy Oyadomari, Michelle Paiaina-Makua, Jean Rolles, Kelvin Sato, Val Tanaka, Ofelia Valdez, Barry Wallace, Sheryl Yee, and Jo-Ann Yonamine.

Mahalo to McDonald’s for their participation each year, and of course, pictures are worth a thousand words, so a big thanks to Marie Casciato and Angela Brown for being the company photographers for the event.

I am very proud to say that since its inception over 30 years ago, the Charity Walk has raised over $20 million for Hawaii’s charities, thanks to all of you. Again, thank you Outrigger ‘ohana, for our trademark teamwork in creating yet another incredible (and healthy!) experience. See you again next year!