Nā Koa Football Club took Head Coach Nick Rolovich and his coaching staff to Kauai and Hilo this summer in an outreach effort to our neighbor island Warrior fans giving them a taste of UH football and showing our appreciation for their support while helping to raise some much-needed funds for the program. Kauai’s Meet the Coach was held on June 14-15 and Hilo’s Meet the Coach was held the following week on June 20.
Kauai’s Meet the Coach would not have been possible without the efforts of Mark Oyama of Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering and Dave Hinazumi of Grove Farms. Together, they organized three successful events: (1) a Wednesday night barbeque at Omao Ranch for 50 VIP package folks and friends with the majority of the coaching staff following a Kid’s Camp the coaches conducted, co-sponsored by Kauai County; (2) a nine hole golf tournament for the VIP package folks at Puakea Golf Course on Thursday; followed by (3) a heavy pupu and cocktail reception at Kauai Community College attended by over 100 devoted fans.
A big MAHALO is extended to the following sponsors:
Alexander and Baldwin
Bow Construction Management Services
Esaki Surveying & Mapping
First Hawaiian Bank
Grove Farm
Hawaii Gas
David Iha
Kauai Realty
Kodani & Associates
Allan Smith
Title Guaranty
Peter Yukimura
Special acknowledgement goes to:
Mark Oyama, Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering
Dave Hinazumi, Grove Farm
Daryl Kaneshiro and Michelle Emura, Omao Ranch Lands
Dan Urwiler, Puakea Golf Course
Baltazar Aggasid
Toby Arakawa, Tropic Fish Hawaii
Arthur Brun
Dickie Chang, Walaau Productions
Ben Ednilao
Dennis Fujimoto, The Garden Island Newspaper
Del-Marc Fujita
Boyd & Gaylene Gayagas and the Ace Team
Bob Gunter, Koloa Rum
Russell Hata, Y. Hata & Co.
Kaneshiro Farms
Kelekoma Ohana
Sakda Meephol
Danny Morioka, Dani’s Restaurant
Kurt Osaki
Jonathan Ota, Tip Top Cafe
Nophadon Seechachet
Kevin Shojinaga, Paradise Beverage
Ralph Suniga, Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Victor Watabu, Hawaiian Isles Enterprises
Wirat Yothachai
Rodney and Karol Haraguchi, W.T. Haraguchi Farm
Hilo’s Meet the Coach, although on a smaller scale than Kauai, was another successful neighbor island event largely due to the efforts of committee chairs Jason Fujimoto of HPM Building Supply, Craig Takamine of Takamine Construction, and Layne Oki of Cronies Bar & Grill.
Coaches Nick Rolovich and Jacob Yoro were on hand to meet and mingle with approximately 100 Hilo football fans at a heavy pupu and cocktail reception at Cronies.
Special acknowledgement goes to :
Jason Fujimoto of HPM Building Supply (Co-Chair)
Craig Takamine of Takamine Construction (Co-Chair)
Layne Oki of Cronies Bar & Grill (Co-Chair)
Will Lee of Will Kill Termites & Pests
Robert Shimabuku of State Farm Insurance
Kerry Umamoto of Hilo Fish
Caleb Yamanaka of Iokua Residential
Garth Yamanaka of Yamanaka Enterprise
Brian Ninomoto of Hawaii Sheetmetal
Marc Miranda of Pacific Radio
Joe Marsh of Business Insurance
Kapena Lum of Morgan Stanley
Josh Pacheco of ESPN 1420 Radio
Nico Verissimo, UH Foundation-Hilo
Together, both Kauai and Hilo Meet the Coaches raised over $15,000 which will help Nā Koa meet their goal of providing education, health and safety needs for our Warrior football team.
Photos of both events can be found on the Na Koa Facebook page: @NaKoaFootballClub. Like us and follow us on Facebook.