​Aloha sports fans! Since we are heavily involved in working with HTA on the community engagement aspect of these activities, I wanted to give you a quick update. 

We are just two days away from the return of the NFL to O‘ahu when the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys will meet in a preseason game at Aloha Stadium. Over the past week, the Rams have been busy hosting numerous engagement activities including visits to Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Schofield Barracks, a Fan Rally at the Rams’ pop-up location at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, and multiple football clinics for boys and girls of all ages. The Rams cheerleaders have also been busy this week putting on fitness workshops and a Yoga in the Park session at Ward Village. HLTA staff has been coordinating the one Rams practice that is open to the public on Friday by ensuring that our youth have an opportunity to see them at Cooke Field. It  has been overwhelmingly positive to see how the Rams have worked to connect with our community.

Click here to read Ferd Lewis' article about the upcoming game.

While the Rams-Cowboys game has received much fanfare and hype, I would also like to alert you to another professional sports organization that will soon be in Hawaii. The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), and its nonprofit youth programming arm, AVPFirst, have partnered with the HTA to offer 17 beach volleyball clinics. These are to be held from August 19 through September 22 on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i Island, Moloka‘i, and Lana‘i. We have been helping to schedule these clinics which will be free of charge, open to the public, and will be led by current AVP players, former Olympian and six-time AVP champion Kevin Wong, and current Outrigger Canoe Club coach, Lia Young Hunt among many more.
 
The clinics have been scheduled to coincide with the AVP Hawaii Open, the final event of the 2019 AVP season. The Open will run from September 20-22 on the Fort DeRussy beachfront. All matches will be free to watch and will offer fun for the whole family with live music, food and beverage options, and meet and greet opportunities. If you are interested in attending the one of the clinics, please visit www.bgch.com for more information

On Tuesday, I traveled to Kaua‘i to take part in the HLTA Kaua‘i Chapter’s Check Presentation Event where monies were awarded to organizations for their participation in the Kaua‘i Chapter’s Charity Walk. This year, the Garden Isle raised a record $451,051. Kaua‘i’s fundraising totals have grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years and they are closer than ever to surpassing O‘ahu which is their friendly overarching goal! 
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Mahalo to HLTA Chapter Chair Paul Toner, the entire Kaua‘i Chapter Steering Committee, and committee co-chairs Chip Bahouth and Jacob Vogelgesang for their leadership throughout the planning and execution of this year’s Charity Walk. Special thanks are also due to Kaua’i Chapter Executive Director Morgan Lopez who has been doing a great job in all aspects of the Kaua'i HLTA operations . ​

Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association’s 20th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament was held yesterday, August 8, at the Hawaii Prince Golf Club in Ewa Beach. My sincere mahalo to all of the golfers who were able to attend our tournament and support our cause. None of this would be possible without your participation and support. 
This year’s tournament was sold out with 84 teams and 252 golfers taking part in the festivities. We were also privileged to have Ewa’s State Senator Kurt Fevella, a strong advocate for our industry, welcome us to his community. The success of our golf tournament each year is crucial as the funds raised yesterday will support various scholarships that we award on an annual basis. Scholarships like the R.W. “Bob” Holden Memorial Scholarship, the Clem Judd, Jr. Memorial Scholarship and the four Most Outstanding Citizen Scholars are awarded each year to deserving Hawaii students. Additionally, HLTA offers numerous scholarships through partnerships with organizations like the University of Hawaii Foundation for community college and culinary programs, the Pauahi Foundation and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. All of this is made possible by the generosity of our supporters.
I would also like to thank the HLTA Scholarship Golf Tournament Committee led by committee co-chairs John Hulihe‘e of Central Pacific Bank and Don Takaki of Hawktree International and the countless volunteers from the UH TIM School and HPU and Kaiser Permanente. Hulihe‘e, in particular, added some new elements to make this 20th annual tournament a special one. Also especially deserving of recognition are the major sponsors of this year’s tournament. Mahalo to Diamond Sponsor Kaiser Foundation HealthPlan, Inc. and Sapphire Sponsor Central Pacific Bank! 
Finally, I need to recognize and honor a special individual. HLTA bid a fond farewell to recently retired general manager of the Aston Waikiki Sunset Hotel, Doug Okada. Doug has been integral to our association, serving for 16 years on our Board of Directors, chairing the HLTA Membership Committee and has also been an active member of the HLTA Scholarship Golf Tournament Committee. (It is highly likely, that Doug has played in every HLTA golf tournament to date). I was pleased to present Doug with the Lifetime Legacy Kahi‘au Award for his many years of service to Oahu’s visitor industry and his endless support of HTLA. Mahalo Doug and we’ll see you at next year’s tournament!

During a special ceremony at our golf tournament, I had the pleasure of presenting the Clem Judd, Jr. Memorial Scholarship to an outstanding young student of Hawaiian ancestry pursuing a career in the hospitality field. Ileana Nii is a graduate of Waipahu High School and is currently working towards her bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she is enrolled in the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. Ileana was selected for this scholarship from among a pool of applicants based on the strength of her academic record and the high bar she has set for her future. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, Ileana aspires to return to Hawaii to open and manage a hotel that exposes visitors to the authentic Hawaiian culture rather than a commercialized facsimile of it. Congratulations to Ileana for being selected as our 2019 Clem Judd Scholar. 
HLTA also recently awarded the R.W. “Bob” Holden Memorial Scholarship to three Hawaii residents who are pursuing degrees in hotel management. A special shout out to UH – West Oahu students Gellyn Flores and Jillian Paganiban, and Brigham Young University – Hawaii student Noah Magalei for being selected to receive this particular scholarship.

It’s that time of year again – we are hard at work on our annual member-exclusive Pictorial Member Directory.  In order to ensure that we meet our print goal and have this available to you all as soon as possible, please make sure to either fill out this form, or speak with my staff.  In the coming week, they may be calling you to confirm or update your best contact information. 
 
We do ask that you submit all your contact information, along with your new headshot, to Jessica Caires of my staff at [email protected] by Friday, August 16th.  Should you have any questions, please reach out to her directly. ​

Our HLTA Scholarship Golf Tournament is one of our most-popular annual events. Each year, we do our best to fill the Hawai'i Prince Golf Club and raise funds for scholarships to give to our next generation of young leaders in this industry, while also having a day of fun, and food and drink.
 
Last year, we sold out the tournament with 82 teams.  And this year, I am proud to announce, that we have been able to top that: we have sold out with 84 teams!  Thank you all very much for your staunch support, and a special mahalo to our Scholarship Golf Committee members for their hard work. 
 
Though there are no more spots left, if you’re interested in supporting, we are always appreciative of donation items for player prizes.  Please contact Edgar Palafox of my staff at [email protected] if you’d like to make a contribution.
 
I can’t wait to see how much we can raise for our scholarships fund this year: check back with us next week for our announcement! ​