Na Koa Club holds annual
fundraiser on Wednesday

The Na Koa Club will host its 2001 fundraiser at the Stan Sheriff Center this Wednesday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nine of Hawaii's best known chefs will be on hand to provide their restaurants' specialties.

Beverages are included and several local musical groups will entertain throughout the evening.

In addition, a wide variety of auction items, ranging from sports memorabilia, to golf packages, Neighbor Island and Las Vegas travel packages will be up for bidding.

Hawaii coach June Jones and the coaching staff will participate. They will provide some insight on the current football season.

Tickets are $100 for the evening which includes an all-you-can eat buffet and two end zone tickets to the UH-Boise State game on Nov. 10.

All proceeds of the event go to the football program for costs not covered in regular funding.

Prep golf championship sites set for next spring

The Hawaii High School Athletic Association has secured sites for the 2002 boys and girls golf state championships.

The girls tournament will be held May 9-10 at the Hawaii Prince Course. The boys tournament will be held May 14-15 at the Leilehua Golf Course.

Both events are sponsored by the David S. Ishii Foundation.

Last season's tournaments were held at the Kapalua Village and Kaanapali South courses on Maui. Waiakea (boys) and Kauai (girls) won the team titles. Waiakea's Jarett Hamamoto and Kauai's Rachel Kyono were the individual champions.

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TIMEOUT

Name: Kenichi Shimogawa

Volunteer work:Football official

For Kenichi "Stupe" Shimogawa, football stands tall through the generations. He officiated games his sons played in, his daughter cheered at and now he makes the calls in games his grandson plays in.

Shimogawa first became involved in Kauai Pop Warner football in 1963. He was one of the principal players in the formation of a Pop Warner association on the island.

"I used to play football so I tried to help get Pop Warner started on Kauai," Shimogawa said."I like to help the kids. That's also why I stayed officiating this long."

At 76, Shimogawa has been officiating for nearly 40 years. His wife is relatively new to officiating, having worked the chains on the sidelines for only about a decade.

"I got the ladies to help officiate, because when they sit on the bleachers, they fight with the fans over the officials' calls," Shimogawa said. "To keep them out of trouble I put them on the chain crew. Kauai is the only place we have wahine on the chain crew."

Having served his community for four decades, Shimogawa is ready to pass the stripes and whistle to somebody new. But that won't be easy because he also gives rules clinics to keep the coaches up to date on the new rules and procedures every year. He also enjoys working with grandson, Gavin Shimogawa, 10, of Koloa, who plays for a Junior Pee Wee team.

"I can't quit, because we don't have enough officials," Shimogawa said. "One of these days my legs are going to give up."

Shimogawa stays in shape chasing cattle and fixing fences on his son's Aakukui Ranch in Grove Farm.

"I don't ride a horse. I walk. So that's good exercise. I also babysit two grammar school boys. You've got to be wide awake and move with them, so they keep me in shape, too," he said.

Having survived a few bumps and bruises when errant receivers ran into him, Shimogawa gets straight to the reason he still calls Pop Warner and high school games on Kauai.

"I'm just satisfied when the kids play a good game, don't get hurt and have a good season. I try to stress sportsmanship," Shimogawa said.