HHSSA Awards Dinner

WELCOME BACK, BILL!: Bill Walsh, third from left, retired head coach and general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, was welcomed by Ed Keogh, left; Ed's wife, Leilani Keough; and Dr. Lawrence Tseu as he arrived Sunday at the 2006 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Hawaii High School Athletic Association Recognition Dinner at the Sheraton Waikiki. Walsh, the keynote speaker of the annual event, which recognizes the accomplishments of 12 high school athletes and four adult honorees, proved an engaging motivational speaker as he described the techniques he used to change a team with a 2-14 record into five-time Super Bowl winners.

A FIRST FOR DAMIEN: Kealoha Pilares, left, was congratulated by Rudy Alejo on being the first HHSAA Hall of Honor inductee from Damien.

PROUD FAMILY: 2006 inductee Gerritt Vincent, center, a three-sport athlete at Kamehameha, celebrated after dinner with his brothers, Carden, left, and Judd.

REPRESENTING KAU: Dylan Rush, a four-sport athlete, had a well-earned souvenir to take back to the Big Island.

THE MAIN MEN: Keith Amemiya, left, HHSAA executive director, greeted Dr. Lawrence Tseu, general chairman of the dinner.

A HAWAII SPORTS LEGEND: 2006 HHSAA Hall of Fame honoree Cal Lee, left, talked with his brother, Ron, before dinner. Lee's record of 241 wins in 20 seasons as head coach of the Saint Louis Crusaders makes him Hawaii's all-time most successful high school football coach.

SMOOTH RUNNING: Denise Hayashi, coordinator of the smoothly paced program, welcomed Mayor Mufi Hannemann. The mayor said high school sports taught him how to win -- and lose.

ANOTHER FIRST: Lauren Ho, third from left, celebrated with her coach, Ross Mukai, left, and her parents, Dennis and Sandy Ho. Lauren, a three-sport athlete (cross country, soccer, and track and field) is the first woman from Hawaii Baptist Academy to be inducted into the HHSAA Hall of Honor.

HERE'S CHRISTOPHER!: Kanoe Gibson, left, emcee of the HHSAA Recognition Dinner, greeted Christopher Amemiya and his mother, Bonnie Amemiya, before the start of the program.