April 28, 2012 was another momentous day for Palolo District Park as Hawaiian Isles Tennis (HIT) and its powerhouse network converged on the park grounds for HIT's Community Revitalization program. Major partners including the Department of Parks and Recreation, Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset, Costco, The Forward Foundation, Babolat, and HEAD partnered with HIT to clean up the park. The clean sweep covered areas such as the tennis courts, grassy fields and parking lots.

Gary Cabato, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation

Special guest Gary Cabato, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation gave a speech that recognized the importance of public/private partnerships. Cabato stayed to assist with the work and connect with numerous volunteers as they participated in a variety of activities, including racquet re-gripping, shoe repair, litter clean up and management of the tennis equipment and apparel drop off point.

The tennis courts are the center piece of Palolo Park. HIT's after school Play Tennis! program takes place here. With programming, grafitti is almost nil, trash still blows through the Valley, but the over all environment is cleaning up beautifully.

Al Dixon, Rotary photographer, wearing the Work t-shirt. April 28 was a Day of Work for all Rotary Clubs across the nation.

Costco employee, and Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club Past President-Chuck Harris sorting tennis apparel donations.

Rotarian-Rick Zeglar, Debbie Ching of Ching Consulting, Rotarian and Program Chair-Dianne Ward, Leilani Magee-Principal of HIT, Costco employee, and Costco Health & Wellness Manager-Johnny Sanchez re-grip rackets.

Palolo Crush Football coach joins the Clean Up team, helps with shoe repair.

Al Dixon-Rotary Photographer, Joe Yasutake-Palolo Park Director, Nui-Palolo Crush Football Head Coach, Paul Jurcsak-Rotary President, Gary Cabato-Director of DPR

Leilani Magee-HIT Principal, Marco Schlesser-Rotary Club Membership Chair, Layla-volunteer, and Leilani Schlesser-HIT Community Day participant.

Honolulu Sunset Rotary President-Paul Jurcsak with Dept. of Parks and Recreation Director-Gary Cabato discuss partnership and plans for on going HIT Programing and Rotary support for Palolo.

Marco Schlesser rallies with Johnny Sanchez in the pau hana tennis clinic

Costco employee looking active, fit and happy, and guided by Debbie Ching, Volunteer.

Rich Zegar hits a forehand and uses his opposite hand as a guide while rallying with Jim Hoban in the pau hana tennis clinic. Marco Schlesser is above Rich.

In addition to Bert Fishman and Joe Yasutake, Palolo gets a new Palolo Park Director in Dan, shown here with Leilani.

Gary Cabato of the DPR with Johnny Sanchez of Costco and Leilani Magee of HIT

Gary Cabato, DPR Director with Leilani Magee, HIT Principal

Afterwards, with the park looking fabulous and clean, volunteers gathered to eat food that was generously provided by Costco Health and Wellness Manager Johnny Sanchez. The morning of productivity ended with a free tennis clinic where there was plenty of action, competition and healthy interaction. The event was marked by beautiful weather, meaningful work, synergy between groups, activity and fun.

This was the third time that HIT's Community Revitalization program was implemented at Palolo Valley District Park. HIT wishes to thank the many partnering organizations and volunteers who made such a great day possible.

Leilani with "Uncle" Joe Yasutake, community kupuna and one of three Park Directors at Palolo

ABOUT HIT

The mission of Hawaiian Isles Tennis (HIT) is to advance community through tennis.  HIT’s multifaceted tennis programs address underserved communities in Hawaii by providing at risk, underserved youth with opportunities for play, competition, and character building life lessons.

HIT leverages a variety of community resources - professional educators, government, businesses, tennis professionals, high school and college standouts and volunteers in a multi-tiered network that supports and solidifies a child's place in community.

HIT serves the community through four synergistic core programs – Play Tennis!, Tennis Sisters, Community Revitalization, and Apparel and Equipment Recycling.

Jill Miyagi, widow of Brian Miyagi, donates her husband's tennis equipment and apparel to the Equipment and Apparel Recycling Program conducted by HIT.

The equipment is used by students of public middle schools playing at public parks, in gyms and blacktops. Equipment also goes to a youth correctional facility.

"I think Brian is smiling down on us now and that he'd be happy to know his gear is going to help others."

Juanita Jacobsen (R), Honolulu Tennis League (HTL) Women's A Division Representative, with Chickadee Moniz, Captain of the Women's A Champion team, Hawaii Pono. HTL Playoffs were played at the Keehi Lagoon public tennis courts on March 25, 2012.

"It's been a good season. I've witnessed demonstrations of sportsmanship, seen the spirit of aloha flow amongst the players, watched many a warm embrace, followed by hard fought matches. We see the younger players with the older ones, on the same team, on the same side of the net, and against each other. Yes, it's been a good season." - Juanita Jacobsen, HTL Women's A Representative

Results in brief:

1st place: Hawaii Pono

2nd place: Watanabe MD

3rd place: Kaneohe

4th place: The Oahu Club

Complete Results

Before

After

Within the space of four hours on Saturday, February 11, 2011, Palolo Valley District Park and Recreation Center tennis court area were helped to shine like a polished gem reflecting the light of the afternoon sun. Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club, Costco, Babolat, HEAD/Penn, members from the Department of Parks and Recreation, the State government, and Hawaiian Isles Tennis (HIT) came together on a Saturday morning for a Park Clean Up Day and to work as one.

Before

After

Hawaiian Isles Tennis’ strategy to revitalize the park tennis area was four fold, including painting, collecting opala, weeding and tuning up older tennis rackets. The all-volunteer group was unified in purpose, organized and set out to clean, pick up around and paint adjacent to the tennis courts at the Palolo Valley District Park. Also, tennis balls and grips for the community programs were donated by Head/Penn and grips for refreshing rackets were donated by Babolat, which the volunteers applied while catching some shade in between painting and cleaning.

In 2011, HIT formally adopted Palolo Park Tennis Courts in the City & County of Honolulu Adopt-A-Park program. Leilani Magee, community advocate, award winning USPTA certified teaching professional and Principal of HIT, assembled this diverse team to give people a chance to be of service in relationship to tennis in the public parks. Every day, local organizations are taking note and joining forces on her mission to “Advance Community Through Tennis”. Here’s more about the team and activities that gathered last weekend to malama Palolo.

Christel Yount at the mic                                                        Clinton Jamile, Paul Jurcsak

Retired school teacher and active Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club member, Christel Yount enlisted the leadership of Paul Jurcsak, Club President, who brought 20 Honolulu Sunset Rotarians to a Community Work Day.

"The Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset lives up to the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’ by building partnerships and making a positive difference on our community." – Paul Jurcsak, President, Honolulu Sunset Rotary

Johnny Sanchez, Health and Wellness Coordinator for Costco and Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club Community Service Chair orchestrated resources from Rotary and Costco, including a professional paint sprayer machine from Rotarian and Bubbies Ice Cream owner, Win Schoneman. Ed Gerlich of the Waikiki Yacht Club manned the machine and a team of painters to produce a final product of which the whole group is proud.

“Costco was happy to help the Palolo project and especially the kids.” – Johnny Sanchez, Costco Health & Wellness, and Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset Community Service Director

Sanchez and Costco equipped the team for the painting project and provided kau kau for the working crew.  Sanchez recruited the help of painting specialist and Palolo local, Brendan Virardi, who made the painting master plan and prepped the walls, treating them to a power wash a few days in advance before handing the baton to Ed Gerlich.

“This particular park means a lot to me. It’s nice to be able to serve the community that I live in. In the end, if that’s the attitude we all take, we’re all winners.” – Brendan Virardi, Construction/Paint Specialist

Doug on the roller, Eddie with the sprayer

Babolat Representative, Rose Jones of Washington mailed in a big bunch of new overwrap grips in many exciting colors to provide a solution to old grips disintegrating in the hands of the After School All-Stars “Kulia” Jarrett Middle School youth participating in the no-charge HIT Play Tennis! program. Jack Blezard, local representative of HEAD/Penn and Maui Jim’s Sunglasses donated more rackets, grips and a case of tennis balls to apply to the programs which he has generously supported over the past several years.

The City & County of Honolulu, Department of Parks & Recreation has a strong team backing the project and joining the community coalition, led by Deputy Director of Parks & Recreation, Al Tufono.

"The City & County of Honolulu, Department of Parks & Recreation is partnering with organizations and businesses to bring in resources and make good things happen. Together we are creating partnerships, programs and fostering pride in our parks and communities."           – Al Tufono, Deputy Director of Parks & Recreation, City & County of Honolulu

Al Tufono

Leilani Magee, Calvin Say

Calvin Say, Speaker of the House of Representatives, State of Hawaii worked a couple of hours on project day and donated water.

Joe Yasutake, Ann Kobayashi

Ann Kobayashi, Honolulu County, District 5 Councilwoman and Budget Committee Chair visited Palolo ahead of time to assess community needs for inclusion in future plans.

Clinton Jamile, Adopt-A-Park Coordinator, directed City & County resources to the park clean up.

Bert Fishman, Brendan Virardi

Bert Fishman, Director of Recreation at Palolo Valley District Park and Malae, Palolo Park Recreation Assistant volunteered on their days off. The event follows in the footsteps of historic Palolo Pride events and Clean Up Days of years past, organized by community leader and former Palolo Park Director, Joe Yasutake.

“What we did together was not really work, but service. And in its meaningfulness and in doing it together we enjoyed a deep sense of joy. It's great to see the courts no longer locked up, to see park conditions improving and tennis programming for the general public.” – Leilani Magee, Principal, HIT

The Park Clean Up Day shows what the City and County Department of Parks and Recreation can do when it partners with non-profits and private business to the advantage of the entire community.

Links:

Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club

Photos thanks to Al Dixon:

Club Anniversary Meeting

Palolo Clean-Up

Jenny Kelley and daughter Jane Kelley made a bit of family and national history by winning the bronze ball (3rd place) at the most recent (Oct '11) USTA Mother/Daughter Clay Nationals held in West Palm Beach, CA. Here they are, featured in a WPTV News Channel 5  video clip.

10am Men's Doubles FINAL: Travis Rettenmeier / Amer Delic vs. Nicholas Monroe / Jack Sock

11:15-ish Men's Singles FINAL: Go Soeda vs. Robby Ginepri

See more at the web site of the Kailua Racquet Club.

]]> http://hawaiianislestennisline.staradvertiserblogs.com/2012/01/28/challenger-10-am-sunday-finals/feed/ 0 http://hawaiianislestennisline.staradvertiserblogs.com/2012/01/22/1-hour-wins-over-45-minutes/ http://hawaiianislestennisline.staradvertiserblogs.com/2012/01/22/1-hour-wins-over-45-minutes/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:11:35 +0000 Leilani Magee http://hawaiianislestennisline.staradvertiserblogs.com/?p=1198

* 1 hour wins with 71% favor.

* If the C&C rule, as it is, were widely known that time begins on a public tennis court when players take

possession, then it is highly likely that even more people than 71% would vote for 1 h.

* Here it is: Tennis Court Rules for City and County of Honolulu: The limit of play is 45 minutes from the

time of possession for singles and doubles, including warm-up, and excluding time lost due to wet courts.

Thanks mucho to all who participated in the survey! It's great to have a dialogue with you. More fun with

tennis coming soon.

Aloha, Leilani
Leilani Magee
Council Member
Honolulu Tennis Advisory Council

The Hawaiian Isles Tennis Team has created a comprehensive islands-wide tennis location resource featuring tennis courts, clubs, schools, businesses, and links to photo albums of tennis. Visit the HIT Maps for Kauai, Oahu, Maui (including Molokai and Lanai), and The Big Island (Hawaii Island) at the Hawaii Maps site at www.HITennis.net/profile/HawaiiMaps.

HIT Members are the first to explore this visual tennis adventure that will help you find, get general info and directions to most facility locations. In many cases there are photos, description of the courts, contact numbers and links to google maps that will help you get right to it for a HIT. The maps will be made public soon, but the Hawaii Maps page on HIT is the one stop shop for links to the four island maps. So no excuse now, no get lost! Get your tennis friends and ohana join our community on HIT so they have easy access and support.

The maps can be explored through the list of links on the sidebar or zoomed in on visually as you "hover" over the island from and "height" and level of detail you find useful. Selecting a marker will pop up a window with the summary info, links and pictures to guide your tennis plans. If you are exploring a place for the first time or it is your "backyard" court, share your impressions, ideas and experiences about it on The Hawaii Maps site or on your own "My Page" blog. If it's really entertaining perhaps Leilani will feature it on the main HIT page.

The project will grow stronger and bigger in time with the help of everyone who can add, correct or update information to the site pop up markers. If you see a marker without a picture, feel free to sent the Hawaii Maps "Cartographer" the image for inclusion. You can reach him at hawaiicartographer@gmail.com. If you know of a facility that is not yet included, gather the info, address and links and send it over. Private home courts are welcome to get on the map as well.

HIT Organizational Members can add your club, resort, league, business or private court to the maps. For details contact Leilani at hawaiianislestennis@gmail.com. The Hawaii Tennis HIT Maps are another great tennis community service of Hawaiian Isles Tennis (HIT) at www.HITennis.net. Advancing Community Through Tennis... With Aloha!

Hawaii Tennis HIT Maps ©®2009 Hawaiian Isles Tennis

Rick Kepler

Note from Leilani:

My first interview with Rick took place while he was running his first event at his new job as Director of Tennis at the Maui Country Club. Here's what he had to say in response to "How's your first event and second day going?"

Rick Kepler:

"I've been in NorCal for long time, and coming to Hawaii over 25 years. I always wanted to figure out a way to live here and earning a living. It's (Maui Country Club) is one of the best clubs in the world. It's my 2nd day here and we have a 24 person (maxed out) round robin going. Tomorrow, I've got a golf and tennis event, I love combining the two.

I did so much in NorCal all except coach college tennis. I see a lot of potential for the club and for Maui too. I'm really looking forward to establishing contacts throughout the islands. In the Monterey-Santa Cruz area I thought kids had a lot of activities to choose from. On Maui, however, I can see these kids have A LOT of choices! I have to get them early, before they try kite surfing!"

And here's what Maui Country Club, General Manager, Russell Goshi added:

"If people have an interest in meeting Rick, just come by and say hello. I am at the courts now and the the place is full of tennis players. I think Rick will revitalize tennis at the Club."

You can read more about Rick Kepler here:

PRESS RELEASES

Spreckelsville, Maui, Hawaii December 29, 2011

Maui Country Club’s new Director of Tennis is Rick Kepler. A member of the USPTA, Rick is a P1 Certified Tennis Professional and nationally top-ranked player. Rick has relocated to Maui from Northern California where he has been the Tennis Director of Seascape Sports Club since 1993.

Kepler’s plan is to revitalize the Club’s tennis program for members and guests of all ages; and expand it to being one of the top clubs in Hawaii. In his first week of work, he organized two tournaments, one in combination with an afternoon of golf on the Club’s course. Club General Manager Russell Goshi said, “Without question, the addition of Rick Kepler to our staff positions Maui Country Club to have the finest adult and junior tennis programs on the island.”

Members may join daily clinics and lessons and the junior program kicks off in January with after school lessons geared toward specific ages and abilities.

As Tennis Director at Seascape Sports Club, Rick ran over 20 USTA tournaments a year with an emphasis on junior tournaments. Seascape’s junior program runs year-round and Kepler managed junior teams that travel and play. He has been involved in coaching the Aptos High School Girls' Varsity and Junior Varsity teams where he implemented a 'No-Cut' policy; and founded programs at two other high schools. He has been the Coordinator for the USTA Santa Cruz Junior Team Tennis League, and directed the USTA Norcal 14s Sectionals for over 10 years.

As a player, Rick:

• Won 12 national doubles senior championships since 1994
• Ranked No.1 in the nation in Men's 35 and 40s doubles individually for six years consecutively from 2002-2007
• 2008-2010 he and his partner finished #2 nationally and #6 in singles (2010)
• 2009: Selected to represent the US in the World Team Championships placing 2nd
• With son Jordan, reached the finals of the 69 team field at the National Father/Son Hardcourt Championships at La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club (2008)
• 2011: Expected to finish 1st Nationally in his last year in the 40s

Committed to introducing people in the community to the game of tennis, Rick is a Director of the USTA Board in Northern California where he founded a non-profit association to present tennis to elementary age kids with a follow-up program at their school. Kepler states, “My passion is helping people of all ages and abilities improve at the game of tennis.”

About Maui Country Club

Maui Country Club is located in Hawaii and is an icon on the North Shore of Maui at Spreckelsville. The 66-acre non-profit private club was founded in 1925 by H.W. Rice and F. F. Baldwin, together with the 46 member Maui Golf Association. The Club offers members a golf course and Pro Shop, six tennis courts, fitness center, private beach access, a swimming pool and pavilion. The new clubhouse has men’s & women’s locker rooms, a bar, lounge and restaurant, a ballroom for private functions, as well as a snack bar and outdoor lanai for dining. A variety of actvities, lessons, and social events geared toward members of all ages complete the package that makes this the place where friends and family come to play.

###

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/12/prweb9067147.htm

It was a sight to see...All the courts were full and people were waiting patiently to play seated on the cement walkway bench at the Kula public tennis courts.

When I testified along with the rest of the Steve Sutrov Kula Courts supporters, to the Maui Council for the building of four additional courts several years ago, I imagined the day would come when the facility would be the centerpiece of a happy, healthy, social tennis community, but it was just a vision, something that existed in our minds.

Now, we may not yet have six courts, we have a total of four, however, a big part of the dream has been realized. Tennis is a huge part of our Upcountry community, and these four courts are real. And, more people are enjoying the benefits of a healthy lifestyle at one of the most beautiful public courts in the world.

On this particular day, people drove up from Wells Park in Wailuku and the Maui Country Club in Sprecklesville where I suppose it had been raining. Together with the regulars and the seasonal visitors, the place was hopping and full of diversity.

I know, many want to keep this place a secret, but I say, it's more fun when we share. And when it does become too popular, well, that's just more reason to return to the master plan and complete the dream for a six court facility.

Aloha to all who came to play that day, the day we took turns playing in paradise.

Aloha to all and a Happy New Year!

Join the HIT network at www.hitennis.net for more tennis.