Hawaii for Mufi

On President's Day, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and several NFL stars, including Deuce Letui (Arizona Cardinals), Vince Manuwai (Jacksonville Jaguars), Chris Kemoeatu (Pittsburgh Steelers), and Naufahu Tahi (Minnesota Vikings), sponsored a rally to benefit the Hawaii Island Food Basket. 

Several hundred Hawaii Island residents attended the "family day" event at Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium.  Free admission came with complimentary chili & rice bowl.  Between 500 and 700 pounds of food were donated.

Food donation contest winners were:

     Adult
     1st place - Darren Astrande, 85lbs
     2nd place - Laura Balberde, 12.7 lbs
     3rd place - America Padascao, 10.8 lbs
 
     Children
     1st Place - Onipa'a Matsuda 5yrs old, 143 lbs
     2nd Place - Jason Johnson 12 yrs old, 103.4 lbs
     3rd Place - Austin Stroh-Akina 13 yrs old, 67.3 lbs

All contest winners received an autographed football signed by Mayor Hannemann and the NFL players.  The event included several prize giveaways, including an autographed 2009 AFC championship ball valued at over $2000.  The grand prize winner was Hilary Gomes. Live entertainment by "Adobo Nation," a band made up of five local teens.
 
Mayor Hannemann noticed a recurring theme in all the stories told by the NFL players: "While they all came from tough backgrounds, they set high goals early in life.  They all worked hard and had tremendous family support to reach the highest levels of success."  Hannemann impressed upon the families in the audience of "the importance of goal setting and families working together to lift themselves up."

 

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release   
Contact: Leanne Okamoto 938-5398

February 5, 2010    

MUFI HANNEMANN AND FRIENDS SPONSORS FAMILY EVENT
FEATURING NFL STARS ON THE BIG ISLAND


(Hilo, Hawaii) – A family event featuring current NFL stars will be held on Monday, February 15, 2010 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium from 4:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.  The event will feature current NFL Players and a special appearance by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Kahuku High School product Aaron Francisco from the Indianapolis Colts will be making an appearance straight from the Super Bowl.  This is Francisco’s second straight Super Bowl appearance playing last year with the Arizona Cardinals.  Francisco will be joined by his former Cardinals’ teammate Deuce Letui.  Letui is the former All-American from USC and starting Offensive Guard for Arizona.  Carolina Panthers’ Maake Kemoeatu joins the group of players.  Kemoeatu is the starting Defensive Tackle for the Panthers.  The players will be signing autographs and addressing the audience.  Other NFL players are expected to attend.

Mayor Hannemann has been an instrumental leader in keeping the NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii through the years and played a key role in bringing it back in 2011 and 2012.  He was honored by NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell with the Val Pinchback Award in 2008 for championing the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

The event is being held to encourage donations to the Hawaii Island Food Bank.  Admission is free, but attendees are asked to bring at least one canned food item.  There will also be a chili and rice dinner, live musical entertainment and door prizes.  A contest will be held to see who can bring in the most can goods (in total weight) with the top three winning an autographed football signed by the NFL Players and Mayor Hannemann. 


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