Posted on: Friday, February 1,2002
Fernandez scholarship a warm link
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
Kane Fernandez was known to many as a businessman, a community leader and a philanthropist.
Those close to him also knew Fernandez as an avid fisherman who traveled to the world's best fishing spots. He'd take along family and friends and make new friends along the way.
Of all the places he visited, Fernandez felt a special fondness for the Langara Fishing Lodge in British Columbia. The lodge in the Queen Charlotte islands is in the Haida Indian area, a wilderness accessible only by helicopter or boat.
Fernandez visited Langara Lodge once a year, sometimes twice, for 17 years. Friends say he loved those fishing grounds almost as much as he loved Hawai'i.
When he passed away a year ago, friends from British Columbia came to Hawai'i to say their goodbyes. They got together with his Hawai'i fishing buddies and shared memories of great times they had with him in the Pacific Northwest fishing ground.
The circle of friends came up with an idea to honor Kane Fernandez by connecting his two favorite places with one of his favorite causes: education.
"We could think of no better way to remember him than by enabling a young person from the Haida Indian area to have the opportunity of getting a college education in Hawai'i," said Jim Romig, an organizer of the project.
The group gathered the money and rallied support for a four-year, all-expenses-paid scholarship for a Haida student to attend the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. Former UH President Kenneth Mortimer, who had been on a number of Langara fishing trips with Fernandez, provided a tuition scholarship.
Fernandez's friends are raising money to provide for airfare, books, and room and board. The Langara Lodge is holding an annual Kane Fernandez memorial fishing tournament, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
The first recipient of the Kane Fernandez scholarship, 17-year-old Meghan Deagle, started at Manoa this semester. Deagle is studying marine biology — something that the friends say Kane Fernandez would approve of.
The plan is to build the endowment fund so a four-year scholarship can be awarded to a Haida student every year. Romig points out that this scholarship is in addition to the many scholarships provided by the Fernandez family to Hawai'i students attending UH.
In June, the Fernandez family made one last trip to Langara, to scatter some of Kane Fernandez' ashes in his favorite fishing grounds.
A Haida chief presided over the ceremony while flowers from Hawai'i were placed in the water.
While at Langara, the family met with Meghan Deagle, the first student who will serve as the strongest connection between the two places Kane Fernandez loved.
Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.
