Reel good time was had by all
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
Richard Clark got off a yacht yesterday afternoon sporting the largest fish at the Goodwill Industries Fishing Tournament and a grin wider than the ocean.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Woo hoo!" the 36-year-old man shouted to the crowd that gathered near the yacht Puhi to admire the papio weighing about 7 1/2 pounds. "I had to fight, fight to get this one."
Shelli Souza, left, a Goodwill worker, and Gary Ling enjoyed cake at the 14th annual Hawai'i Yacht Club/Goodwill Industries Fishing Tournament at the Hawaii Yacht Club yesterday. Club members volunteered their boats for the event.
Clark, who works as a dishwasher at Hawai'i Pacific University, was just one of about 65 people with disabilities who participated in the 14th annual event, which was sponsored by and held at the Hawai'i Yacht Club. Each year, yacht club members volunteer their boats and crews for this recreational event.
The event provides a fun, social, recreational day for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment who participate in Goodwill's programs and services, said Laura Robertson, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Hawai'i.
Goodwill Industries of Hawai'i services about 6,000 clients per year on O'ahu and the Big Island and places about 1,200 of them into employment, Robertson said.
The program also caters to about 400 adults with severe disabilities who participate in an Adult Day Program that is geared to building socialization skills. About a third of these adults were at the fishing tournament, Robertson said.
"It's something they look forward to all year long," she said.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Each year tournament participants try their luck fishing for the most colorful fish, heaviest, longest, smallest, most caught and most total catch weight. Prizes are awarded to all, but the biggest reward to participants is increased self-esteem, Robertson said.
Richard Clark of Wai'anae celebrates his first-place award in the heaviest fish category after bringing in a papio weighing about 7 1/2 pounds. "I had to fight, fight to get this one," said Clark, 36. Prizes were awarded to all participants in the event.
"One of the most difficult things for someone with a disability is that they can get very isolated," Robertson said. "People think of them as very different, but this event makes it possible for them to participate in a normal activity."
The event is a rare opportunity for adventure for people like Mary Huber, 35, of Kane'ohe, who woke up at 4 a.m. to make sure she wouldn't miss the tournament.
"For her it's a very big event," said Huber's mom Gloria. "Tomorrow she'll already start counting the days until the next event. I mean, how often does anyone get to go fishing at the Hawai'i Yacht Club?"
Richard Lee of Kane'ohe said the event has made a lasting difference in his son Craig's life by providing an opportunity to mingle with others.
"It's helped him become more aware of himself and of people," Lee said. "Since participating in the event, he thinks a little more highly of himself. Frankly, they are all winners, here."
Al Bento, commodore of the yacht club, said it's also an event that excites the volunteers, who spend nearly nine months preparing for the tournament and the party that follows it.
"Everyone thinks a yacht club is made up of stuffy, old people, but it's not," Bento said. "This is an event that we all look forward to each year. It just makes your heart feel good."
