A New Bus for Student Athletes
Keith Amemiya with LHES students
The acquisition of a new 14-seat school bus for Lāna‘i High & Elementary School (LHES) was a collaborative effort involving multiple donors. The Central Pacific Bank Foundation contributed $20,000, the Freeman Foundation through the Hawai‘i Community Foundation contributed $40,000, Island Insurance contributed $10,000, LHES contributed $27,000, and the LHES Foundation contributed $5,000.
Roderick Sumagit, LHES Athletic Director, shared the advantages of the new bus. “This one has better capacity and seating. It’s going to be easier to transport our student athletes to practices, to Mānele Harbor, to the airport and also to pick up visiting off-island teams,” he said. “With no public transportation on Lāna‘i, the bus will provide essential transportation for our student athletes.”
Roderick also noted the necessity of the new bus due to the expiration of the old one. “Our current bus has reached its 15-year shelf life and can no longer transport passengers,” he clarified.
Keith Amemiya, senior vice president of community relations at Central Pacific Bank, played a significant role in raising the necessary funds. Amemiya, who served as the executive director of the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association for 12 years, has a long-standing commitment to supporting high school athletics. His familiarity with the needs of Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i athletic programs made him a crucial figure in this effort.
During the pandemic, Amemiya reached out to Roderick to see how he could assist the athletic program. Recognizing the need for a new bus, he spearheaded the fundraising campaign. Amemiya’s efforts brought together the Central Pacific Bank Foundation, Freeman Foundation and Island Insurance to meet the financial requirements.
“Government can’t support everything. It sometimes takes too long to wait for the funding. Sometimes, those private donations need to be made in order to meet a need in the community,” Amemiya said.
In addition to the financial contributions, in-kind contributions from Young Brothers and Matson facilitated the shipment of the bus from the continent to Lāna‘i at no cost.