HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0599.004 2022-2024 P /PcF15W
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COUNTY CLEiit COM14.5g9
COUNTY OF H NNW
Bryan Kekoa Arbles r
Z073 DEC —1.3 Pia 12: 10
County of Hawaii - Public Testimony for Bill 103
December 2, 2023
My name is Bryan Kekoa Arbles,and I am a lifelong Hilo resident, a father of two
youth sports participants in Hilo,the Principal of Hilo Union Elementary School,and a
grandson of the"Father of Hilo Baseball':..James"Jimmy"Correa. I am testifying in
support of naming the ballfield at Dr. Francis F.C.Wong Stadium in the Ho'olulu Complex
the James"Jimmy"Correa Ballfield.
I have been the Principal at Hilo Union for the past eight school years, and it has
truly opened my eyes to the poverty and challenges that our youth face that sometimes
goes unseen. For a small school of 450,we have the highest"homeless"student
population averaging annually between 40-50 students. This is due in large part to the
shelters for domestic abuse and for those with home insecurities in our geographic
school district here in Hilo, on Kapiolani street. I am a graduate,former teacher, and
former vice principal of Hilo High School,a former baseball coach at Waiakea High
School, and despite the short distance between the two when traveling down Kapiolani
(given the recent extension that connects the two) I had no idea of the kind of poverty
that our youth face in my school district and the vast differences when compared to
both Waiakea and Hilo High Schools,and such a short distance between the two. Hilo
Union is the home of the rainbows, and as we teach our youth you cannot have a
rainbow without both rain and sunlight. For us this is important, because it allows us to
teach about perspective and hard work. Hilo is a rainy town and one can choose to view
a rainy town as negative or something that ruins a day outside,or they may choose to
see it in a positive light knowing water is the most important for growth and life
especially when combined with sunlight. The rainbow is a visual reminder of having the
right perspective or approaching a challenge the right way...dark clouds may lie ahead
but you've got the sunlight behind you and a rainbow to remind you of the need for
both...it's up to you what perspective or view you choose since there's no real success in
life without hard work and the right attitude.
At this point many of you might say,that's interesting but what does that have to
do with naming a ballfield after Jimmy. The answer is simple, it has everything to do with
it. The model we use at Hilo Union is straight out of the Jimmy Correa and Parks and
Recreation Handbook. It makes sense too, because my Vice Principal for the past six //��
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school years has been Tyson Tomono,whose father is the late Byron Tomono. Byron
had the loud laugh we all remember, ran Parks 8 Rec here in Hilo, and both he and
Grandpa are connected in that they both ran Andrews Gym once upon a time. Now
their son and grandson team up to run Hilo Union with the same approach full of daily
laughs, hard play and competition on the playground and in the classroom, and most
importantly with the idea that you will compete and your story will be written by you. The
way that this will happen is by working hard and having the right attitude(perspective)
regardless of the challenge or struggle that is a part of your current situation. Much like
Byron and Jimmy we create a safe and nurturing place to do this daily,and whenever
we are out in public together there are always people that stop by the lunch or dinner
table to say hello, ask about the past, and say"oh yeah your grandpa or your dad was
the best,we did the devil...but they always had room for us at Andrew's Gym or on any
baseball field in Hilo...and was free too(hahaha)"
This is the gift,the legacy of a job well done, in the right way, in the right place, at
the right time,and it doesn't have to cost anything. Hilo people have great respect for a
job well done or a product that is outstanding,and even higher regard if it is free or given
from the heart. That is the true gift of Jimmy Correa, he made and continues to make
everyone around him here in Hilo better. The life lessons that are carried out in the fields
and gyms,shape the business and community leaders of the future, and I am direct
evidence of that. I think on it a lot,when I sit in the Andrews Gym watching my children
play volleyball and basketball, and even more when I remind myself to teach the right
lessons when coaching youth sports at Walter Victor on weekends...this gift(Makana)
will pass from me to them, just as it has passed from Grandpa to so many others, many
of whom have improved on it and passed it on as well.
I'd like to thank the County Council for the opportunity to share this small story on
behalf of my Grandpa, and for your careful consideration of the honor and what it
means to make a place better well after you have passed on. For many of us that is the
goal, I may never do it as well as Grandpa did, but tomorrow is a new chance to have the
right attitude and perspective and make Hilo just a little bit better.
Mahalo,
1 ',
Bryan Arbles