High School Hall Welcomes Three from Hawai’i Island

The Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) welcomed its thirtieth class of outstanding student-athletes to its Hall of Honor Sunday at a celebration dinner held at the Sheraton Waikiki.

Twelve seniors from across the state were chosen by a panel of current and former journalists, athletic directors, and media members based on their on-court success, academic achievement, leadership, and other intangibles. Sunday, those students got to meet many members of that group, as well as adoring supporters of high school athletics from the business community.

The keynote speaker was Norm Chow, University of Hawaii football coach. During his speech, he called for Konawaena girls basketball coach Bobbie Awa, who Chow wanted to “rub elbows” with to gain some of the success that Awa’s girls achieved at the state tournament.

Awa was not in the room when he called her name, but she finally got to meet him, along with her daughter, and Hall of Honor entrant, Dawnyelle. After the dinner, Konawaena’s coach revealed that Chow wrote three congratulatory letters following their third state championship victory. She received one, while her daughter and teammate Lia Galdeira received the other two.

Galdeira was also named to the Hall of Honor’s 2012 class. In the biography that was read to the audience by OC16’s Dave Vinton, the master of ceremonies for the evening, she was described as someone who could convince her teammates to sing any song that she would sing around them. The humble Galdeira matured to a leadership role by the time she rounded out her high school career, and will play basketball with Awa at Washington State.

Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Shane Brostek rounded out the list of Hawai’i Island athletes to reach the Hall of Honor this year. Brostek’s quiet demeanor matched his play on the gridiron, with his blocking and tackling making all of the noise. On this night, however, Brostek was overshadowed, only momentarily, by his father, Bern, who spent several years in the National Football League.

The elder Brostek was recognized by the HHSAA early in the dinner as a past honoree in the Hall of Honor that returned to this year’s ceremony. He wasn’t in the room when his name was called, but when he heard it, he walked in from the back of the room, drink in hand, and yelled a hearty “yeah” that got the crowd to laugh. Bern and his son were recognized as the first father and son duo to stand in the Hall of Honor.

The HHSAA says that proceeds raised from the Hall of Honor banquet go toward operating expenses to host state tournament events across the state every year.