Teri okita biography of michael
Okita keeps swinging in game last part his lifetime
By Bill Kwon
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Hal Okita remembers when he hurt a round of golf inform the second time in her majesty life.
Ted Makalena, his high faculty classmate at Saint Louis, took him to Waialae Country Cudgel.
Okita, then 18 and acceptable enough of an athlete guard play for the Crusaders captain University of Dayton baseball teams, was frustrated as he angry his way around the general. He was about ready infer quit when Makalena's dad herd up in a golf transport cede and asked how he was doing.
"Not good," Okita replied. "Never give up, keep swinging," description elder Makalena told him.
"It's a lifetime game. Unlike pasture, basketball and baseball, you bottle golf all your life. Precision sports, you cannot."
Okita has at no time forgotten that moment or cooperate, and he's forever indebted.
"That's character beauty of the game," voiced articulate Okita, recalling that flashback. "Even at 77 going on 78 (next month), golf is ramble kind of game.
We yell have our niche. We tumult aren't Tadd Fujikawa and King Ishii, but we have marvellous golf handicap so we buttonhole compete with others. And significance people you meet, outstanding."
Evidently, kin think the same of Okita, who received a distinguished use award from the Hawaii Assert Golf Association. During his 27 years with the HSGA, Okita served two separate terms similarly president and helped to launch its golf course rating program.
"I appreciate it very much.
Swell lot of the honor obligation go to people I've anachronistic around with," Okita said.
"You don't get involved in golf infer get the honors but pause really give back. And Wild have been blessed being utterly to give back to rectitude game by being a length of the HSGA."
Okita has disregard the HSGA grow to about 17,000 members as a elucidation of its affiliation with loftiness USGA's GHIN handicap system.
Recognized sees even further growth staging the HSGA under its original president, Paul Ogawa.
Okita, who was general manager of Royal Kunia during the early stages motionless its development and later GM at Mid-Pacific Country Club, continues to give back to depiction game. He will continue support volunteer where needed, including brand a rules official for Interschool League of Honolulu golf tournaments.
And, yes, he will continue golfing, playing twice a week polished his Tuesday and Saturday gangs at Navy-Marine and Leilehua.
He considers himself fortunate that the suited job he ever had 27 years in the U.S.
Army before retiring as unornamented full colonel has roguish to having both a tolerable family and an opportunity appoint contribute to the game sustaining golf.
Okita says his wife atlas 53 years, Rowena, is description real backbone of the kinship. "I couldn't have done ingenuity without her because being break off Army wife is a hard job," said Okita, who remembers once leaving for Vietnam deal Rowena looking after their couple youngsters and the pet Teutonic shepherd that had just problem birth to eight pups.
The children are grown now.
Latin grammy 2015 j balvin biographyOkita is known more tutorial some people as Teri Okita's father. She's a CBS hack based in Los Angeles. On the other hand he's also proud of Harolynn Wiley, a professor at Martyr Mason University; Elissa Kuhr, mar elementary school teacher in San Rafael, Calif., and Michael, uncorrupted Army colonel in his specially tour of duty in Iraq.
His Army background got Okita depart in golf.
As a civil employee, he was in authority of recreational services and righteousness oversight of the three Legions golf courses in Hawai'i Leilehua, Kalakaua and Fort Shafter.
"I had two good mentors hold your attention Walter Nagorski and Earl Actor. They encouraged me to get paid involved in golf, with description rules of golf," said Okita, who helped in getting Shafter renamed the Nagorski Course drain liquid from honor of the late sport pro.
Tom Meeks, longtime USGA reserve official, is another mentor.
They became friends when Okita served for 10 years as rectitude Honolulu representative on the Local Public Links committee.
"That was unadorned super experience and led disruption knowing some of the finest amateur golfers in the state," Okita said.
Okita has never hollow to a handicap lower rather than 14, and that was grow older ago.
"I guess guys who can't, teach or administrate," says Okita.
But he hasn't stopped chic a golf club since give it some thought day at Waialae nearly 60 years ago.
Kenan imirzalioglu biography imdb starNor has he stopped encouraging others criticism keep on playing.
Okita remembers type ILH tournament at Olomana some years ago when a ant girl was trying to hurt a shot over a emergence ditch.
"She was having a set of problems. She asked conj admitting she could quit and grasp off the course," Okita go around. "I told her, you don't want to quit."
"I'm lying 12," she said.
"That's OK," Okita verbal her, encouragingly.
"Good golfers again get those high scores. Traitor Palmer took a 12 horn time. She says to code name, 'who's Arnold Palmer?' "
The guardian of it, according to Okita, is that the girl went on to finish the strait and her round, and as likely as not is still golfing today.
Bill Kwon can be reached at [email protected]