Blake Nuibe ’70, Chairman
House & Entertainment Committee
Aloha! The House & Entertainment Committee would like to extend our heart warming best wishes for the New Year! Great Health & Prosperity for you and your family! A great wise sage once said that “St. Louis men don’t get older, they just get better”! The sage must have been a St. Louis alumnus! Hah!
Committee members Robert Chong ’70, George Lindsey ’70, Axel Hussey ’60, Blake Nuibe ’70, Ronald Quong ’74, and Calvin Say ’70 have diligently strived throughout the past year to run a more efficient House (Crusader Lounge & Banquet Hall); to better serve the SLAA membership; and ultimately to reach out to St. Louis School. Below are just some highlights of 2007.
Super Bowl at the Clubhouse ’07. 76 alums, family & friends participated in a festive event with a 9’ x 12’ HDTV projector screen. Picture taking and entertainment by Vili the Warrior! Great impromptu entertainment by Warrior Greg Frey ’79. Pupus’ included a whole roast suckling pig and a hand-roll sushi bar. We got great free media PR with visits and interviews by KHON TV and KITV news crew. Mahalo to David Ordenstein ‘77, Bob Takei ‘58, JoJo Christian, Sandy Peralta, Lori Smith, and Susan Mokuahi & her entire bar staff for their great assist!
Senior Class Luau luncheon. On May 24th, the H & E Committee and Membership Committee jointly sponsored the inaugural Senior Class Luau luncheon. The goal & objectives involved reaching out to the St. Louis School seniors; sharing the story of SLAA and the SLAA Clubhouse (including a tour of the facilities); and welcoming them into alumni membership. With 117 seniors in attendance, it was an outstanding and successful event! Decorations in Dreier Manor Hall, door prizes, and the live music of the Ualei Trio made it a memorable festive event. We were honored by the presence of Dr. Reginald Ho ’51 (Chairman of the Board of Trustees), President Walter Kirimitsu ‘58, and Principal Russell Valente ‘79. As Russell Valente commented, “I thought the entire event was brilliant. I am certainly in favor of continuing this event. They appreciated the lunch and truly enjoyed themselves. At the NBC graduation on Saturday, they were wearing their St. Louis Alumni baseball caps, and I saw the alumni stickers on their cars in the parking lot. Parents approached me at graduation to say that their son’s told them of the luau, and that they were impressed with the luau and the SLAA organization. You made them proud to be St. Louis graduates and you invited them to be a part of US”. It was a chicken-skin experience with everyone joining hands in singing the Alma Mater acappela at the conclusion of the afternoon.Mahalo to Andy Conboy ‘81 (Chairman of the Membership Committee) and his entire committee for their hard work in helping us to put this all together. It was certainly a great highlight for membership! Mahalo to Board member and faculty advisor Scotty Gonsalves ‘84 for his efforts in leading the seniors!
100th Anniversary Celebration. The St. Louis Alumni Association was established in 1905, and incorporated in 1907. 2007 marked the Centennial Celebration of “Pride & Tradition” for SLAA. On Sunday, September 2, 2007 - - it was a grand, grand celebration! A record 730 alumni, family & friends attended the memorable event at the clubhouse! Trolley bus rides to and from. House Speaker Calvin Say ’70 greeted everyone de-boarding the shuttle trolley. Red carpet and lei greeting for all who attended. Pre-dinner entertainment by the Royal Hawaiian Band, Chinese Lion Dance, 40,000 fire crackers, and Kenny Endo’s Taiko Youth Group of the Pacific captured the attention of all. A very proud moment when the St. Louis School Honor Color Guard (Col. Doug Nomura ’80) presented the flags, followed by the official ‘Oli by Dr. Kalani Brady ‘73. Opening pule by our Executive Director, Bob Takei ’58. Dinner music with the Ualei Trio. Special remarks by St. Louis alums Lt. Governor Duke Aiona ‘73, and St. Louis School President Walter Kirimitsu ‘58. Mayor Mufi Hannemann gave a great rousing speech honoring all alums! Special recognition was given to SLAA Board member Honorable Judge James S. Burns ’55 for his many years of service to SLAA. Headline entertainers Frank Delima and Melveen Leed had everyone in continuous laughter and merriment! Kanak Attack (Kirk Nahale ’80) did a fantastic job with catering the luau! Mahalo to the entire SLAA Board of Directors for its faith and support of our endeavors in putting it all together. And mahalo to all the Standing Committees who assisted! This once in a lifetime event was enjoyed by everyone who attended! Please peruse the many photos of the event.
Christmas at the Clubhouse ’07. In 2006, it was Frank Delima. This past year The Honolulu Boy Choir and the Sounds of Aloha Chorus provided exceptional entertainment for the 155 alumni, family & friends who attended the annual festive Christmas celebration. It included a great Prime Rib dinner buffet provided by Kanak Attack. Kamaehu performed during dinner. Almost everyone went home with a door prize. Of course the most sought after prize was the roll of Costco toilet paper! Santa Herb Sousa ’59 greeted everyone with merriment. Manny Dayao ’70 provided complimentary photo’s with Santa Herb! Another successful event!
Dreier Manor (Banquet Hall). We continued to maximize use of the great banquet hall facilities. While the weekend bookings for parties have been great, only 8% of these involved bookings by alums. While it’s great for our revenue base, we’d like to see more SLAA members take advantage of the rental of the banquet hall for your next private party or event. Bookings are being taken for 2008. Don’t wait; rental hall prices may go up in the future. Book now, and get locked in with the present rates. Call John Aiwohi ‘51 at 955-6618 for banquet hall rental information. With the safety & welfare of alums in mind, we purchased an AED (automated external defibrillator), which is readily kept on hand on-site. All house staffing (banquet & bar) will soon incur mandatory updated CPR and AED certification.
Crusader Lounge. Revenues from our bar sales have increased approximately 38% from the 2006 to 2007 fiscal year. Here’s a hidden secret. Every second (2nd) Thursday of the month, the Crusader Lounge proudly presents live music with Kats ‘O. Jazz and impromptu vocalists (even Japanese songs) make for a great evening. Over 100+ individuals are regularly partaking of this event which starts at 6:30 p.m. Check it out! The HDTV flat screens are finally in! The SLAA Board of Directors authorized the purchase of five (5) 42” LCD TV’s and one (1) 52” LCD TV. With High Definition connection with Oceanic Time Warner Cable and UH Pay-for-View games contracted, it’s an awesome viewing of UH Warrior football, Super Bowl, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, and other sports activities! Your lounge provides a very comfortable & friendly atmosphere to unwind the long day with great friends and beverages. You never know who you may meet up with at the lounge. We’ve got one of the best prices in town for beer, wine & liquor. Our friendly staff led by Susan Mokuahi, Jimmy DeFries, Jon Lee ‘90, Vivian Cieskowski, Adrian Rapp and Crystal Wong are always ready to serve you with a great smile! They’re doing a great job!
Mahalo and Aloha! We sincerely thank the SLAA Board of Directors and the SLAA general membership for the honor & privilege to serve the membership. From day one, our learning curve was steep and challenging. We tried our best at all times to better serve you. There are certainly more exciting events and projects to come about in 2008 - - Super Bowl at the Clubhouse ’08, Annual Senior Luau ‘08, and much more. Some committee members will be staying on, while some will be moving on. New committee members are already coming on board the H & E Committee, which will continue to serve its membership. I will be resigning as Chairman at the end of 2007. It’s certainly been a great exhilarating ride & experience with the various events, projects and oversight, and more importantly the building of friendship and fellowship among all alums. Mahalo for the opportunity to have served you! God bless. Memor et Fedelis. Aloha!
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