Hilo, Hawaii – In recent years, Maggie Carmichael has found the step up onto the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium sidewalk difficult but well worth the effort as she returns each year to take her seat among the volunteers taking tickets at University of Hawaii at Hilo basketball games.
One of the few remaining volunteers in the Vulcan athletic program, Carmichael will be joined by softball alumnus and Summer Olympic participant Kristi Odamura as the 2005 Vulcan Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.
The Annual Hall of Fame and All-Sports Banquet will be held on Monday, April 25 in the UH Hilo Campus Center Dining Room.
The event will be the formal introduction of the inductees as well as the farewell to 27 Vulcan athletes who have or will complete their eligibility at the end of the 2004-05 season.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. with the Hall of Fame program beginning at 6 p.m. followed by dinner. The UHH athletic recognitions will begin after dinner.
Ticket prices are $30. Reservations can be made by calling the UHH sports information office at 974-7606.
“I know how hard it is for families to get enough money to educate their children and this is a good way of saying I will help,” Carmichael said, “and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.
“I love to see kids educated because I knew it was a struggle for my own family to put us through school. There were seven of us in the family and only two of us graduated from Manoa.”
Growing up in Honoapu, Carmichael loved sports and traveled with her father to Kona to watch football and baseball games. As a prepster at Kamehameha Schools for Girls, the feisty country girl participated in a variety of sports including volleyball, basketball and stick ball.
“You name it, I tried it,” Carmichael said. “I went to the University of Hawaii Manoa and I entered all the sports I possibly could.
“I earned a beautiful suede jacket. The girls had to earn a hundred points to earn a jacket with a big ‘H’. Where the men would earn it in one year with football or basketball or something, we took four years and not many of us earned it.”
Living in Manoa Valley was a blessing to Carmichael as she was able to walk to school. And like many other college students, she stretched her limited funds as far as possible. While classmates were making their weekend plans, Carmichael was looking toward making it to the end of the month and always remembered the sacrifices others were making.
“I appreciated everything my mother did and vowed I would make something of myself, and I did,” Carmichael said. “I used to make excuses. I didn’t want to ask my mother because she was already struggling.”
She returned to teach at Naalehu after graduation. With her late-husband Micki, they had two children – Curtis and Sydney. In 1956, the family moved to Hilo where Carmichael taught at Piihonua Elementary. She eventually transferred to De Silva Elementary from where she retired.
“After I retired, Marion Hall asked me I was interested in sports and would I be interested in helping,” Carmichael said. “Marion and I started out selling t-shirts. Ray [Fornof] and I took over and worked it for several years. Besides doing that, I worked in the food booths with Harriett Estrella. Then I would work tickets, the doors, selling programs and everything else.”
Having been a part of the program for nearly 30 years, Carmichael is proud to have been part of the opportunity the programs provided.
“It makes me feel good to see them finish college and go out and make something of themselves,” Carmichael said. “There’re so many of them that have done something. They don’t go home, they stay here. But whether they stay here or go away, at least they’ve made something of themselves.”
She also enjoyed the other side of volunteering and relishes in the friendships and memories shared including the “Shot”.
“The fun part was the time we went to Kansas City,” Maggie said. “Bill O’Rear had the ball and he threw the ball and it went in the basket. And we won. I tell you, that whole arena went crazy.”
She followed the team to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. twice and also went to Japan with a group of nearly 80 boosters.
“We would go down into the village and buy huge strawberries, sashimi and their sushi which they would make right in front of you,” Carmichael said. “You select what you want and we would take it back to the room, boil some water, make tea and have a brunch or dinner. I really enjoyed that.”
Back home at the civic auditorium, Carmichael has seen many student/athletes walk through the turnstiles and has thoroughly enjoyed her experience.
“Alofa [Tagataese] told me, ‘I can’t thank you folks enough in helping us and me to get an education, otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today’,” Carmichael said. “She’s very grateful to the boosters for helping them out.
“Makes me feel that what we did was worthwhile.”
