KAILUA-KONA — Call it going out with a bang for Renee Morinaka.
For more than two decades, she volunteered for Special Olympics, helping make the West Hawaii Torch Run a reality year after year.
On Saturday, some 150 participants streamed down Palani Road and Alii Drive to show their support for more than 400 athletes islandwide with developmental disabilities, who nevertheless take on their challenges with a full heart. The West Hawaii Special Olympics Troy Barboza Torch Run/Walk, a non-competitive event, started at its sponsor First Hawaiian Bank and culminated after about a mile and half at the ball fields behind the Kona Aquatics Center, where Torch Run ceremonies helped usher in the opening of the Big Island Regional Softball Tournament.
“I’ve seen some of these athletes grow up from babies in the community and they’ve just become outstanding adults,” said Morinaka, a Hawaii Police Department detective and the department’s liaison to the Special Olympics.
Soon, Morinaka will be passing on the torch to another officer.
Saturday was a great day to go out, with record turnout, a visit from Gov. David Ige and a sky full of blossoms dropped from a helicopter flown over the ball field by Paradise Helicopters.
“I’m so honored to be here and be a witness to all of the activities,” said Ige, who congratulated the athletes on their efforts and thanked the volunteers, off- duty law enforcement officers and community that make it all possible.
Sporting the black T-shirt sold for $30 to fund Special Olympics, runner Ellen Greenbaum was proud to be on hand to support the athletes.
“It’s amazing for them,” Greenbaum said. “I’m a runner, which for me is empowering. For them I’m sure it’s the same, being able to do something physical and excel at it.”
Special Olympics is not only a place to excel, it also gives the developmentally disabled a community where they can maximize their potential, take a task and succeed, learn from coaches and take lessons from parents, said Denise Lindsey, area director for Special Olympics West Hawaii.
Aside from the fact that about 10 fundraisers a year — Cop on Top, the Bus Pull Throwdown, the Kona Marathon, the Visitor Industry Charity Walk to name a few — are essential for keeping SOWH operational, Saturday’s law enforcement event was something more.
Lindsey summed it up this way:
“The Torch Run with the police, bringing it in with the officers, lighting the cauldron — it’s about letting them know we are here for them and we love them so much.”
The Torch Run is named after Honolulu Police Officer Troy Louis Barboza, who participated in Hawaii’s first such event during his academy days in the mid 1980s. Barboza would go on to dedicate himself to the Special Olympics, becoming a coach and an officer noted for his ability to connect with young gang members. He was killed in 1987 in retaliation for a drug arrest. This year marked the 31st anniversary of the run.
Law enforcement torch runs are held all over the globe to benefit Special Olympics, but Hawaii’s event is believed to be the only one named after a fallen officer. An estimated 2,500 county, state and federal law enforcement officers participate in the run statewide, with events on four main islands.
Info: http://www.sowh.org