KAILUA-KONA — Shawn Palmer, a 39-year-old Kona resident, takes part in every fishing tournament he can. And to spend a day doing exactly that for a good cause with some friends in a boat he built in his backyard makes it all the better.
“‘Cause it’s a great benefit,” Palmer said at Honokohau Harbor on Saturday. “And because I like fishing in tournaments on my little boat.”
Palmer’s boat, “Miss Molly,” was one of 51 boats that day participating in the Angling for Autism Shootout Fishing Tournament on Saturday, put on by Umeke’s and Kona Brewing Co., to benefit the Autism Society of Hawaii.
All of the money raised from the fishing tournament, said Umeke’s owner Nakoa Pabre, will stay on the Big Island to support services and programs that benefit people with autism.
“It’s over $12,000, it’ll be,” Pabre said.
While Umeke’s and Kona Brewing Co. have partnered together in the past, this is the first year the two companies have partnered to put on a fishing tournament, Pabre said, but it likely won’t be the last.
He said they want to continue holding fishing tournaments annually, with each year supporting a charity that benefits children.
“So we’ll just keep changing it up and whatever we can do to give back to the community,” he said.
Pabre said one of his employees has a son with autism, driving them to focus on it for this event.
“There’s a quite a bit of autistic kids here, but not a lot of the local families here, they don’t know about the resources available here on the island.”
And in addition to bringing out local anglers, local businesses also offered to step up.
Pabre said they had more than 50 sponsors for the event, such as Monster Energy and Alii Builders.
Naomi Tachera, a board member for the Autism Society of Hawaii, said the money will be a great help in terms of not just supporting services to help children and their parents, but also putting on events that give families the opportunity to meet and expand their support networks.
That includes events like “Autism Eats,” which brings families together at a restaurant and film screenings that accommodate children with autism.
“It creates this natural network of support when you host events like that,” she said.
Tachera said the fishing tournament is also a chance to give local fishermen a way to benefit the community while doing something they love.
And the anglers too seemed to be having a great time as they weighed in their catch.
“It’s great,” said Fred Huihui, 56, of Kona, who went out for the day with family. “I think it’s for a very good cause.”
Huihui added that he’s already looking forward to next year’s event.
“A good time,” he said. “It’s always a good time on the ocean.”