Falko Partners steps up to the plate to help athletic programs

LIHU‘E — “There are going to be a lot of happy kids,” said Waimea High School athletic director Jon Kobayashi.

Waimea High School, Kaua‘i High School and Kapa‘a High School football programs received a shot in the arm when Shawn Smith, manager of Falko Partners, showed up with checks of $5,000 for each of the schools’ programs during the athletic directors meeting, Tuesday afternoon at Kaua‘i High School.

“When Larry Bowman heard about how the budget cuts are hurting the high school programs, he felt he needed to do something,” Smith said. “At first, he was leaning toward contributing to just one school, but in all fairness, decided he would award grants to each of the public high schools.”

Bowman is no stranger to helping the high school athletic programs as he previously came up with a program that outfitted Kapa‘a High School Warriors with new uniforms several years ago.

Greg Gonsalves, athletic director at Kapa‘a High School, asked if Falko Partners had a banner that could be displayed at the football games with Falko Partners being announced as a major sponsor of that game.

That suggestion was initially agreed on by the other two athletic directors including Ross Shimabukuro, athletic director at Kaua‘i High School, who got some help from the East Kaua‘i Lions Club in providing health resources for the school’s athletes.

That presentation was made by Diane Kent, president of the EK Lions, just prior to the start of Kaua‘i’s preseason football game against the Honoka‘a Dragons, Saturday night to Keith Burgess, the school’s athletic trainer.

With budget cuts nipping at the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation and the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association’s 2009-2010 athletic calendar, the athletic directors agreed the funds were welcome to help offset some of the budget cuts.

“I know there are going to be some very happy kids out there,” Kobayashi said.