Before I give the invocation, I ask that we give a moment of silence in honor of Coach Clement Hew, who passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. Coach Hew spent over 35 years at Iolani, affiliated with the baseball and softball programs. He was found each year without fail behind the scenes during the Family Fair, preparing the beef stew, lau lau and kalua pig and cabbage for the Hawaiian Plate booth. He was also a past recipient of the Iolani One Team Award which is annually presented by the Boosters Club.

Thank you. Let us now ask for God’s continual blessings….

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beautiful day you’ve given us, and we ask that you watch over us as we leave here later today that we may arrive at our final destination safely;

Bless the parents and guardians of all of our student-athletes, for it is not without their sacrifices that our student-athletes succeed;

Bless the coaches who devote countless hours teaching and guiding our student-athletes, for it is the coaches who are entrusted with developing and nurturing the true spirit of One Team that we celebrate today;

Bless all of our student-athletes, for it is their efforts of humility and sportsmanship for the good of their team that we honor today;

Bless the food we are about to eat and the hands that prepared them, that it might nourish our minds and bodies to do Your will;

Finally, Lord, bless our beloved School…that it may continue to develop the best and brightest in our State, and contrary to what has been recently publicized, our’s is the Number One High School for Athletics in the Nation.

We ask for all of these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen!