Iolani Raiders Booster Club

Ever see one of those seemingly ubiquitous signs taped to a traffic signal pole advertising a garage sale? Seems pretty simple right? Take your unwanted junk out to the garage and post a few signs, then wait for the treasure hunters to come help you cart away your unwanted stuff and maybe make a few bucks in the process.

Yeah, right! Not if you’re planning a GIANT garage sale and are trying to raise as much as you can, even for a cause as worthy as the oneTEAM documentary. Good thing this Boosters Club fundraiser had a knowledgeable chairman with experience, in the person of Hubert Minn ’65, and many willing hands to help out. Those willing hands were called upon to help pick up the many items donated as the word went out months before the sale. With donated items pouring in, several storage lockers at Hawaii Self Storage locations in Kaimuki, Pearl City, and Kapolei were filled to overflowing in the weeks leading up to the sale. Many floral items such as vases, baskets, pots and decorative items were donated by Stephen Fujikami ’61 of Fujikami Florist. The surfeit of items also filled Hubert’s and his father’s garages and even a lanai!

Among the many donations were hard-to-find items like a pogo stick, unicycle, and stargazing telescope.

Also notable were quality items like a carved Chinese table and a large quantity of fine English bone china.

One Team really came together the night before the garage sale when the huge quantity of donated items all had to be moved to Manoa Elementary, the site of the sale. It took four large flatbed truckloads to transport the items and that same truck was later used to deliver large items to buyers and to haul away trash. Many thanks to Gavin Morisada ’80 for the loan of the truck! Each truckload was met by a veritable army of alumni and friends who unloaded the items, segregated, folded or arranged, and set them out on display for the next day’s sales. Alumni from across the decades came together as One Team to help out, from the Bray Boys of the late 40’s and early 50’s, through the Hamada Boys of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s and on into alums from the 00’s. When the dust settled, the items were neatly arranged, awaiting the next day’s sales, the calm before the storm.

And the storm began early, with the first eager buyer arriving at 6:00 a.m., a full two hours before the scheduled start! The crowd stayed constant throughout the day, even though the faces changed. Many alumni and their families took advantage of the low prices as did Manoa residents and others from across the island, including Iolani faculty. The Manoa Elementary cafeteria was packed, with many other bargain hunters filling the hallway outside where most of the floral items were stacked, still in case lots. One Team volunteers helped with sales while having a good time themselves.

The silent auction featured newer or more upscale items like original paintings, jewelry, unique art, and valuable services. It also featured autographed Pro Bowl footballs.

Of course there was plenty of good food, with a deliciously filling plate lunch and breakfast concession outside and tasty snacks inside.

And, in a sure sign of One Team spreading into the community beyond Iolani School, the snacks were provided and sold by the Roosevelt High School Key Club, whose members also helped with the delivery of large items throughout the day, and the plate lunches and breakfasts by co-workers of Harris Nakamoto ’75.

At the end of the sale the Team had raised a significant portion of the funds needed to complete the documentary, had succeeded in selling nearly all the donated items so that none had to be taken back to the storage lockers, but more importantly had renewed old friendships and established new ones. That so many people of different backgrounds had come together and made such a large project a huge success would surely have made Mr. Hamada proud.