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 Best
Man
Jon Jeffrey
Hayward
Friend of the Groom
I have known Jon
for 18 years. The first time we met I had just taken my first
job as an inside sales exec at Savin Corporation in San
Francisco. Jon was in outside sales, selling the company's
line of "liquid toner" photocopiers. Never heard of liquid
toner? Probably for good reason. Not many businesses needed
the not-so-crisp output from what amounted to an inkjet
photocopier. At least at the time I was just selling toner,
paper and fuser oil (don't ask) to the businesses that Jon had
somehow convinced to buy the machine. Thank goodness for
office equipment leasing, right Jon? I soon moved into selling
machines with Jon in the new color copier division, where we
faced the same challenges. Needless to say, we were both not
long for this company, but that in itself was what made
working for Savin fun - it was always a challenge, one that
made both of us better salespeople. To this day we still
reminisce about what we both agree to be the most fun job
we've ever had. We've been through a lot over the past 18
years and have more memories than we would be able to recall
in any one sitting. Looking back now, I think it had more to
do with destiny than a paycheck that I started out at Savin.
Jon and I were friends for 10 minutes and have been brothers
ever since. He's the big brother I never had and one of the
most important people in my life.
Groomsman
Matthew Kanani
Alamida
Cousin of the Groom
If you've had the
pleasure of meeting Matt, then you know the meaning of the
word love. Matt exudes it. Love for his family; love for his
friends and an unmistakable love for life itself. It is a
characteristic that I remember since we were kids. I am
technically an only child, but not really. Growing up, Matt,
Keola (below) and myself spent a LOT of time together. I loved
sports so I would always have Matt running passing routes,
grabbing rebounds (pass it back) or tossing the baseball
(actually, tennis ball since you definitely didn't want to
break one of Mama and Papa's windows), kicking the soccer ball
around. You name it - Matt was up for it. He turned into a
pretty good athlete - eventually playing quarterback at
Kamehameha. He once told me after a game, "Timmy, I did that
spin move you taught me in the street and it worked!" I have
to admit, it made me smile. Not because it had worked, but
because I had shown him that move at least six years earlier
yet he still remembered it and he still wanted to credit me
for it. That's the kind of heart Matt has. I am so proud of
the man, husband and father he has become and I'm humbled to
have him as one of my groomsmen.
Groomsman
Zeke Keola
Alamida ("Bully Boy")
Cousin of the Groom
One of my other
"little brothers." Growing up Keola was by far the character
of the family. Rarely would you find him without a smile on
his face, unless you told him that he was too young to play
with you. He was always cracking some kind of joke, being a
wise-ass or generally creating mischief, usually with the
prodding of me and his brother, of course. This would normally
end up with our grandmother getting the yardstick, Keola
crying and Matt and myself laughing. I think together the
three of us raised Mama and Papa's blood pressure a couple
dozen points, easy. Heartless, I know. Hey, what can I say, we
were kids. I think what made this so compelling for us was
Keola's unshakable fearlessness and incredible determination
(and forgiveness!), despite the fact that we'd continually
send him into situations where the odds were clearly stacked
against him and certain peril awaited. Yet, Keola would come
out the other end, no worse for wear aside from maybe a few
tears. I have often thought about those days and of courage
and optimism. Life poses challenges for us all. Sometimes
things work out well and sometimes they end in tears. Little
did I know that, while I thought we were teaching Keola a
lesson, he was actually teaching us. I am sure these traits
are being passed on to his children as well. Thanks little bro
for showing me what it truly means to persevere and I'm
honored to have you as my groomsman.
Groomsman
Keefe Tankeh
Nephew of the Bride
I'm lucky to have
met Keefe when I did because I get to be there to watch his
transition from a boy to a man. I guess in a way, he'll be
there to watch mine as well. The eldest of Rosanne and Gabby's
children, Keefe is one of the most mature, well-mannered and
intelligent young men I have met in a long time. In today's
world, that is saying a LOT. Irene likes to tell me a story of
a trip she took with the family to Kauai a few years back when
Keefe was bit younger. She said that Keefe would cruise around
singing Nellie Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird" non-stop. While I
think Keefe will probably curse me for embarrassing him with
that retelling, I do believe that he is destined for great
things and I'm very happy that I'll be there to watch him
spread his wings and fly. Thank you, Keefe, for being one of
my groomsmen on this very special day. Represent!
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