MEDIA RELEASE

At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, Regional Vice President Hawaii and General Manager Chris Luedi along with Executive Chef Hubert Des Marais of The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii will donate gently used adidas workout gear and running shoes to members of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School’s cross country team during its afternoon practice.

Luedi will then run with the team, followed by a healthy snack prepared by Des Marais.

“When we switched brands of athletic gear we provide to our Fairmont President’s Club members, we had a surplus of gently used athletic tops, shorts and shoes” said Luedi, a competitive runner himself since the age of 13. “We immediately began searching for an organization that might benefit from these items, and when we learned that many members of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School’s cross country program didn’t have good running shoes of their own, it seemed like the perfect fit. We were also pleased to hear that this gear will be available to the additional after school sports the school offers.”

“Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is committed to providing healthy, sustainable, locally grown cuisine. So, we decided to create a delicious snack for the students to enjoy after what is sure to be a very invigorating practice, especially for our general manager,” Des Marais said.

“We are extremely grateful for this generous donation from The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii and know that these items will be put to good use both for the cross country team and other after school sports as well.” said Matt Horne, principal of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School, who is also a casual runner.

Waimea Middle is the state’s first public conversion charter school under Act 2/2002. The school requires all 280 students to participate in daily Physical Education and Health classes.

In addition, working in partnership with the County Department of Parks & Recreation as well as faculty, family and community volunteers, the school offers a variety of free after-hours programs and more than 100 of its 6th-8th graders participate in cross country, volleyball, basketball and/or track.

Students participate in cross country meets across the island and will host their own annual Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29. Heading up the athletics program is the school’s head custodian Warren Tamaye.

The school’s simple cross country track includes several loops around campus and concludes with a swing to the south of campus past the school’s bountiful Mala’ai garden, a ¾-acre organic learning garden where students grow more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce each year, connecting hands-on life skills with science, math and environmental and cultural stewardship, and then out across what is fairly rugged former Parker Ranch pasture land.