Foundation seeks donations as ‘Redo the Imu’ progresses

A high-tech system from MUSCO Sports Lighting was recently installed at the “Imu.” Photo by Walter Chihara.
LAHAINA — The dream of Friday night lights and football at Lahainaluna High School continues to take shape on the historic campus, as a state-of-the-art system from MUSCO Sports Lighting has been installed at the Luna Athletic Field.
The MUSCO system includes 80-foot poles with shielded lights to be “dark sky” compliant. At the “Imu,” the company was able to engineer five poles instead of six to reduce overall costs and provide for better operational efficiency.
The system has remote monitoring that allows MUSCO representatives to monitor the lighting from the Mainland with the capability to report outages and send replacement service if needed, all within a 25-year warranty that came with the purchase.
The LHS Athletic Department will have remote access and will be able to turn the system on and off from the convenience of a phone or computer.
“Redo the Imu” progress continues with the return of Hellas Construction — the company that installed the Matrix field turf over the past year — this week to complete the installation of the rubberized track.
Once completed, the facility will be the first all-weather track in West Maui.
Friendly Island landscaping company is continuing the beautification of the stadium area with ground cover that will help with the overall appearance and stabilization of slopes and other areas.
Led by Lahainaluna High School Foundation President Rob Shelton, Executive Director Leslie Hiraga, Athletic Committee Chairman Mark Tillman and Development Coordinator Jeff Rogers, Phase II of the “Redo the Imu” project now moves forward with the effort to construct bleacher seating for 3,000, press box, concession stand, restrooms and entrance buildings.
“We’re looking to get adequate seating in place, build the facilities needed, address security issues and raise about 1.4 million dollars to bring our first night game to Lahaina in 2011,” said Tillman last week.
“We’ve gotten a lot of help and realistic proposals for future work from Northwest Electric, James Ward Construction and Jonathan Corpuz at Hawaiian Dredging. It’s been good with all of us working together to get this job done.”
Rogers added, “As you all know by now, the foundation has initiated an Internet fund-raising campaign aimed at raising money towards the cost of the permanent seats (and the other buildings) for the LHS Stadium. We could not hope to raise that kind of money through our eNews subscribers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers without utilizing the potential of networking though social media.
“Quite simply, the message we are trying to get out is, donate $5 or more and ask your family and friends to do the same. Or ask them to go to our website at www.re-dotheimu.com. and e-mail the request to your family and friends, post the message on your Facebook and Twitter page, and ask them to post as well. If every LHS alum, and all the other LHS supporters got behind this campaign, our message would circle the world. Millions of people would see the message, a significant number would visit the website, and from there, many would probably donate $5. But they won’t see the message — and they won’t give — unless we ask,” he continued.
“Sue Cooley believes so much in this project, she has donated four million dollars! Is the project worth a $5 donation to you and sending out a few e-mails?“
Learn more about “Redo the Imu” at the LHS Foundation Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the Samuel M. Kamakau Library at the top of the Lahainaluna campus.
Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., and the meeting will start at 6 p.m. Call 661-5332 or 205-8087 for more information.