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LifeMembership A Life Membership, reserved for members who have made extraordinary contributions to the Club over the lifetime of their membership, is the highest honor that can be bestowed on an Outrigger Canoe Club member. The Historical Committee puts forward candidates to the Board of Directors, which then presents its recommendations to the Membership at the Annual Meeting for voting. Fred Hemmings Jr.
the world in 1966 and 1967. Fredwas also an incredible paddler for Outrigger, steering and paddling crew after crew to victory. He served as captain of both record-breakingMolokai crews in 1968 and 1975, as well as Club Captain in 1975. He ran a very impressive 3:41 time for the OCCMarathon team, won a handful of Club Surfing Championships andwas known for being as hard as nails when he played for the Outrigger in the rugged touch football league. No one doubts Fred’s athletic abilities, but he was awarded theWinged “O” in 1968 based onmuchmore than just his athletic accomplishments. Throughout the years, Fred has served the Outrigger as a committee member, coach, Club Captain, twice as amember of the Board of Directors, and as a Trustee of the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation in 1990 and 1991. Over the years, Fred hasmet every challenge in athlet- ics, business, politics, and community involvement. This year, we recognize him for his exceptional dedication to the principles andmission of the Outrigger Canoe Club.
➳ Fred Hemmings Jr. has been a long-timemember of the Club, becoming amember at age 10, when the “old Club” was located in its original site inWaikīkī. He fondly recalls learning to canoe surf and steer in the Lio Kai, a little three-man koa canoe. He started surfing around the same time, andwould soon prove to be an excellent athlete on the water, as well as on land. Considered one of themost accomplished big wave surfers of all time, Fred had a successful career in profes- sional surfing throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1958, when he was 12 years old, Fred entered the Makaha International Surfing Championships for the first time and finished third place in the Junior Men’s Di- vision. He went on to return in ‘62 and ’63, and won first place both years. In 1964 and 1966, he came in first place in the Senior Division. Fred entered theWorld Surfing Championships in 1965, finishing in fifth place, and in 1968, he took home the crown. As a young surfer, Fred became a member of Duke Kahanamoku’s Surf Team and eventually accompanied Duke on goodwill tours around
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