NAWILIWILI — Kekaha resident Kevin Saligumba, 7, has a whole bunch of new uncles. “He calls all of them ‘uncle,’ but his favorite is Uncle Kevin (Millar),” said his mother, Cora Saligumba. She, along with his father, Frankie, were dodging
NAWILIWILI — Kekaha resident Kevin Saligumba, 7, has a whole bunch of new uncles.
“He calls all of them ‘uncle,’ but his favorite is Uncle Kevin (Millar),” said his mother, Cora Saligumba. She, along with his father, Frankie, were dodging the wind and showers that punctuated the Ace Hardware Golf Shootout, Wednesday, at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Course.
Kevin Millar was joined by Bo Jackson to form Team Baseball, one of four teams competing in a made-for-TV golf skills event sponsored by Ace Hardware and Marriott International to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.
Saligumba was selected by the network to be the “Miracle Caddy” for the athletes in the competition, according to Children’s Miracle Network Director Stacey Acma. She said she was thrilled with the selection because she nominated the Kekaha School second-grader.
“Of course, he won’t be carrying the bags of the athletes, but he will be interacting with them throughout the event and reminding them of the impact their contribution has on the millions of children who have been helped by the Children’s Miracle Network,” Acma said.
The shootout has been produced in Hawai‘i for 13 years, but Wednesday’s taping marked the first time the event has been held on Kaua‘i, according to Aubrey Hawk of Aubrey Hawk Public Relations.
Joining the Team Baseball duo in the competition were the National Football League’s Jerry Rice and Steve Young, who comprised Team Football; Rick and Jon Barry, a father-son combo, made up Team Basketball; and Dan Janzen, an Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, and Mike Eruzione, the captain of the United States national ice hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980 winter Olympics. Each athlete donated his time to help the keiki.
Kevin was born premature at Kapiolani Children’s Hospital after his mother was medevaced to the facility in March 2001, Acma said.
“He was only 18 ounces when he was born,” Frankie said. “He spent 26 months in the hospital.”
Following his birth, Kevin developed complications and spent time in Kapiolani Hospital’s neo-natal intensive care unit, Acma said. He was later moved to the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit where he celebrated his second birthday.
“When a delivery is so early, there was talk about Kevin’s survival, but there was a lot of love from his family,” Acma said. “His mother moved to O‘ahu; his father and grandma would come to visit and celebrate all the special days with him in the hospital.”
Frankie, who is employed by the Hawai‘i Air National Guard as an electronic technician at Koke‘e, said it took a lot of support from everyone.
“People gave us (plane) tickets and everyone helped,” he said. “I am thankful the Air Guard has a monthly flight to O‘ahu. That helped a lot.”
Cora, a United States Navy civil service worker, moved into the Ronald McDonald House and in the final year they had the family car shipped to O‘ahu so she could work at Pearl Harbor, Frankie said.
Kevin still visits Kapiolani every six months, his father said.
He is a happy-go-lucky kid who doesn’t let his multiple challenges stop him from making friends and enjoying life, Hawk said in an e-mail.
“He is the only Saligumba,” said Tarcela Saligumba, Kevin’s grandma, who was recently selected as the Mother of the Year by the Philippine Consulate Foundation of Hawai‘i.
Tarcela said Frankie is the third of her six children and Kevin is her only grandson that has the Saligumba name.
The shootout brings out some of the biggest names in professional sports and the entertainment industry who compete in a less familiar sport because of their love for kids and their desire to help.
“The Marriott has been helping the Children’s Miracle Network for a long time and we’re happy that we can host this event at the Kaua‘i Lagoons this time,” said Brad Snyder, general manager of the Kaua‘i Lagoons. “This is a great event even with the wind.”
As cameras whirred, the teams competed in events such as the Lagoon Challenge and the Duracell Million Dollar Shot for Kids where if the ball dropped, the player would receive $100,000 and the Children’s Miracle Network would receive $900,000.
Other events included the Short Iron Shot from the No. 17 tee box, the Bunker Challenge, Longest Drive and the Accuracy Challenge.
Tracy Byrd, who was awarded the ACM Song of the Year for “Keeper of the Stars,” was the Mulligan Player in the Duracell Million Dollar event. Byrd has personally raised more than $1 million for the Children’s Miracle Network.
Richard Karn, known for his role as Al Borland on the Home Improvement sitcom, served as co-host along with Malika Dudley, Miss Hawai‘i 2005.
Kapiolani Medical Center is Hawai‘i’s only pediatric specialty hospital and high risk maternity center with 197 beds and 90 bassinets. The facility is a tertiary care medical teaching and research facility specializing in the care and treatment of women, infants and children. The hospital serves the state and Pacific region with pediatric services for children, including intensive care for infants and children, 24-hour emergency care and pediatric air transport. It is one of 170 designated Children’s Miracle Network hospitals in North America.
The Children’s Miracle Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and improving lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals across North America.
Acma said all funds raised in Hawai‘i stay in Hawai‘i.
Other sponsors included Duracell, General Electric, Cooper Hand Tools, Irwin, Danaher Tool Group, Shur-Line, Krylon and Gator. The event will air in August on The Golf Channel.
For more information, visit www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or fujimoto@kauaipubco.com
