2023 USTA Hawaii Pacific: Annual Awards
The USTA Hawaii Pacific held its first Annual Awards Luncheon on November 18 which followed the Annual Meeting at the Ala Moana Hotel. The Annual Awards Luncheon recognized individuals and organizations for all they do to help support and grow the game of tennis in Hawaii. Based on the nominations that were submitted the recipients are listed below:
2023 USTA HAWAII PACIFIC: HALL OF FAME AWARDS
OUTSTANDING PLAYER AWARD: Shelby Baron
The Outstanding Player Award commemorates an individual in the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section who is recognized for outstanding competitive achievements with condiserations of sportsmanship and character.
Shelby Baron was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was a professional wheelchair tennis player and achieved a career-high world ranking of 24 in singles and 20 in doubles. Baron represented Team USA at 10 World Team Cups as well as 2 Paralympics in Rio and Tokyo. In addition, she won 4 consecutive collegiate national championships representing the University of Alabama. In 2019, Shelby received a master's degree in Speech Pathology from the University of Alabama. After she graduated, she became the assistant coach for the wheelchair tennis team where she helped coach the team to 3 additional national championships. Baron is PTR and USPTA Level 2 certified and has been coaching junior and wheelchair tennis players since 2013. She was named the PTR Wheelchair Professional of the Year in 2019. Shelby served 3 terms as a member of the USTA National Wheelchair Committee, during which became Chair of the Collegiate Subcommittee and the Net Generation Southern Wheelchair Tennis Provider. Residing in Orlando, FL Shelby is currently working for USTA Player Development as a coordinator for Player & Coach Services.
OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Mimi Kennell
The community service award commemorates an individual in the USTa Hawaii pacific section who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to the promotion of grassroots community tennis over a period of time.
Mimi Kennell has an extensive background as a player, coach and teacher. She was born and raised in Taiwan and was the #1 junior player and the #3 open player in her country. Prior to her collegiate career, Mimi played on the WTA tour. Mimi went on to play for BYU Hawaii and was part of the NCAA II National Championship team in 1997. Mimi coached at Kamehameha Schools, Iolani School, and at the Pearl Harbor Tennis Club. She earned a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education from Chaminade University.
Mimi started as the Director of Junior Tennis for USTA Hawaii Pacific in 2006 and served in this position for 16 years. She conducted hundreds of junior tennis tournaments, organized Junior Team Tennis and organized dozens of Competitive Training Centers and Early Development Camps. She was also a Play & Learn coach, and she introduced hundreds of kids to tennis in a fun and enjoyable way. She also coached world class wheelchair tennis player, Shelby Baron, until Shelby left to play for the University of Alabama. She changed many lives through tennis, and she greatly improved Hawaii junior tennis. She was loved and respected by the tennis community. Mimi, sadly, passed away from a rare form of cancer in 2022.
OUTSTANDING FACILITY AND TEACHING PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
OUTSTANDING FACILITY AWARD: Kailua Racquet Club
The Outstanding Facility of the Year Award recognizes a tennis facility for the overall layout, adaptation to the site, quality of the court surface, lighting and accommodations for players and spectators. An important consideration are the programs, open to the public, to include USTA sanctioned events and other programs designed to grow tennis participation.
OUTSTANDING TEACHING PROFESSIONAL AWARD:
Hendrik Bode
The Outstanding Teaching Professional / Coach of the Year Award recognizes a teaching professional or tennis coach who has achieved teaching and coaching excellence and who has dedicated many years to helping to grow tennis participation. Important considerations include running USTA and other tennis tournaments and events and overall community service.
The Kailua Racquet Club (KRC) was founded in 1938 and is one of the oldest and largest tennis clubs in the State of Hawaii. KRC has 9 hard courts (5 lit for night play), a saltwater pool, a cafe & bar and a pro shop. KRC prides itself on its excellent teaching staff and tennis academy for juniors and adults.
KRC hosts a number of USTA Leagues and Junior Team Tennis teams. In addition, KRC has been the home of the Hawaii Pacific University men's and women's tennis teams. In 2023 KRC hosted Kailua Night Doubles for men, women and a mixed division. This is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious tournaments in Hawaii. This year KRC donated a portion of the income from Kailua Night Doubles to the Maui Food Bank and the Keep Maui Strong Fund to support a community devasted by the Maui Wildfires.
Hendrik Bode is in his tenth season as the head men's tennis coach at his alma mater, HPU. He led the Sharks to an overall record of 149-43 (.776) and to HPU's first ever men's tennis national championship with the 2016 NCAA Division II Championship. He is a five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year and was honored in 2015 as the ITA Division II coach of the Year. He's been named the ITA's Division II West Region Coach of the Year four times.
In addition to his coaching duties at HPU, Hendrik and his men's team have contributed a great deal to the tennis community by volunteering in a number of ways. Hendrik is the Chair of the USTA Hawaii Pacific Coaches Commission, a USTA Hawaii Pacific High-Performance Coach and an experienced Tournament Director. He has also run a number of UTR tournaments for youth and adults. His HPU tennis team has volunteered many times at Youth Day at the Capital and as JTT coaches in 2023.
This year was also the first year to recognize our volunteers who have provided many years of service with an “Outstanding Volunteer Years of Service” award. These individuals have served 5-20 years on the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section board, a Section Committee, a Community Tennis Organization board or Community Tennis Organization committee. The following individuals received awards:
2023 YEARS OF SERVICE AWARDS
5 Years 10 Years 15 Years 20 Years
Dave Andrews (Oahu) Donna Ede (Oahu) Nancy Kelly (E. Hawaii) Walter Wong (Oahu)
Bruce Nagel (Oahu) Lily Acoba (W. Hawaii) Andrea Ueno (E. Hawaii) Sheri Kinoshita (E. Hawaii)
Mike Yani (Oahu) Nick Yamasaki (W. Hawaii) Keely Rochon (W. Hawaii) Jane Sakakihara (Maui)
Dave Okamura (E. Hawaii) Jane Iida (E. Hawaii) Cathy Nicoloff (Maui) Clarita Balala (Maui)
Kira Ma’e (E. Hawaii) Shari Fujita (Oahu) Russell Lum (Oahu)
Diane Noda (E. Hawaii) Kris Oyama (Maui)
Lori Nekoba (E. Hawaii)
BOARD MEMBERS RECEIVED 5-20 YEARS OF SERVICE AWARD
FRONT ROW: NANCY KELLY, BRUCE NAGEL, KRIS OYAMA, DONNA EDE
BACK ROW: RUSSELL LUM, WALTER WONG, NICK YAMASAKI, DAVE ANDREWS, MIKE YANI