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Punahou Class of 1959
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Classmates in the News:
Hiram deFries (see below)
Alumni Profile:
Bob Akinaka wins the Punahou "O' in Life Award
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Robert "Bob" Akinaka
The "O" in Life Award honors an individual who exemplifies the ideals of service to Punahou and the community. Created in 1954, the "O" in Life Award is the Punahou Alumni Association's most prestigious award. The qualifications for the award are:
- Nominee must be an individual who exemplifies the ideals of service to Punahou and the community.
- Nominee must be living.
- Nominee should have attended Punahou for at least three years and preferably have graduated from Punahou at least 20 years ago.
- Nominee should be identified with continuing service to Punahou and to Hawai‘i. The awardee's service to Punahou will be given more weight.
- Nominee may not be a current PAA officer or director.
2011 Awardee
Robert Y. Akinaka ’59 - Recognizing decades of tireless support for Punahou and the Punahou Alumni Association. Akinaka was a PAA President and board member, original organizer of the Imu Gang, reunion chair, class gift chair, supporter of Punahou athletics and an Old School Awardee.
Akinaka, a professional engineer, gives his time to numerous other charities and organizations, including the Kalihi YMCA, the United Way, the University of Hawaii Engineering Alumni Association and numerous professional boards and organization.
Akinaka was awarded the 2005 Engineer of the Year by the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers and received the Fuller Award and Honorary Member status from the American Waterworks Association.
Our own Bob Akinaka was honored at the Punahou Alumni Luau this past June as this year's recipient of a Punahou "O" in Life, the highest award one can receive for continued service on behalf of Punahou School. He worked tirelessly over the years dedicating his time and resources to the betterment of the school. Bob was an admired Student/Leader/Athlete. He excelled in the classroom where he was a consistent honor roll winner. He was a student leader in various elected offices. And as a student athlete, he starred on our JV and Varsity football, basketball and baseball teams.
After Punahou Bob graduated Stanford University with a degree in engineering. He returned to the Islands and married Velma Chong, Punahou '63 . Their son son Kimo, 17. is a student at Punahou. Bob became President and COO of his father's well known engineering firm Akinaka & Associates Ltd. where he was well admired by his loyal employees and customers.
In 2002, Bob was honored at a special "Kanekapila" evening celebration on the Punahou campus sponsored by the Punahou Alumni Association for Bob's many volunteer contributions to Punahou School over the years. Fund raising, reunion activities and participation on countless committees over the years were noted by the alumni association and by Bob's grateful classmates and associates during the evening. Bob has volunteered for countless Punahou and community projects and organizations and activities over the years. He co-chaired our last six '59 reunions. And he has been a lifelong member of the "Imu Pit" Crew who labor every year to ready the kalua pua'a for each returning June Alumni Luau.
A typical quote from one of our classmates... "Bob is a quiet ,generous giant who never takes credit for things himself. He always quietly and effectively gets things done".
We will be posting more information here but wanted to get this information to our web site as soon as possible.
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For a review of Bob's past achievements, click here.-> Bob Akinaka
Alumni Profile:
Hiram Arthur Iokepa de Fries '59
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A Game Plan for Life
Football is more than a game played on Saturdays for Hiram de Fries '59. A former player and lifelong mentor and coach, de Fries has selflessly given back to the beloved sport that taught him much about life. "Everything about the game is transferable to life; especially the focus, discipline, teamwork and leadership," he said.
Discipline is something de Fries learned as a child while growing up in Kalihi and attending daily JROTC at Kamehameha School for Boys during the seventh through ninth grades. When he began at Punahou School, he continued with JROTC, but also played baseball and football, which earned him a football scholarship to Colorado State University.
Today, de Fries is an integral member of the Florida Gators football staff. As right-hand man to Gators coach Urban Meyer, de Fries uses his acquired expertise to guide players. Before joining the Gators, immediately following his retirement in April 2003 from Shell Oil Co., de Fries was invited to join Meyer at the University of Utah as an unpaid consultant. After two years, Meyer asked de Fries to help him at the University of Florida, where he has been ever since. De Fries always had a knack for coaching, having been girls soccer coach and assistant football coach at Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, Calif., for six years, then assistant football coach for 10 years at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.
With a law degree from Western State University College of Law at Fullerton in California, de Fries' careers as both a marketing executive for Shell Oil Co. and an attorney are perhaps what make him a rare gem for the Gators. De Fries knows football, but he also knows people. Maintaining a calm yet firm demeanor, de Fries gets to the bottom of whatever is on a player's mind.
De Fries is part coach and part therapist to Gators players, helping shape players into better athletes and better thinkers - on and off the field. "I work with student-athletes to assist their learning of transferable skills from football to life. It is especially rewarding whenever a player says, ‘Hey, coach. I get it,'" he said.
De Fries also helps student-athletes recognize that football is about more than just winning; it's an opportunity to find self-confidence and build problem-solving and teamwork skills. "The huddle is where the play is called, but it is really about reaffirming trust between teammates. You battle your life's challenges at the line of scrimmage. ... And there are winners and losers. Even in losses, you learn what is needed to get better. Then you learn the resolve to tough it out and develop resiliency," he said.
For de Fries, those "lessons of inclusions, respecting the diversity of others and life values learned from my family, teachers, coaches and fellow students from Punahou are still a part of my core life. Representing Punahou was an honor. It still is."
De Fries' greatest achievement, however, is the life he has created with Trudi, his wife of 46 years; their children; and their grandchildren, one of which, Alexis '11, is a student at Punahou School.
By Melissa A. Torres
Punahou Bulletin - Summer 2009
Hiram DeFries
Way to go sons and daughters of Punahou...... you make us very proud.
