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My late wife Jeanne and I moved from Maryland to South Kihei in 2005. Soon we began spending Friday evenings as members of Kalama Park Action Team.
We'd make a full tour of this vast park, starting from the paddle club in the south up to the northern end tennis and hoop courts, stopping off at the skate rink, the ball fields and whale in the middle across from Foodland.
We obviously didn't know it, but during that same period, Kihei's young Roman Wilson was playing his first Pop Warner football games as a Kihei Dolphin on those fields. (See The Maui News, 12/30/23)
Roman's older brother, Ro, already had been a standout for Baldwin and was 2009 Maui Interscholastic League Offensive Player of the Year.
Flash forward to 2024.
Roman Wilson is an All-American star receiver for the National Championship Michigan Wolverines. And he's preparing for two huge steps in his life: Receiving his undergraduate degree and becoming an NFL player.
Not only that, along the way, Roman has extolled his Hawaiian heritage.
Just as Maui's world championship Little League baseball players have been, Roman Wilson is a credit to our community, its coaches and families who, behind the scenes, contribute so much to this area, this county and state.
Now, I believe "we" should honor Roman Wilson.
How and when should be determined by Maui County Council and Mayor Richard Bissen. Nonetheless, it should be done.
MJ Duberstein
Kihei