Friends, family and members of the community gathered this past weekend to remember Greg Cameron with a golf tournament at Hapuna Prince Golf Course on Saturday, followed by the fourth annual Firemen’s Fund Biathlon on Sunday at the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area.
Both events celebrated the life of Cameron, a firefighter, paramedic and fire-rescue specialist who passed away in 2012 after an extended bout with cancer. The events also served as a fundraiser for the Greg Cameron Firemen’s Fund, which provides financial support to Hawaii Fire Department employees who face injury or prolonged illness.
“When Greg got sick, all his fellow firefighters jumped in and sacrificed their vacation days and did fundraisers to help offset his travel expenses for treatments. The community also poured in support, and really supported Greg’s family,” Greg Cameron’s brother Brad Cameron said. “To be able to do the same thing for the broader community is great and makes everyone feel good.”
Hapuna Beach holds a very special place in the hearts of Greg Cameron’s family members, who spent a lot of time at the beach growing up.
“We all grew up over here and Hapuna is our favorite place on the island,” Brad Cameron said. “Our brother saved many lives on the coast. When he passed away we thought this would be the perfect place to set up the foundation he envisioned.”
Saturday’s golf outing and especially Sunday’s biathlon, which featured a grueling one-mile run on the soft sand, really captured the spirit of Greg Cameron, who his brother said had a reputation of being a hard worker and being fearless.
“Greg loved big surf and dangerous, crazy situations,” Brad Cameron said. “That legacy lives on, which was the intent by his friends, family and the members of the fire department when these events were put together. We wanted to build something good out of losing Greg.”
As for Sunday’s biathlon, the leaders were no strangers to the Big Island race scene. Kealakekua’s David Wild dominated the field, finishing the quarter-mile swim and one-mile run in a blistering pace of of 10 minutes and 54 seconds. For Wild, who has raced on the sands of Hapuna for three straight year, the win was a memorable one.
“This was the first race I ever did on the Big Island,” Wild said. “I was able to meet a lot of awesome people in that first race, including the Cameron family. It was this race that allowed me to be welcomed into the ohana here. I am really excited about the win.”
Bree Wee was the first female and second overall athlete to cross the finish line with a time of 11:38. Wee, who recently retired as a professional athlete, was able to compete in the race for the first time and she did not hold back her feelings of running on the sand.
“It was really hard, I’m not going to lie,” Wee said.
However, she was happy to finally be able to compete this year.
“I knew Greg because I got into triathlon when he was phasing out and he was kind of a mentor,” Wee said. “He was also very good to the community.”
Several keiki races were also held before the start of the biathlon, which were put on by LavaKids. Competing in a shorter, modified version of the main race, Ethan Cameron placed first overall with a time of 5:37. Tiffany Ravaglia was the top female competitor with a time of 5:53.
For Greg Cameron Firemen’s Fund executive director Grant Kojima, the biathlon blends perfectly the athletic nature needed to draw a good crowd along with the support of a good cause.
“We hope this event brings a sense of friendly competition, while also providing training because, though it is a short race, it does have a very difficult element of running on the sand,” Kojima said. “There is also a sense of coming together for the greater good of people in need.”
