Uncle Santa Sam

I am home in B.C for the holidays and I received a call from Hawaii on Wednesday that made my day. Uncle ‘Santa’ Sam called to tell me my article about him in Makai Ocean Lifestyle Magazine was published. He was getting calls from people seeing his face on the cover and telling him how much they liked it. Most importantly, I am happy that Sam loves it. I could hear him smiling through the phone as he described each page to me, since I haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully it will be available online soon so I can post it.

I met Sam through a surf mentorship program I participated in last year that pairs at-risk youth with a positive mentor. Sam is the program manager and head surf instructor. He was born and raised in Hawaii, but oddly enough, he spent many years in Kelowna, B.C in the 70’s. Of course I had to work that into my story somehow because the idea of this Hawaiian waterman working in the bush in Kelowna still makes me laugh. It ended up being in Canada that Sam began his career in social services. The article is a brief profile of his life and work which he dedicates to helping others. He thanked me for writing it and I told him I was grateful to be the one to share his story. He truly has a special gift. He is the Hawaiian Santa Claus after all.