Preps chief Amemiya stepping down

By Paul Honda
Honolulu Star Bulletin

Keith Amemiya, the highly innovative head of high school sports in Hawaii the past 11 years, plans to resign from his post, the Star-Bulletin has learned. His resignation as executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association would take place at the end of this school year, sources confirmed.

Amemiya declined comment.

His name surfaced earlier this year as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, but he said last month he had no plans to run.

According to a source, Amemiya wanted to step down last year, but stayed on to organize a major fundraising effort to alleviate public school sports budget problems.

For more than a decade, Amemiya, an attorney by trade, has brought new ideas and expanded the reach of high school athletics in Hawaii.

Under his watch, the HHSAA provided the spark to move athletics into a new age. From the creation of Division II at the state-tournament level to the Save Our Sports fund managed by the HHSAA — Amemiya’s ties to the business community have generated more than $1.3 million in donations since July — the highlights have been monumental