Inaugural TK Spirit Award Recipient Announced
Submitted by Los Angeles Pink Dragons, USA.
A year ago friends of TK Kimura launched The TK Spirit Award as a way to honor our beloved friend TK who brought infectious energy and admirable qualities everywhere she traveled. Those special qualities have been the focus of the nomination process. They are: Influence - Humility - Ohana - Passion and Resilience.
We want to thank the many people across the US that took time to submit a nominee for consideration. The committee is impressed with the number of passionate people that are doing work in their own communities that mirror what TK did for the people and organizations she cared about. All the nominees are worthy of recognition and the TK Spirit Award Committee is encouraged with all the good work being done by so many in our paddling world.
We would also like to thank our judges throughout the process who reviewed the submissions. Nominations were modified to remove identifying details to be anonymous and allow for a fair and unbiased review and selection. The committee is thrilled to announce that the Inaugural TK Spirit Award is awarded to Rebekah Alenduff of Jacksonville Florida. We thank her nominator Sara Davis for bringing her accomplishments and good work to our attention.
Sara used many wonderful attributes to describe Beckah, but we’ll share just a few that we feel parallel our friend TK’s qualities:
Bekah is a paddler, coach, and founder of various paddling groups in her Jacksonville Florida community. She possesses a passion for both Dragon Boating and Outrigger. She has devoted countless hours to connect her community through paddling, especially developing opportunities for cancer patients and veterans.
She and her husband founded Get Outdoors Fitness, and as a couple, work together to promote their passion for the sport of paddling (much like TK and her soulmate Mike did in their home waters of Long Beach). Bekah was instrumental in developing an outrigger club in her community and has worked to bring paddling events to the area to provide opportunities to paddlers while at the same time raise funds to help preserve a local river they paddle in.
Sara, her nominator, also describes Bekah as:
Athletic but humble
A person who cares about how paddlers feel about themselves
A giving and selfless spirit
One who doesn’t turn down an opportunity to explore - she’s game for adventure
Sounds exactly like many would describe our TK.
The TK Spirit Award committee and her Long Beach paddling community send our congratulations to Bekah on this recognition. We also look forward to seeing both new and returning nominees when we open the process in early 2025 for the next TK Spirit award recipient.
Those that knew TK are happy to acknowledge and celebrate our dear friend TK and her positive attitude, zest for life and spreading aloha throughout our paddling community. We hope that this Spirit Award will encourage friends and even those who did not know TK, to help promote TK's legacy and her values as a central focus for our paddling community globally.
We all embrace the notion of continuing to
Paddle like TK
Live like TK, and most of all
LOVE like TK
