SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Mike Lawson and Mark Borja learned to neversay never when a competitor's "ama" smacked Lawson upside the head,despite the length of their "iakos." That may have been theirbiggest wakeup call since their first "huli."

The two credit union technology veterans are used to technicalterms, but they had to learn a whole new lexicon when they took upthe traditional Hawaiian sport of outrigger canoe racing.

Borja, vice president of operations and consulting for CUTEK,had been racing for a while when he recruited his friend Lawson, aself-employed marketing and public relations consultant fortechnology vendors, to join in on the fun.

The two, both surfing Southern Californians, had met whileLawson worked in marketing for Symitar, where Borja was a designanalyst, among other stints. (He also had been a loan officer atthe former Kearny Mesa FCU, now First Future CU.)

The old friends began racing together in the traditionalHawaiian fashion about a year and a half ago. Now the two are avidoutrigger canoeists, putting in an average of three days a week inpractices and open-water races that can stretch from 10 to 32 milesand has taken them as far afield as Las Vegas and Hawaiiitself.

While not exactly uncharted waters, it takes a certain amount ofconfidence and faith in your teammates to paddle an outrigger canoewell out into the Pacific.

"The meat of a long race is when the margins between boats getso great that you lose sight of the other boats," Borja said. "Youjust hope your steersman knows where's going."

And at least they're not alone. Lawson said seals enjoyaccompanying the paddle and both men cite the camaraderie theyenjoy with the other humans aboard, too, along with the physicalintensity.

"Only when the waves are big do you feel a bit exposed andvulnerable," Lawson said. "But you just have faith thateverything's going to be alright, and just keep on paddling."

And for those who might doubt their sanity, Lawson commented,"Quite the opposite. This sport keeps me sane. It's such an amazingexperience being out on the ocean, getting knocked around by thewaves, checking out the sea life, paddling, and trading storieswith your teammates."

Those stories now can include the time Lawson was struck in thehead by the "ama." That's the boat's pontoon. Lawson said he andBorja had just commented the week before that they were safe fromsuch an occurrence because of the length of the outriggers (the"iakos") that connect the pontoon to the boat itself.

That observation was made when a competitor's boat flipped over(had a "huli") right next to them. The next week, on a tight turn,another competitor's boat ran over theirs on a tight turn.

"Its ama bounced off the back of our boat, over my paddlingteammates behind me and knocked me in the back of my head," Lawsonsaid. "So much for that theory."

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CUNA VP Johnson's 20-Year Wellesian Collection IncludesContracts, Letters but Not 'Rosebud'

WASHINGTON -- There's just something about Orson Welles. About20 years ago longtime film fan and book collector CUNA VicePresident of State Legislative Affairs Chris Johnson was struck byOrson Welles' films and has been expanding the Welles portion ofhis collection ever since.

"I fell into collecting Orson Welles documents quite byaccident, as a result of looking for books about him. I started tosee Welles documents for sale at auctions, and before I knew it, Iowned about a dozen."

A few standouts in his collection include the original signedcontract for Welles' role in "The Long, Hot Summer," memorandasigned by Welles that were written on stationery for MercuryTheater, his production company, that date to the time when he wasdirecting "Citizen Kane" and Johnson's personal favorite--ahandwritten letter Welles sent to Marlene Dietrich to persuade herto take a role in the movie, "Touch of Evil," that was put up forsale by Dietrich's estate.

"It is interesting because she didn't want the part so Welleshad to court her to play the small but pivotal role," said Johnson."So here is this handwritten letter that starts out "DearestMarlene" and goes on to promise her a great role "somethingentirely new and really worthwhile." He kept his word. "Touch ofEvil," the last he directed for a studio in the U.S., is consideredthe last noire film, and Dietrich played a small part in screentime but was a pivotal character in the film."

Johnson says right now his Welles document collection is kept ina box but he has plans to showcase them.

"I want to do it right," said Johnson. "For now, I pull them outfrom time to time when friends come over to watch a movie andsomehow Orson Welles comes up and they want to see it."

Johnson, who enjoys collecting books signed by their authors,also has over 100 about the Beatles and through his hobby haspersonally met such authors as Margaret Thatcher, Colin Powell,Martha Stewart (he was the only male present at her book signing),William F. Buckley, Charlton Heston, Peter Bogdanovich, GeorgeJones, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Amis and Christopher Hitchens.

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Challen Takes to Mount Kilimanjaro To Help YouthRefocus

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Obstacles come in all shapes but TimothyChallen, who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world several times, is doing his part toprove that one has the will to overcome seemingly insurmountableodds.

Challen, a business development associate with the $2.6 billionUnited Nations Federal Credit Union, was motivated to trek up the19,336-foot mountain in Tanzania after being shot in an armedrobbery in Nairobi, Kenya five years ago. He returned home toSwitzerland for surgery and after a long recovery, chose to see theunfortunate experience from another perspective rather thanbecoming bitter and fearful.

"I wanted to find out why young people get sucked into criminalactivity," Challen explained. "I felt if I did the climb, I couldraise some issues about crime. It wasn't about me being avictim."

In 2005, Challen founded the Kilimanjaro Initiative(www.kilimanjaroinitiative.org), an organization that coordinatesannual climbs up the highest mountain in Africa. Young people fromthe area are encouraged, along with representatives from the publicand private sector, to participate in the five-day ascent (threeand a half days to go up and another day and a half day back down).Funds are raised for a number of projects that promote communitydevelopment, peace missions and other efforts through the SaferCities programs in Kenya and Tanzania.

Challen said the organization has raised funds to renovate asports field in what is considered to be the largest slum insub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to bring in a number of sportsactivities to engage the kids and channel their energies intodifferent, positive ways. A youth group in Tanzania received fundsto start their own micro business. They used the money to buychairs and tents and rent them out when there are events in thearea. Others have organized crime watch patrols to deter illegalactivity.

A diverse group of 24 participated in the first climb in 2006. Arepresentative from UNICEF, CEOs and youth from some of the area'smost disadvantaged communities dropped all social, economic andreligious differences and scaled the mountain together, Challensaid. Thirty-two people climbed in 2007 and another 30 recentlyascended Kilimanjaro at the end of February. Ten days before theclimb, young men and women enroll in a 10-day training andleadership course. From there they meet up with nationals andforeigners to make the climb together.

In his calm, Swiss accent, Challen conveyed his belief that weare linked to one another regardless of our backgrounds.

"If you're going to solve a problem in the community, everyoneneeds to participate. That's what we try to reflect on the climb.We're all working together to overcome adversity."

So far the Kilimanjaro Initiative has garnered support from anumber of organizations including the United Nations HumanSettlements Program, United Nations Environment Program, UnitedNations Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General onSport for Development and Peace, International Crime Tribunal forRwanda, Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities and United NationsFCU.

"One of the satisfying things I get from the climb is when Ihear young people say if they can get to the summit, they can getanywhere," Challen said. "They feel that there is no problem thatthey couldn't overcome."

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