Joined OCC: March 15, 1948
Elected to Winged “O”: January 15, 1968
Al Lemes was awarded the Winged “O” with the first group of inductees in 1968. Al is a native of Honolulu, born on December 1, 1933. He attended Punahou School and the University of Hawaii. Later, he attended San Jose State College and received a degree in business.
He joined the OCC in 1948 and was active in running, paddling and volleyball. Al used to run track while at school, the 440, 880 and mile, and played defensive positions in football. He went out for the 17 and under paddling group at OCC in 1948, but the group was so large that he spent a lot of time on the beach.
Al commented that paddling success goes in cycles. After George Downing became the paddling coach around 1956, the OCC paddling team became much improved. When George left in 1960, the OCC paddling started to go downhill for 4-5 years. AI started to coach paddling in 1965. With rigorous training and much talent, the OCC team had a great year and won the Molokai race. He coached paddling for two years, then fellow Winged “O” Mark Buck took over as coach.
Al was active in paddling, running, biking, volleyball and the triathlon. He served on many committees at OCC: Canoe Racing, Water Polo, Athletic, Entertainment and Running.