Muriel Macfarlane Flanders was voted to Life Membership in the Outrigger Canoe Club at the Annual Meeting on February 28, 2000.
Muriel is the matriarch of the Macfarlane family and has given great service to the Outrigger. She is the grandmother, mother, mother-in-law and sister to four past Presidents of the Club:
- Grandmother to Walter Guild (OCC President 1994-1995).
- Mother of the first woman President Mary Philpotts-McGrath (OCC President 1998-1999).
- Mother-in-law to Robert “Rab” Guild (OCC President 1973-1974 and 1984-1986).
- Sister to Walter J. Macfarlane (OCC President 1937-1943), the second person to hold office the longest and who passed away during his six year tenure on June 4, 1943 in Oakland, California.
Muriel has been the cornerstone and rallying point of the Walter J. Macfarlane Memorial Canoe Races since the passing of her brother. She has contributed spiritually, emotionally and financially to the race annually. She has donated numerous perpetual trophies to help keep the history of the race and canoe paddling alive.
She is a great friend to all OCC athletes, as well as athletes statewide through her generous donations to the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation. Her contributions to the ODKF include a designated fund to insure that the Outrigger’s Walter J. Macfarlane regatta on the 4th of July each year remains the premier Hawaiian canoe regatta in the State of Hawaii.