On Saturday, March 16, 2013 we held our Annual General Meeting in our office at the National Nikkei Heritage Centre. I am pleased to report that we had a large attendance. Our office was filled to capacity. The meeting was scheduled for two hours. With so many voices to be heard, the AGM lasted the full two hours. Several viewpoints were expressed on the past, present and future of the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens Association. We were fortunate to have present long-time active members of the Japanese-Canadian community as well as relative newcomers prepared to take an active role in the community. This mix is reflected in the list of directors who will serve on the GVJCCA Board for 2013/2014:
Gary Matson
April Shimizu
Mieko Amano
Morgan Elander
Jack Matsushita
Paul Esslinger
Gabe Nutley
May Hamanishi
Derek Iwanaka
Rutsu Shikano
Yuji Matson
Tomoko McGaughey
I want to pay special tribute to Morgan Elander. Morgan is completing his studies at UBC Law School. He will be graduating this spring. In order for law graduates to qualify to practice law they must article for one year. Articling is an apprenticeship program. Most law school graduates article at law firms. Morgan has secured articles with a very good law firm in Kamloops. He is consequently scheduled to relocate to Kamloops this August. Under these circumstances, it might have been easy for Morgan to have said that he could not continue as a GVJCCA director. But he didn’t. He has agreed to continue as an active director until he departs for Kamloops in August. This is welcome news to all his fellow directors. Morgan has been an exemplary director. His devotion to the GVJCCA was first seen in his work as a summer student, most notably helping with the Powell Street Festival. He carried on with his strong commitment to the GVJCCA when he agreed to join the Board and to accept the position of Secretary. We are lucky that he will continue to actively serve on the Board for as long as he can. I sincerely wish him all the best with his articles in Kamloops.
There will be many events to report on in the following months. One of the events to look forward to is a fundraising event with Tonari Gumi to be held on June 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm. It will be an opportunity to jointly celebrate Tonari Gumi’s 40th Anniversary and the GVJCCA’s 60th Anniversary. The venue is the Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant at 1132 East Hastings Street in Vancouver. The keynote speaker is Joy Kogawa. Joy is the celebrated author of Obasan.
I thank everyone for their support of the GVJCCA. Please keep your membership up to date. One of the benefits of membership is the home delivery of The Bulletin/Geppo. Memberships help sustain publication of this outstanding journal.
Gary Matson, President, GVJCCA
