<Begin Segment 6>

EK: I know -- moving on to the next question -- I know that you briefly mentioned that you were the second VP of the JACL at some point. I'm not sure, I'm not sure if the site was updated, but it still says that you are.

TB: It's super not updated, but, yeah, I'm still the second VP.

EK: Okay, perfect. As the second VP, I was wondering, what do you believe your purpose is in completing this responsibility and serving this role? And what would you like to achieve, and hope to achieve? And, as an executive member -- sorry, this is just like, I'm just coming at you with questions, I can stop and ask you them separately.

TB: Absolutely.

EK: I guess then I'll just stop for now so you can take a breath and actually process those questions. But I guess what you're, like, the role of second VP means to you, and what you hope to achieve while being in that role.

TB: Thank you, thank you. And, again, feel free to stop me at any time if you have a supplemental question or something. But definitely another really powerful question. These are like, board retreat, like eight hour discussion time questions. So this is really, really good.

EK: Sorry. [Laughs]

TB: No, not at all. It's a big one though. I, okay. This is a bit of a cop out, but I really see my second VP position, which I think formally is like external relations or VP of... it's essentially very similar to me as my membership chair role in which I see a big part of my responsibility is in making sure that not just the board, but our entire chapter, our entire membership is not only engaged, but has opportunities to engage with us too. Because we can't just see ourselves as some political party making decisions and people donate to support us. We really do need to have ways and a pipeline for young people, all people, to get involved with the organization. And so getting back into like the e-newsletter, getting back into helping craft statements or put out action releases, that's a big part of kind of how I see my responsibility there. As a board member, it's my responsibility to take part in every meeting and help the decision making. I feel like there's been so many pivotal moments, and just being present is just really key for our success as an organization. I do believe there was one other part of your question I might have left off.

EK: So, as an executive member of the board -- this is a very, also a very broad question, so I'm sorry, but what does the Seattle JACL chapter mean to you?

TB: Okay, yeah, there's kind of two ways. It's hard to decouple the people from the role and over these years, I mean, I've gotten to know some really incredible people, excuse me, really incredible people on the board. I feel sad that -- this kind of ties in with the multi-generationality that you brought up earlier -- but one of the board members I was close with passed away earlier around this year, Kiku. We'd hang and we'd go to thrift shops together. Yeah, she was so sweet, she was really sweet to me. So the Seattle JACL to me, as in many ways, felt like surrogate family, being here in Seattle community and kind of like the rawest closest form, and people that are there looking out for me. But I think that, also, it's a source of passion and commitment. When, at days, I just want to kind of curl up and let the world be outside me, it's another way to understand that, no, I'm part of something. It's not just, it's not just work. It's not just something I do, it's like a part of who I am. And so Seattle JACL, it's a big part of my identity.

EK: Awesome, perfect. Those are really big questions, so thank you for answering them.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2021 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.