<Begin Segment 3>

AT: And you mentioned kind of like, just how the time -- the historical context of the JACL is so important. So I guess my question is, at the time that you were president, or that you were engaged with JACL, what was kind of the cultural or like the environment of just the time that you were leading, and maybe some obstacles that came up or, just the kind of the historical context around what you were doing during your time in JACL?

JSG: I think it was a different time, I'd have to go back and look at history in 1992. It wasn't as... like today, I think there's really huge challenges in race and social justice, that wasn't that type of environment at the time. One of the things that I focused on -- so it's a good question to reflect on what was happening around us. So it wasn't as explosive and serious, in a sense of crisis at the time. So what I remember focusing on is, is some, -- and maybe that's my strength as a HR person, but really focus on some of the administrative things to strengthen the organization itself. So, for example, we met at the, as I mentioned, at the -- what was the Japanese language school prior to it being the J, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center. And the board of directors, they were all, I think, they were all men, Japanese men, but they really were very kind and allowed the JACL mail to come in to their facility, and they allowed us to have a big room to put all our stuff in storage. So one of the things I did is I established a post office box, that's still the same post office box we have today, because I felt that we probably shouldn't... they were very open. They didn't say, "Go get your own mailbox." But I thought that would be important to do that. And then I suggested maybe we should look for our own place as a chapter to rent, knowing that it's expensive. And we did do that for a while. And I think, I can't recall if the Board of Directors was indicating their desire for us to do that as well. But I did focus on that. And there's other things that I recall that I helped with a team of folks sponsor a series of workshops on... so really to attract people to come to events that the JACL would sponsor, but they were things such as the retirement planning, so we had a volunteer retirement planning, and that there was a diversity equity inclusion class that Mako Nakagawa taught. So we put on a series of seminars, so that's another thing that I recall doing at that time. So I think that is a good question. I get the sense, as I mentioned, that I don't think the social environment was one where it was just urgent cry for activism in that regard.

AT: So I guess from that, how would you assess like the impact of what you did in your time with leading? And, I mean, you touched on it a lot with the different -- like the PO Box and the specific materialistic things. But yeah, I guess just what, for you, I guess, what do you consider is like some of your greatest accomplishments while you were president, or even with your time now?

JSG: Good question. Yeah, one of the things that really struck me, and still does today is when I was president, at the time, I attended the JACL National Convention in Denver, Colorado, and I was amazed by the larger organization of JACL, because there's seven different district councils in the United States with many chapters within that district. So we're part of the Pacific Northwest chapter in our district, and within the Pacific Northwest districts, we have Olympia, Portland, Puyallup Valley, Seattle, Spokane. So attending that was amazing. I just saw that there were... one thing that I am proud of is there's different resolutions that come from the different chapters within the council. And I was, I remember bringing up Seattle resolution to the convention that I helped initiate, and it was about waste reduction and recycling. Because all the paper that we used at the board meetings, and I mentioned, I worked from the Department of Ecology, but environmental protection is so important. So we had a resolution that Seattle -- first the chapter adopts it, and then you bring it in front of the full national convention, and you actually vote for the resolutions. So it passed at that, at that convention. So I remember that, and that was also the convention were Lillian Kimura from the New York chapter, she won the election as the president of the National JACL. So I remember, she really spearheading women leaders that were at the convention. And that was a, just a really wonderful experience to see the strength of the organization in the United States. Most of them -- there's lots in California, I think there was a Philadelphia chapter and then New York, but most of them are on the West Coast.

And I've also been involved with the... I was the chair of the events subcommittee, we had a national convention in Bellevue, actually, in July of 2012. So that was a great event, too, have just organizing different speakers to come. And it's a challenging event. It's huge, because all of the districts and chapter members are invited. And it's done in collaboration with the National JACL banquet team. And so I think there was just recognizing that it's a large organization, many committed people throughout the country, in that July annual banquet, I remember, because we were sponsoring it. So when different chapters take turns sponsoring it, it is a pretty big event and there's a lot of work to do. I remember that the Seattle board, at the time, really said there's a regular Minoru Yasui oratorical competition, and they said, "We really need someone from Seattle to participate in that because we're sponsoring this." So I have to say my son was a really good sport and he agreed to participate in this in this oratorical contest, what they do is, in recognition of Min Yasui's work, they give you a prompting question, and then you respond to it and pretty much presenting it in whatever way you want. There's judges, it's a pretty big, big event. So I do remember that as well.

But one of the, I think, perhaps if I think about my contribution, I think it's, maybe it's studying the organization making sure that the structure of the organization is strong and really keeping the enthusiasm and just keeping the connections happening, because it really is a volunteer-run organization and it's been in place for so many years. And that is because of the people that are willing to commit their time and effort to keep the energy going, to keep the focus, and to make sure that there's someone that can help organize and facilitate the work that needs to move forward.

One other thought, Ana, too and Kyle, I think about the annual banquets that JACL Seattle has had, it's one of my fondest memories. In recent times, it's changed where we don't -- I mean, aside from COVID, I think the direction of spending lots of money on the annual banquet -- it's also fundraising event. But I recall so many events that were just huge, wonderful events, where I would look forward to that every year, an annual banquet to see friends and often they were at different hotels in Seattle, where we invite dignitaries, like the governor, the mayor of Seattle. And it's just so much fun, because part of that is the planning piece, where I just have really fond memories of being on the banquet committee. And part of the fun is just... Ayako Heard, for example, one of the longtime members, would sponsor the planning committee at our house, and we would just bring food and eat and laugh and still get work done. But it was a wonderful way to build the sense of community within the JACL. So that everyone felt we were really a great team working on very important goals, and doing it together with just such enthusiasm and connection. So I really think just the friendships that I've made and my connections with JACL still continue to today as well.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2022 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.