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EK: Thank you all for sharing your connections with Elaine. We already touched on this through our, through the... how we knew Elaine, but just, I guess, to further ease into these questions about Elaine, can anyone -- if anybody would like to talk to -- talk about what kind of presence Elaine emanated when being a room with her? And what kind of personality would you say best described Elaine? And then if you would like, just to share or note something about Elaine that is special to you. So if anyone would like to come forward with that? Yeah.

AL: I have a story. Because I think, during my time with JACL, there was a period where I think I dropped out for a while. And and I do remember Elaine and Bill kind of tag teaming and saying, "You have to come back." But, and so I'm not sure if it was Elaine or Bill or just both of them together. So they convinced me I needed to come back and help the chapter, but I kind of remember Elaine a lot in that time, because, probably because she was a female and I think I just connected with her. I think she really was -- even though my mother was, because I said my parents were involved in JACL, and so my mother was a good female role model, but I think... and I have certainly a plethora of, especially Asian role models in my life. But next to my mom, who kind of broke barriers and stuff like that, kind of like Elaine, and I think always kind of felt connected to her maybe like a, like a little sister or something. And so maybe that's how I felt like, I was just kind of, maybe I was just kind of like always watching her, I think, and always maybe paying attention to what she was saying. And I just probably internally felt a connection. And I never roomed with her though. [Laughs] I didn't go to a lot of conventions, but she did get, I think, get me involved in the convention, her last convention in Bellevue. And where I felt really -- maybe that was kind of like the culmination of my time with JACL. And even finding out later that she was actually pretty sick during the convention, she wasn't feeling that good, but she was still out there. And since I didn't know, that I probably... I think I roomed with, who did I room with? I can't remember her name now.

But I think I always remember her just being sort of the -- I could always go to her for anything JACL, of course, and because I did do a lot of things... if she -- because of her, I became the scholarship chair for a long time, and I'm not really educated, but I liked... it was really rewarding. I guess I was kind of honored that she wanted to hand it over to me because maybe she had... obviously her plate was really full. But I think I felt like, wow, she wants me to do it, like she thinks I can do it. And then I can, I knew I can always go to her for questions and things because, like I said, we used to run into each other at work, too, so it was kind of nice. And if I had a question and I happen to remember when I saw her, I'd say "Hey," and go talk to her. And so it was nice that our work paths crossed. And, but yeah, I think she was... now that I'm just thinking right now, that I think she was kind of like my older sister. Because I always wanted an older sister, and I have a younger sister. But in my work with JACL it was really, I think, super valuable to have somebody like that too. I think she really wanted to help me. And I know, because I was always raising my hand, I always wanted to do stuff, like on... but you can only do so much, obviously. But I always felt like that urge to like raise my hand. And I'm not really that kind of person, but I think maybe having her around encouraged me to be more like, wanting to contribute and be a part of the community and because I think I figured that that was my calling. And I think she was obviously a part of that, so. Yeah, just...

KY: Elaine was, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.

AL: No, that's okay. Yeah, I'm kind of done. [Laughs]

KY: [Laughs] I was going to say, Elaine was like an information database, a human computer. And an example that I'll give you is brief -- two examples -- one is she could probably name the location and year of every national convention, right? And so for a while there, we did it biannually, but if you said, "What year was it that we were in Philadelphia?" she could tell you the year. Or, if you pick the year, she could tell you where we were for that national convention. By that same token, I was often assigned to the National Resolutions Committee, and the Resolutions Committee, you have to make sure that the national council does not introduce a position or an item that is not consistent with or duplicative of a position that we had already taken. And with an organization that has such a long history, it's very easy to have issues that have come up before, been debated by either National Council, or chapters, or whatever. And, in trying to prepare for the work of these Resolution Committees, through the district office, we put together this index or database of resolutions and what the subject matter was, and what the position was of the organization and, ultimately, what the... so like with Elaine's mind, she has all this information in there, she helped organize on paper, really, an index of the policies of the national organization, just because it touched upon the volunteer work that she was doing with the Resolutions Committee. It would have been the same if she was doing it for the Credentials Committee or in terms of verifying that all of the chapters were in good standing. And they had all of the whatever pieces that they needed to remain in good standing, whether it's a chapter roster or paying their dues, or showing proof of insurance, that kind of thing. I mean, Elaine had this incredible mind in terms of being able to retain that kind of information, detailed information, and then retrieve it. That's the hard part, right? It can go in. She could pull it out of her head when you needed it. That was unique to her. [Laughs]

AL: Yeah, she was like a walking encyclopedia. But like you said, she wasn't pushy about it, she was just...

KY: Always to be helpful, yeah. It wasn't know it at all or arrogant. It was like, okay, can you tell me who the National Vice President of Public Affairs has been for the last... she probably could name them in order, just like she could the national presidents of the organization.

AL: She knew. When you're talking about that, it just makes me think of... that was her, that was her purpose in life. Totally. Oh my gosh. I mean, it's like God said, "Put Elaine in charge of..." because she was really impressive.

KY: Put her in charge of stuff you need to know. [Laughs]

AL: I mean, you could just go to her...

BT: Elaine always volunteered for any activity. And one thing that I like that I remember her is she was very process oriented and very methodical, and very prepared. And I laugh because if you ever saw the trunk of her car, it was like a mobile JACL office filled with all sorts of material and reference material. Or, if there was going to be an instant potluck, she had cups and plates and everything ready for any kind of meeting. And I just remember a lot of times, she would come into a meeting, and she would have a couple of binders, and she would put them on the table, open it up, and then start piece by piece going down every single item that needed to be organized for the event that she was planning. And she was just the model person for any event.

AO: I think about Elaine's accomplishments and one of the most significant accomplishments in my mind that she made was to give the flag -- the American flag -- that former... was he a congressman at that time? But anyway, Norm Mineta gave our chapter the flag that was flying the day that the Civil Liberties Act was signed. And that flag was still there when we were cleaning out the office. And she decided to give it to the Nisei Vets Committee. And you know that we've always had kind of a difference of opinion with the people in the Nisei Vets. And I think that one action that she took, in giving that memorable flag to the Nisei Vets, was one of the nicest things I've ever seen. And that flag still is on the wall at the Nisei Vets Committee building. And every time I see it, I think of Elaine. And I'm quite sure it was Elaine that thought of it. And I think it helped to heal some of the division between the Nisei Vets and JACL. Because we haven't always been together on issues. And the other thing that I really am glad she was able to do is to put on the national convention in Bellevue. She worked so hard to get that done. And it's some -- I remember her saying that that's something she wanted to do for a long time, and she finally did it. And she did it just so well. It was just a beautiful, well-organized convention. And she was there day and night. I remember she took a room in the hotel that the convention was being held at. But I'm glad that she was able to achieve that toward the end of her life.

EK: Wonderful. Thank you all. Elaine just seemed like an absolute powerhouse.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2022 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.