President`s Message

Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
Volume 56, Number 5 - Febuary 2010
President’s Message
February 14, a day we traditionally celebrate with conversation
hearts, boxes of chocolates and
bouquets of flowers, will this year
be unleashing a tiger…the Year of
the Tiger! According to the Chinese
horoscope, Tigers are dynamic.
They can be dependable yet unpredictable, fearless yet tender and
loving. Tigers are extremely protective and look out for threats to children and their home. They show authority and command respect.
As we come into year 4708 in the lunar calendar, I hope
that JAO can take on some of the characteristics of the tiger. My
wish is that our event chairs can count on the dependability of our
members, yet be unpredictable and willing to try new things. Our
board should be fearless in our actions yet tender and loving in
our approach. JAO will always look out for the needs of the children we serve and the programs we sponsor will continue to command the respect of our community.
The Year of the Tiger is going to be a dynamic year for the
Japanese American Optimist club. I hope to see you all at the
Essay Contest, Girls Basketball Bingo and CYC Jamboree. Come
serve with us, make a difference in a child’s life and hear our
ROAR!
— Nikki
JAO Bingo Night Features Snack-Off
Peanut butter mochi? Red velvet cupcakes? White chocolate crunches?
The makers and bakers of such delectable post-game
snacks -- always a highlight of every JAO basketball game -- now
have a chance to compete for the too-cool title of JAO Snack
Queen (or King) of the year! A new "snack off" contest will highlight JAO Bingo Night, which is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 7 to 10
p.m. at Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Church in Little Tokyo. The annual event raises money for JAO Invitational League basketball
scholarships.
Ricksha
"It's the commissioner's excuse to try everyone's snacks,"
said JAO Basketball Commissioner Leland Lau. "Over the years, we
have been able to sample the wonderful culinary talents of the
many moms and dads in the league. Others should be able to try
them too."
Tigers coach Jeff Gin, for instance, has set a standard of
excellence with homemade cookies of every kind and recently
whipped up red velvet mini-cupcakes topped by fresh cream,
according to Lau. "He has been baking up a storm for years,"
Lau said.
OK, moms, dads and kids - the gauntlet has been thrown
down!
The first snack-off will feature sweet treats (other categories will follow in future contests). Contestants are asked to bring
a minimum two dozen pieces to Bingo Night, plus the recipe. The
recipes will be compiled in a JAO Snack Cookbook, to be sold as a
fundraiser in the future. The entries will be judged and winners
announced and crowned at Bingo Night.
In another new event, all JAO teams are invited to make a
poster of their team (no larger than 20'' by 30'' standard size
poster board) and bring it to Bingo Night for display. The poster
activity is aimed at showcasing the wonderful girl ballers in the
league and involving them in a Bingo Night activity.
And back by popular demand is the 2nd annual Pie the
Commissioner booth - your chance to get even with "Dr. No" for
turning down your special plea this year!
Indoor carnival games for kids are also planned. And Russ
Fujii and his faithful crew will be back in the kitchen offering such
fine culinary cuisine as chili rice, ramen and hot dogs. Joyce Nakashima, our resident nutritionist, will try to hide her horror at the
sodium and fat content consumed this night.
Bingo door prizes are needed! Please consider donating
something to make this night extra special: sports equipment,
movie tickets, wine or foodstuffs, gift cards, etc.
Bingo tickets are $10 each, which will cover two bingo
tickets. All JAO families are required to buy at least one ticket.
For more information, please contact Leland Lau at
lelandlau@aol.com or Teresa Watanabe at tmwat@earthlink.net.
Page 1
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
Essay Contest Judges Set
Three prominent community writers and editors have
agreed to serve as judges for the annual JAO Essay Contest.
Randy Hagihara is a senior editor for recruitment at the
Los Angeles Times. Weiko Lin is currently a screenwriting faculty
member at Northwestern University in Chicago. And Gwen
Muranaka is the English editor of the Rafu Shimpo.
The three judges will evaluate essays from local high school
students on the topic, "The Internet: Today's Evolution or Tomorrow's Threat?" The winners will be honored Wed. Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
at Taix Restaurant in Echo Park. Come on out to recognize and
celebrate the accomplishments of our youth!
JAO Celebrates Shinnenkai with a GRRROWL!
Twenty-three eager and hungry JAO members and friends
met at Cherrystones Grill and Grotto in Gardena to celebrate the
New Year with a delicious Hawaiian buffet dinner on Wednesday,
Jan. 6. They were met with a remarkable appetizer spread that
included poke and Cherrystones’ famous chili, which “hit the
spot” on that rather chilly evening.
While noshing and talking, guests and members intermingled and exchanged New Year’s greetings and spoke of future JAO
activities.
Once the dinner buffet was ready, everyone lined up to
partake of the Chinese chicken salad, kimchee, chicken, kalbi, and
the many other selections. People actually went back for second
helpings, then took take-home boxes for midnight snacks.
After each of the lucky guests won a raffle prize, they applauded owner Leonard Kim, who surprised the audience with his
amazing magic tricks. Since the evening was still young, many of
the guests also took turns at the open mike and sang a song or
two, showing off their karaoke prowess. Those who left early
missed being serenaded with karaoke sung by Cherrystones’
Leonard and JAO's Nolan Maehara, Jerry Fukui, Leiton Hashimoto
-- Shinnenkai planner extraordinaire -- and even our illustrious
president, Nikki Kodama.
Other members and friends attending included Jani
Eckstrand, Russ Fujii, Jennifer Hamabata, Gayle and Terry
Hara, Don Ikeda, Keith Inatomi, Jae Lee, Kiyo Maruyama, Kari
Miyamoto, Ed Miyashiro, Kitty Sankey, JC Smyth, Deanne Suwa,
Carolyn Taffel, Jeff Tani, Tom Yamaguchi and Eileen and Julianne
Yoshimura. (New member JC Smyth was a little late, because he
walked through the Hustler Casino on his way to Cherrystones!
Mmmm.)
JAO Roars in New Year
A loud roar could be heard coming from the back corner of
the Hong Kong Garden dining room in Gardena on Jan. 20. As JAO
members and friends fought rain and traffic to convene and get
an early start on celebrating the coming Year of the Tiger, the roar
heard was not
from the approaching tiger,
but from 14 hungry stomachs.
Before the guests
were allowed to
enjoy a dinner
of delectable
Chinese dishes,
slave driver and
JAO President
Nikki Kodama made each person “earn” their dinner by assembling Year of the Tiger picture frames. The frames, which will be
gifts to the residents of Keiro South Bay, were carefully assembled, piece by piece, under supervision from Nolan Maehara and
Terry Hara.
Dinner
definitely was
worth the hard
work and long
drive in the
rain! For the
first time in
years, Gayle
Hara and President Nikki didn’t
leave the table
hungry! Eileen Yoshimura, as event chair, ordered more than
enough food for everyone!
Potential new members Don Ikeda, Norman Arikawa and
Athena Asklipiadis left impressed by the crafty talents, knowledge
of good food and healthy appetites of the attending JAO members. Also joining in on the food and fun (and hard work!) were
Garrett Suemori, Sandy Sakamoto, Ed Miyashiro, Kari Miyamoto,
Russel Fujii, and Jerry Fukui.
Gung hay fat choy!
**Note: The other part of the “GRRROWL” will happen at the
Chinese New Year Dinner when we will herald in the Year of the
Tiger!
Page 2
Ricksha
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
Meet Kiyo: Few Words, Much Action
If you didn’t know Kiyo Maruyama before, your initial meeting with him would probably be somewhat uneventful because
“Uncle Kiyo” (as he is affectionately called by fellow JAO members) doesn’t say much. He comes across as rather tough. But if
you get to know “Uncle Kiyo” better, you will find that behind this
founding member’s tough, taciturn demeanor is a man of action.
Born August 28, 1920 in Los Angeles, Kiyo moved to Glendale at the age of 1. His mom ran a laundry business from home
and his dad was a gardener. He grew up mostly around Caucasians
in the Glendale area and was not very involved in Japanese community issues as a youth.
A formative experience took place in 1932 when he joined
the American Legion Boy Scout troop at age 12 with a couple of
his neighborhood Caucasian friends. After about six months, one
of the parents made a fuss about having a Japanese in the troop.
"They kicked me out," Kiyo ruefully recalled. "That was my
first experience with real discrimination. It left a bad taste in my
mouth."
But that wasn't Kiyo's last experience with bias. From Glendale Jr. College, he went to UC Berkeley to study civil engineering
in 1940. A day before he was set to take his final exams on Dec. 8,
1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He tried to go home but the
train company wouldn't sell him a ticket without a birth certificate
proving he was a U.S. citizen. His dad had to get a duplicate certificate from Los Angeles county and mail it to him.
In April of 1942, he was evacuated to Manzanar. He stayed
a few months, and then volunteered to work the sugar beet
fields and then attend school in Chicago to get out of the camp.
He was drafted into the Army and worked in military intelligence
at Fort Snelling in May 1945. After the Pacific War ended, he was
stationed in Tokyo with the U.S. Occupation Forces.
In early 1947, he returned to the United States. He earned
an accounting degree at the University of Southern California in
February 1950. Kiyo worked for the State of California for a few
years, and then decided to launch his own accounting business
with Bruce Kaji. The two became business partners and then
Ricksha
together started JAO with other Japanese American men. Athough
members came from throughout the region, the nucleus was Little
Tokyo.
"There was no service type organization in the Little Tokyo
area, and there was a need for one," Kiyo recalled.
An initial group of about 100 men formed JAO and other
Optimist clubs, including ones on the Westside, Crenshaw, Crescent Bay and Pasadena. The club placed its first emphasis on
youth sports programs, sponsoring basketball, baseball, crosscountry and annual swim meets. The basketball program got so
big that club members partnered with other community organizations to form the Community Youth Council, or CYC. Initially, the
programs were for boys but JAO started a girls' program some
years later.
"At the time, our kids growing up were a lot smaller. Their
opportunity to participate in high school sports was slimmer. Yet
they wanted to play," he said.
Kiyo remembers club days of drinking, socializing and a
close-knit camaradie. Club families flocked together to sponsor
the teriyaki booth at Nisei Week and the Labor Day outings with
golf, fishing and barbeque.
Club member Steve Awakuni recalls that before taking the
president’s post in 2007, he was told he would be spending lots of
money socializing with fellow members.
“I was told that when Kiyo held office he used to always
pick up the drink tab,” recalled Steve. “You couldn’t pick up the
bill fast enough because Kiyo always got to it first.”
Other members recall Kiyo as being really tough but commanding. When he spoke, everyone listened. At meetings, some
members would fool around, throwing napkins at each other. But
when Kiyo walked in the door, everyone stopped and got back to
business. Kiyo didn’t need to say a word. He was a no-nonsense
leader and got things done.
One of his crowning achievements, aside from JAO, was
founding Keiro Senior HealthCare with a handful of other men
who took out second mortgages on their homes to finance this
pioneering facility for Nikkei elders. He was recently honored with
a prominent place on Keiro’s stunning new Founders Wall.
If you’re lucky, sometimes Kiyo would show you his humorous side. He was asked to speak at the Founder’s Day luncheon
last year, but fell down a hill right before the event. When asked
how he was doing, Kiyo sternly replied, “#*&@#!! Don’t ask me
to speak again because I’ll get hurt!” As you can guess, we haven’t
asked Kiyo to speak since.
After all these years, the charter member still attends most
meetings. What joy it must bring to him to see something that he
helped form many years ago live on in the same spirit today.
"I'm just glad to see it’s continuing the way it is," he said.
"If it keeps going the way it has the first 50 years, I'll be happy."
As a man of action and few words, that means a lot to hear
Kiyo say this. We hope to continue making you happy, Uncle Kiyo!
Page 3
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
JAO Basketball Update
I love seeing the families spending their day with the kids at
the gym these past few Sundays. The girls were raring to go the
first week. We had several sudden death overtime games that
were nail-biters, to say the least. The stands were packed at
Schurr’s small gym with grandparents, parents, aunts ‘n uncles
cheering on the Midget Brass girls heaving the ball toward the
basket. My favorite play occurred when a young player grabbed
the ball as it was loose on the floor, with the instinct of a falcon
going after its prey. She lunged for the loose ball and got it. The
only problem was that she also wrapped her arms around the
opponent's leg as well. Thank goodness the ref stopped the play in
time or I would have to rename the league the WWE.
Thank you for sending in your game scores and box scores
during the past few weeks of a test run. The Rafu Shimpo is still
working on a system to get the statistics posted on its Website.
We do not yet have a launch date but will keep you posted. We
also plan to begin posting league standings on our club Website
and will alert you when that becomes available. Be sure to visit
our Website at www.jaoptimist.org to check out the latest club
happenings in our Ricksha newsletter.
Lastly, we are all so fortunate to be living in America where
we take many everyday things for granted. Though the unemployment level is high, we have a roof over our heads and the ability
to have a meal and something to drink. JAO will continue to collect your generous canned good donations and forward them to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on your behalf.
As we have seen the situation unfold in
Haiti, let us be mindful there are many
people suffering far greater than any of
us could ever imagine. Whether you donate money to the American Red Cross
or one of the other recognized charities, or donate a pair of gently
worn shoes to Sport Chalet, let us all do our part to make this
world a better place to live in.
Kids Score for Keiro
Dozens of JAO hoopsters scored from the heart for community seniors at the 6th annual Kids for Keiro Hoopshoot Jan. 24.
The event, organized by Keiro Senior HealthCare and the
JAO Invitational Girls Basketball League, aims to raise needed
funds and involve younger generations in the lives of the elders
who built their community and family foundations. The program
gives youth the opportunity to practice the Japanese values of
"keiro" (respect for elders), "kansha" (gratitude) and "okaeshi"
(giving back).
Participants secured a flat donation or monetary pledges
for every point their team scored in the Jan. 24 game. Top fundraisers will be announced and all participants recognized at the
JAO Invitational Girls Basketball Jamboree next month.
Page 4
Last year, 34 teams and more than 80 girls ages six to 14
participated in the hoopshoot, raising more than $5,000 for Keiro.
The league's top fundraiser was Lynn Takahashi, then a fifth
grader with the 98 Tigerettes team.
Keiro is the nation's largest healthcare provider serving the
Japanese American community. Since opening in 1961, its staff
has provided culturally sensitive care for more than 60,000 seniors
at four facilities: Keiro Nursing Home, South Bay Keiro Nursing
Home, Keiro Intermediate Care Facility and Keiro Retirement
Home. Through its Institute for Healthy Aging, Keiro has also
disseminated health care education to 30,000 caregivers and
59,000 baby boomers.
JAO Scholarship Applicants Sought
Applications are now available for the annual JAO basketball scholarship program.
A cumulative $2,750 in scholarships will be awarded, including the JAO Founders’ Academic Scholarship of $2,500 and a
$250 award for community service activities. The winners will be
presented their awards at the annual JAO Basketball Jamboree on
March 21 at Schurr High School.
To qualify, applicants must have played JAO girls basketball
for a minimum of four years in the midget and junior divisions and
at least two years of JAO prep basketball, excluding summer
league. A minimum 3.6 GPA is required for all academic scholarship applicants.
Applicants will be judged on the basis of excellence in basketball achievements, grades and community service. They will
also be interviewed and asked to write an essay. The topic for the
essay, which should be a minimum one page, is: “Select one of the
dozen-plus community basketball organizations and interview the
founders or their successors about the history of how and why
they started them. Write an essay expressing your reflections on
the interview and whether Asian basketball organizations are still
needed.”
The application deadline is March 1. For more information,
please contact your organizational representative.
Ask the Commissioner:
Leland Lau
Q: Does the league have a lost and
found?
A: Each scorekeeper holds on to the
jackets and miscellaneous bags that
are turned in each week and generally returns them the following week. Should valuable items, such as cell phones, purses or
wallets, or jewelry be found, the scorekeeper will notify me so
I can either pick them up or have them made available for pick
up by the owner.
Ricksha
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
More JAO Fun!
The Optimist Creed ___
Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace
of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every
person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something
in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your
optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you
are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater
achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every
living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you
have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong
for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
___The Optimist Mission
By providing hope and positive vision,
Optimists bring out the best in kids.
Ricksha
Page 5
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
District News
The Pacific Southeast District will hold its second quarter
board meeting Feb. 19-21 at the Innes Suite Hotel in Ontario. Business sessions will be held Saturday 9-12 noon and 2-4 p.m. The
Sunday brunch will feature the District Youth Appreciation event.
Hotel room rates are $85.99 + tax per night. Please call 909466-9600 for room reservations by Feb 2.
To register for the quarterly meeting, please call Russel Fujii
at 323-394-0889 by Jan. 31. You my also e-mail your quarterly
registration to Russel at rfujii1@yahoo.com.
Dinner costs $28 per person but you really should be at JAO
Bingo that night!
Our Gang
Congratulations to JAO member Nina Suzuki and her husband, Wilson Tam, on the birth of their beautiful daughter. Alison
Chie Tam was born Jan. 8 at 11:26 p.m. She weighed in at 6
pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20.5 inches. We will see Alison
in JAO basketball in about 6 years!
Calendar
February is Youth Dental Month!
JAO Essay Contest
Japanese American Optimist Club
2009-2010
Board of Directors
President:
Nikki Kodama
VP of Ways and Means:
Jerry Fukui
VP of Youth Programs:
Kitty Sankey
VP of Membership:
Eileen Yoshimura
VP of Community Relations:
Steve Awakuni
Treasurer:
Jim Christensen
Secretary:
Russ Fujii
Immediate Past President:
Keith Inatomi
Directors:
Jeff Tani
Nolan Maehara
Leiton Hashimoto
Leland Lau
Wednesday, February 3
Taix, 7 p.m.
Board meeting
Thursday, February 11,
Keiro HealthCare, Boyle Heights, 7 p.m.
JAO Girls Basketball Bingo
Saturday, February 20
Nishi, 7pm, Set up at 5:30 p.m.
OYHFS Youth Apprciation Banquet
Saturday, February 27
OYH Main Campus, 6 p.m.
CYC Jamboree
Sunday, February 28
Schurr High School, 11 a.m.
Oratorical Contest
Wednesday, March 3
Taix, 7pm
Page 6
The Ricksha is the monthly newsletter of the Japanese American
Optimist Club. Please send news, comments or suggestions to
tmwat@earthlink.net.
You may reach club president Nikki Kodama at
jao.president@gmail.com and the board of directors at
jaoptimist@yahoo.com. The club website is www.jaoptimist.org.
Thank you. Teresa Watanabe, Ricksha editor, and Linda
MacKenzie, layout & design.
Ricksha