President`s Message

Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
Volume 56, Number 1 - October 2009
President’s Message
Hello, Optimists! I can't start
this off without thanking NJ Nakamura, Steve Awakuni and all who
made the JAO installation lunch
such a glamorous and memorable
event. What a great way to start off
the year. And I never knew that the
spelling of my name would make
such a catchy tune. If you weren't
there, check us out on You-Tube.
Thank you everyone who made it out!
This year is starting off with a bang! Our last general meeting
and new member recruitment saw 10 potential members in attendance. Not only were they eager to learn more about JAO, but all
us Optimists were excited about what great additions to this club
they might be. I think increasing our membership will help energize us for the year. We need new blood and new ideas! So please
continue to invite any family, friends, and coworkers to our events
throughout the year. You never know what they can bring to the
club and what the club can do for them. According to Marty Ono,
club membership can turn your social life around and find you a
hot wife! Thanks to Joyce, Eileen, and Marty for a great event.
The first meeting for our new administration is Youth
Appreciation. Anyone who's been to Youth Appreciation can tell
you that it is our club's most inspirational event of the year. So
please come! Be part of our JAO cheering crowd as we honor
some special kids and remind them of the potential they possess.
As much as the meeting means to me, it means even more to
these Optimist Youth Home residents, so be there to show them
that JAO cares! See you on the 7th!
— Nikki
JAO To Honor Five Youth
Five young people who have turned their lives around
through the Optimist Youth Home and Family Services program
will be honored Wednesday, Oct. 7 at JAO's annual Youth Appreciation Night.
The event gives club members a chance to meet youth who
have learned to confront life's challenges and hear their inspiring
stories of how they improved themselves. Last year, for instance,
Ricksha
one youth shared how the Optimist Youth Home experience
helped her transform herself from a troubled teen to a straight-A
student enjoying a renewed relationship with her mother.
For many of the honorees, the event marks the first time they
have ever received an award.
The Optimist youth agency is one of the oldest and largest
child welfare agencies in Southern California, serving 500 at-risk
youth daily at 14 locations. For the last 12 years, JAO and its
members have contributed more than $1,000 to the agency as
part of the Optimist annual donation of $100,000 from 140 clubs
in the Pacific Southwest and Southeast Districts. Although the
majority of the children and families served by the Optimist youth
agency are Latino and African American, JAO’s assistance reflects
a broadening of its charitable efforts beyond the Japanese American community.
"The more members who come, the more love these kids
will feel," said JAO president Nikki Kodama. " You will be inspired
when you hear their stories. So don't miss it!"
The dinner will be held at Taix French Restaurant, 1911 West
Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. For more information, contact Nikki
Kodama at nikkik18@yahoo.com or Kitty Sankey at
kitty_sankey@hotmail.com
District Board to Meet in Oxnard
The First Quarterly District board meeting will be held
from October 9-11 in Oxnard. Early registration has closed, but
anyone wishing to attend may still do so. The first General
Business Session is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.,
followed by a lunch break. The afternoon session is scheduled to
run from about 1:30 p.m. to 4 or 4:30 p.m. The board is expected
to approve the budget and bylaw amendments, as well as any
operational changes for the year
The club will pay for registration and Sunday brunch but
reservations must be made by Russel Fujii. The installation of
officers will take place at dinner Sunday. Cost of dinner is $28.
The meeting will take place at Hampton Inn/Casa Sirena
in Channel Island Harbor, 805-985-1100. For more information,
contact Russ at rfujii1@yahoo.com or (323) 394-0889.
Page 1
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
Farewell to Keith!
Keith Inatomi, the only JAO
president ever to serve two terms,
stepped down from his post last
month after ushering in a leadership
transition from older members to
newer ones.
Asked to reflect on his year,
Keith said he viewed himself as a
bridge that helped the club cross
into a new era of empowerment for
newer members, as he said occurs every decade or two. Several
new members served on his board, including directors Joyce
Nakashima and Duane Oshita.
"This year, the best part was having a lot of newer members
take leadership roles," he said.
Keith said one of the highlights of his term was bringing in
more kids than ever to participate in the club's annual Halloween
and Christmas parties. More than 120 children from two innercity elementary schools attended each of the annual parties, the
highest number in several years, he said.
Keith also said the club initiated some new events, including
a dinner to honor an outstanding foster family for the first time.
The event was organized by Leland Lau, an officer with the Optimist Youth Home and Family Services program, which serves 500
at-risk youth daily at 14 locations.
Those highlights capped a year that also included the club's
traditional events, including JAO basketball Bingo Night and endof-season Jamboree, the summer Luau, a pancake breakfast for
Little Tokyo seniors and Chibi-K runners, youth essay and oratorical contests, appreciation nights for youth and teachers from the
Optimist Youth Home and Family Services program, a pen-pal
program and other activities.
As immediate past president, Keith will remain a board
member for the 2009-2010 year.
Thanks to Keith for his outstanding service!
Meet Nikki: JAO’s First Woman President
She was her high school valedictorian who now designs
hardware for defense aircraft. She was a Nisei Week queen and
Miss Optimist. And now Nikki Kodama has made history as the
first woman president of the Japanese American Optimist Club.
Nikki was installed as the club's new leader at a glamorous
bash at the Hollywood Museum Sept. 19. The event, chaired by
N.J. Nakamura, featured actress Tamlyn Tomita as emcee. The
ever-talented Helen Ota created a hilarious musical paean to
Nikki, "She is Nikki," extolling her talents. On stage, budding
chorus gals Joyce Nakashima, Kitty Sankey and Eileen Yoshimura
flipped flashcards spelling out Nikki's name while Tamlyn and
Traci Murase danced to the beat and acted out the lyrics. NJ
swayed in the background and handed out props.
Page 2
In an interview with the Ricksha, Nikki said her main goals
as president would be to increase membership and member participation, raise community awareness about club activities
through broader outreach and set up a system to record how
events are planned and executed so they can be more easily duplicated in the future. She said she also hoped to develop more
lasting youth programs, in addition to the club's one-day events,
such as Halloween and Christmas parties.
As a "dorky engineer," Nikki said she and her new board
would aim to set measurable goals for the year. One, for instance, might be to increase membership by 25 people to win a
"Distinguished Club" designation from Optimists International.
The club has much to offer potential new members, she said,
including service opportunities with both youth and seniors,
networking with members in law, education, accounting, nutrition, journalism and other fields, and a strong support system
of friends.
"We do concentrate a lot on the bonds of friendship," she
said.
A Bellflower native, Nikki grew up in Hacienda Heights and
Redondo Beach. She is a graduate of Los Altos High School and
UCLA, where she earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering in
2001. She currently works at Northrop Grumman as a fuel and
hydraulic system engineer, working mainly on the F-18 Super
Hornet program.
Community service is her passion. She was crowned Nisei
Week queen in 2004 and is now vice-president of the Nisei Week
Foundation. She is also co-chair of the Nisei Week Queen and
Court training program, which teaches the young women traditional Japanese arts, such as ikebana, along with public speaking,
walking in a kimono, bowing properly, walking in heels and other
court survival skills.
The Nisei Week experience first exposed Nikki to JAO, when
she came out with her court for the club's programs, including
Halloween and Christmas parties for underserved youth.
"I'm a total sucker for charity work, kids and animals," she
said with a laugh. "That's pretty much why I'm here."
And if all of that weren't enough, Nikki also teaches Sunday
school and serves on the advisory board of the Los Altos Academy of Engineering, an engineering vocational program. She and
her chow chow mutt, Miya, live in Gardena.
"I always need to fill my schedule with things I feel are
worthwhile," she said. "If you're not involved in community work,
who will be?"
Ricksha
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
JAO Attracts 10 Potential New Members
Lured by friendship, fun and the chance for community
service, 10 potential new members attended JAO's first annual
new member recruitment and appreciation meeting Sept. 16.
The recruitment meeting, chaired by Joyce Nakashima, drew
potential members from diverse walks of life, including hotel management, dentistry, graphic art, real-estate, computer programming and exhibition design. They included Linda MacKenzie, a Los
Angeles graphic designer, and her 12-year-old daughter
MacKenzie, who has played JAO basketball since 2nd grade.
"What better way to honor my Japanese heritage and show
my humble gratitude for the successes in my life? Being a member
of JAO will allow me to do both, as well as help lay the groundwork for youth, like my daughter, to step in and carry on the
legacy of JAO," Linda said.
Linda has already jumped in feet first, volunteering to design
and lay out the Ricksha newsletter.
The dinner meeting, held at Taix Restaurant on Sunset Blvd.,
featured a heartfelt talk about the history of JAO by Marty Ono,
a 45-year member. Marty explained that the club was founded
in 1954 by a group of Little Tokyo businessmen who wanted to
establish sports programs for community youth too small to compete at their public schools. Early on, JAO ran basketball and baseball leagues, held swimming meets, cross-country runs and marathons. The club was also founded to support community events,
such as Nisei Week, and serve seniors; several JAO founding members also established Keiro Senior HealthCare. Marty drew laughs
by describing how the club brought
friendship and eventually love to himself, a self-described "dateless wonder"
who met his wife, Faith, at a JAO Open
House.
President Nikki Kodama shared
her vision for the club this year, outlining her goals to increase membership
and member participation. After that,
the group enjoyed JAO Jeopardy, where
members competed against each
other on factoids about JAO and Optimist International history and events.
Who was the only person to serve two
terms as JAO president? You guessed it:
Keith Inatomi! Members Marty and Kiyo
Maruyama carried the ball on the history
topics, while Russ Fujii revealed his hidden knowledge of Optimist International facts.
Newest member Nina Suzuki
was also inducted and recognized for
her participation in JAO events this
year. Prizes were given to the JAO
Jeopardy winners and the potential
new members.
Ricksha
"We're trying to build up the club and bring in new blood
and new ideas," said Eileen Yoshimura, vice-president of membership. "We thought the new member recruitment meeting would
be a good chance to bring in potential members to learn about
the club and see how great we are," she added with a laugh.
Thanks to all members who attended and brought potential
members! We have 5 commitments so far and counting!
Club Dues to Rise
Annual dues to Optimist International will rise by $10 beginning October 1, under a proposal approved by delegates to the
International Convention in Florida in July. The increase will raise
quarterly dues to $42.50 from the current $40.
International Audit & Finance Committee Chair Mike Allen
told delegates that the dues increase, along with membership
growth, were essential to pull the organization out of what he
called "serious financial crisis."
Allen appealed to delegates to help the organization launch
an active drive to build membership and start new Optimist chapters. For every loss of 1% in membership, he said, the organization
loses roughly $50,000 in revenue.
"Without membership growth, we will ultimately be closing
our doors in the future and ending the services we provide to hundreds of thousands of kids," he said.
Every year, Optimist members in more than 3,000 clubs
around the world conduct 65,000 service projects and serve more
than six million young people.
Allen's full presentation is available on the OI Website at
www.optimist.org
Installation News
The Gardena Evening Optimist Club (GEO) recently installed
as president Jeanette Mena, a retired Los Angeles county deputy
sheriff. She is the second woman to head GEO.
JAO President Keith Inatomi, President-Elect Nikki Kodama
and Immediate Past President Steve Awakuni attended the installation on our club's behalf. The buffet dinner was held at the
Proud Bird Restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport.
The Bella Vista Optimist Club has re-elected Mitch Sakado
as president.
At the Suburban Optimist Club, Gary Fukushima will serve
a second term as president.
JAO member Nolan Maehara attended the Honolulu Optimist Club's installation on behalf of our club.
Page 3
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
JAO Basketball Confronts Rising Costs
In the first basketball meeting of the 2010 winter season,
JAO Basketball Commissioner Leland Lau laid out the league's
rising financial challenges as schools increase gym fees.
"I'm really concerned about the costs," Leland told representatives from a dozen basketball organizations at the Sept. 21
meeting at Keiro Senior HealthCare. "They are going up, up, up."
With league fees approaching $1,000 for a 10-week season,
Leland and the representatives discussed ways to cut costs and
keep the fees down. Some ideas included reducing the season to
eight weeks, eliminating end-of-season t-shirts and trophies. The
“I’m really concerned about the costs,…..
…..They are going up, up, up.”
idea of holding a second bingo night to raise funds was also
discussed. Representatives attended from the Pasadena Bruins,
Hollywood Dodgers, Evergreen, Jetts, Mustangs, Saberettes, San
Fernando JACC, South Bay FOR, Tigers, Venice, Wanjettes and
West Los Angeles organizations.
Later, the commissioner explained that usage fees have
increased at most sites, while the league lost access to other, less
expensive gyms because the schools that own them have closed
their campuses to outside groups. But he said the club's Invitational Girls Basketball League, now in its 4th decade, was on track
for another great season and would attempt to keep league fees
as close as possible to last year's $800.
"The league is fine; the issue is gym fees," he said. "We look
forward to another successful season of JAO basketball. Even in
these tough economic times, the league will continue to provide
wonderful opportunities for all girls in the community to learn the
game of basketball with their friends and families."
Page 4
“Ask the Commissioner" Night Planned
So you want to know
more about upcoming
winter league fees for
the JAO Invitational Girls
Basketball program?
Learn the ins and outs
of JAO rules for team
formation? Hear an overview of how the basketball league is run? JAO
Basketball Commissioner Leland Lau is game to entertain all
questions from the community and even attempt to give
straight answers to most of them. He will hold an "Ask the
Commissioner" Night on October 26 at 7:45 p.m. at Keiro
Senior HealthCare, 325 S. Boyle Avenue in Los Angeles.
All he asks in return is some warm tamales from Lilianas,
a large cup of strong coffee or some chocolate brownies.
Calling All Kids for Keiro!
Love to make crafts? Happy to brighten the holidays for
seniors at Keiro? Enjoy hanging out with friends from JAO basketball? Then "Kids for Keiro" holiday workshop is just for you!
The annual holiday crafts workshop, presented by JAO Invitational Girls Basketball League and Keiro Senior HealthCare, is
scheduled for Veteran's Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m. at Keiro Activity Center Auditorium, 325 S. Boyle Avenue
in Los Angeles. Keiro volunteers will work with JAO children to
make crafts for Keiro seniors. The activity can help fulfill the basketball league's requirement for three hours of community service. All participants will be awarded community service
certificates.
Participation is limited to the first 50 registrants. Preenrollment is required by November 4.
Light refreshments will be served.
To enroll in the craft workshop or inquire about other volunteer opportunities, please ask your team representative to contact
Yumi Yuge, Keiro activities manager, at 323-980-7534 or
yyuge@keiro.org
Ricksha
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
JAO Halloween Party Planned
Ghouls and boys, get ready for JAO's annual Halloween Party
on Saturday, October 31!
The party, one of the funnest events of the year, is thrown
on behalf of more than 150 little witches, goblins, princesses,
skeletons, cowboys and other Halloween characters from Los
Angeles Elementary and other area schools. It will feature carnival
games, a costume contest, entertainment, a hot dog lunch and
other surprises.
Stay tuned for more details!
Ricksha Goes Electronic!
The Ricksha will begin
to be emailed out to
members under a new
initiative to conserve
resources and extend
the club's reach to
broader audiences.
The newsletter will also
begin to be posted on
the club's Website in pdf
form.
The October issue will
debut the newsletter's
elegant redesign by
Linda MacKenzie, a freelance graphic designer and potential new
member.
The newsletter will still be mailed out to members who prefer
a printed version. Club president Nikki Kodama is currently canvassing members for their preference.
All news, suggestions and story ideas are welcome! Please
contact Ricksha editor Teresa Watanabe at tmwat@earthlink.net.
Our Gang
Congratulations to Diane Tanaka, who delivered a beautiful baby.
Kristi Higa just got married. Jena Iwata also got married. Terry
Hara is running for LAPD Chief. Yato Tamura is going to be Nisei
Week Foundation President. And Helen Ota's new project, "Songs
for a New World," is scheduled to run Friday, Saturday and Sundays from October 16 to 25 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo. Helen is co-producing and
performing the musical, written by Jason Robert Brown.
Ricksha
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.
Page 5
Newsletter of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Greater Los Angeles
October Calendar
Wednesday, October 7th
Japanese American Optimist Club
2009-2010
Board of Directors
Youth Appreciation, 7pm @ Taix
Thursday, October 15th
Board Meeting, 7pm @ Keiro
Wednesday, October 21st
Club Dinner, TBD
Saturday, October 31st
Halloween Party
More
Pictures
from
Recent
Events
Page 6
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
Ricksha