President’s Message

Steve Ichinaga

Happy belated New Year’s. As a baby boomer, I was brought up with the greatest expectations of both a happy and a prosperous life. Our parents and grandparents provided everything that we needed to succeed, including the stories of the suffering and difficulty in their lives. We have heard all of the clichés, including the amount of walking that our parents used to do, that always seemed to be uphill in both directions. We have all heard how difficult it was to survive during the great depression. What it was like to lose everything and try to rebuild a life after the war. Many experiences and many lessons learned. In the past, our temple, our faith and our friends have helped us through the most difficult of times. Once again we are facing a very difficult year for everyone in our country. Faith, hard work, determination, cooperation, volunteer spirit and utilizing the wealth of knowledge of our parents and grandparents, will help us to move forward.

In our January meeting, three new members were added to the Board of Directors, Irene Hashimoto, Brian LoBue, and Irene Hirota. Three Board members have decided to step down including former President Michael Jones, Phyllis Sugimoto and Roy Batchelor. With modifications, the Board passed the 2009 Budget. In the past we have been able to maintain a balanced budget, but because of rising costs, and less income, we are presently are spending more than we are bringing in. We have set limits to several line items and plan to add additional fundraisers. One new fundraising effort will be to sell Teriyaki Chicken at this year’s Nikkei Matsuri. Board Member Randy Shingai has volunteered to lead the project.

My basic goals this year are to get closer to balancing the budget. Provide help for Betsuin members who need help. Encourage volunteerism to help reduce costs and to increase Betsuin income. If you have the time, we can use your help.