Thank you for voting in May’s NEJETAA’s officer elections!
Jeffrey Kennedy is our Vice President, Patricia Frisoli is our Treasurer, and Katie Mulroy is our Social Chair. There were no platforms submitted for Webmaster/Communications Coordinator. Christina Omori will continue to serve in this position until elections for this position in November 2013 but if you are interested in serving in an interim term as Webmaster please email webmaster at nejetaa dot com.
We wish to thank Jason Currier for his service as Vice President for the past year.
Social Committee member positions remain open. The Social Committee supports the Social Chair to plan approximately one event per month, such as Happy Hours, the Welcome Back party, Nihongo Dake dinners, etc. The members of the social committee (generally about 3-5 members at any given time) are volunteers (rather than elected people) and are not considered officers. If you are interested in getting involved, please email Katie at social at nejetaa dot com.
Click here to view/download minutes from the May 21, 2013 General Meeting and elections. Thank you Brian and Jeff for taking the minutes.
Below is a request from Eliot Honda (Ehime-ken, 2009-2012) who is seeking to interview other Ehime JET alumni as part of a project aimed at re-establishing the Ehime Kenjinkai in Hawaii. Original post from JETwit.
My name is Eliot Honda, I am a former ALT in Uwajima city. I was there from 2009-2012, I had a blast and learned a lot about Uwajima, and Ehime in my three years. I found out that my home, Hawaii has deep ties to Ehime dating as far back as Japan’s first interaction with a Head of State. King Kalakaua and Date Munenari would meet during Kalakaua’s trip to Japan.
Since returning I’ve attempted to stay active in JET and in international exchange. My wife and I have been working to rebuild the Ehime Kenjinkai (Ehime Prefecture Club.) One of the things we talked about doing is a series of videos on the Ehime area. I wanted to add a bit of JET in there, since I’ve also become a board member of the JET Alumni Association in Hawaii. I wanted to do a screen cap of Skype/Facetime interviews and get former/present JETs to talk about the area in Ehime they lived in. A bit about the history, the landscape, the people, the attractions, and overall lifestyle of the area they live/lived in.
Ehime and JET hold a very special place in my heard, and Uwajima has become a 2nd home for me; a place I can always return to. (And not just because my wife is from there.) I have so many friends, and now family in Uwajima. This prefecture is rarely visited, but has a lot of beauty in it, and the JET Program is constantly on the chopping block, and I think people outside of the program miss the value of the program.
If you’re interested in doing an interview (which will eventually go on YouTube) and also helping to show the beauty of Ehime and just how helpful the JET Program can be for international exchange, please email me.
Thank You,
Eliot Honda
Email: eliot.honda [at] gmail.com
Here are some previous JETwit posts with Eliot’s videos about JET and Ehime. And here is a JQ Magazine “Life After JET” interview with him.
- May 15, 2013
Join NEJETAA on Sunday May 19 for the 2013 Japan Festival! Last spring — as a celebration for the 100 year anniversary of the gift of cherry trees from Kyoto to Washington DC — Boston hosted a Spring Festival. The Festival, or Haru Matsuri, exceeded any and all expectations and it has been decided to turn this one-time event into an annual celebration of Japanese culture, food and the Japanese community of Boston.
With over 13,000 attendees in 2012, the event has been moved to from Copley Square to the heart of Boston — Boston City Hall Plaza in Government Center.
NEJETAA will be represented with a booth, representing the JET Programme and handing out fortunes from our Omikuji Tree.
Any interested in volunteering at the NEJETAA booth should email membership at nejetaa dot com (volunteers are not required to volunteer for the entire day, just an hour would be great!). Anyone interested in attending please see the details below and visit the official festival website. We Look forward to seeing you there!!
Sunday, May 19, 2013, 10:00am-6:00pm
Boston City Hall Plaza (Green line, Government Center station)
Admission: Free