5th Anniversary and Open House
August 15, 2004.
at the OAA Yamauchi Building
L to R: Ken Kamiya, Ronald Ikejiri, Tatsuo Akamine, George Nakano, Chogi Higa, Jon Shirota, G.Don Algie, Gary Kohatsu.
Mayer Pro-Tem presents 2004 Honoree Jon Shirota.
2004 Honoree G. Don Algie.
5th Anniversary and Open House
“On August 15, 2004, the OAA celebrated its 5th Anniversary with a “Mortgage Burning” ceremony conducted by Rev. Tatsuo Akamine. It was a celebration of our pioneers who had a vision of a Center for our future generations to learn about their Okinawan culture and the commitment of our members to finance the purchase through our “Grassroots Fundraising Campaign.” Our special guests were the members of the Building and Fundraising Committees whose dedication and hard work brought about our OAA Center in Gardena.
In spite of the hot weather and other conflicting events, over 60 people joined us to honor our 2004 honorees: Jon Shirota (playwright/author) and the Gardena Valley News (100th Anniversary President/Publisher G. Don Algie and Editor Gary Kohatsu). They received Certificates of Commendation from Assemblyman George Nakano, Gardena Mayor Pro-Tem Ronald Ikejiri and OAA President Chogi Higa.
We enjoyed Jon Shirota’s play “Leilani’s Hibiscus” at the East-West Theater however we were most fortunate to see his play again performed in Japanese at the Armstrong Theater. It was translated by Dr. Katsunori Yamazato, Ph.D and performed by Okinawan actors under the direction of Koki Ryoshu. Jon also received the John F. Kennedy Center Award for his play “Lucky Come Hawaii” performed in New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii. His most recent short story “Enemies No More” (about Haruo Yamashiro and Robert Martin in the battle in Okinawa) was printed in the Rafu Shimpo and the Hawaii Herald newspapers. Congratulations, Jon!
G. Don Algie, president and publisher of the Gardena Valley News celebrates their 100th Anniversary this year. They thrive on being a local newspaper with coverage of local events at the schools, churches, organizations, clubs and city government in the Gardena area. Don Algie is fluent in Japanese and has been actively involved in the local Judo club. In 1999, he was inducted on the Gardena Wall of Fame as a prominent Gardena leader and citizen.
Special recognition was given to Gary Kohatsu (Okinawan), editor of the Gardena Valley News for the special article with photo coverage of OAA events and announcements of our upcoming events. Gary was one of our speakers at our 1999 4th Annual Careers Seminar sharing about his career in journalism. Congratulations, G. Don Algie and Gary Kohatsu of the Gardena Valley News.
The Donors’ Wall was not ready for its planned unveiling, however people visited the office, library, koto classroom, meeting room #103 and the Higashi Building (dance/music studio). Our future project is to build an elevator in the office building so next year “everyone” can visit the rooms upstairs. Everyone enjoyed the delicious rainbow cake and treats.
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