Vancouver Asahi Induction Committee Minutes #1

I have attached the minutes from a great meeting we had on Thursday and I’d like to thank all who attended. I have also pasted in the contents of the attachment below. If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas, please let me know. Also, we have set the date for our next meeting, which will be Thursday, Jan. 27, at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. There is a lot of work to do, but we’re headed on the right track.

Vancouver Asahi BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Committee Meeting
Thursday, January 13, 2005
BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Boardroom

Present:
Sam Araki
Elmer Morishita
Timothy Savage
Rika Uto

Excused:
Mel Lehan
George Oikawa
Grace Thompson
Craig Natsuhara

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m.

The meeting opened with brief introductions and an overview of what had already taken place.

Other topics discussed, include:

Japanese Canadian National Museum Spring Exhibition:
A firm date for the Vancouver Asahi’s exhibition hasn’t been established yet, but it will most likely coincide with the Asahi’s official induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Research has been done on the exhibition and the storyline has been written. There maybe a few minor adjustments, but the bulk of the work is done. Approximately $110,000 of the $200,000 the JCNM had wanted to collect to support the exhibition has been raised.

Exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum:
The JCNM is open to loaning artifacts or materials to the BCSHFM for an exhibit honouring the Vancouver Asahi. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has recently taken down a temporary display of the Vancouver Asahi, which will be returned to the JCNM.

Questions yet to be resolved: What will be exhibited, in what shape it will be furnished to the BCSHFM (loan, etc.), when it will be provided to the BCSHFM and where it will be displayed within the BCSHFM.

Other Events as Pertaining to the JC Community:
Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall is having its 100^th anniversary in 2006. Also, Rika mentioned that Oppenheimer Park as part of a community arts program had a historical walk of the area. One of the Asahi ballplayers came out to participate and it was a great event. The historical significance of the area is great and includes the Japantown, Chinatown and Strathcona areas. The Powell Street Festival is a great event that is held once a year.

Japanese translation of the Banquet of Champions:
Dawn Donahue, chair of the Banquet of Champions organizing committee, had previously committed local golf figure Brad Ewert, who is fluent in Japanese to translate portions of the Banquet of Champions. Sam hesitated in endorsing the idea, as he wanted to bring it up with the Asahi induction committee. It was unanimous to the committee that any translation of the Banquet of Champions would not be a good idea. Sam will advise the Banquet committee to not have any translation.

Secondary Event:
It was agreed by everyone present that holding a secondary event is a good idea. The premise behind holding such an event would be to have it be more inclusive with a wider part of the JC community and Vancouver community as a whole. It would also be a more interactive event with a more casual than the Banquet of Champions. Fundraising will not be a focus. The event will be held at no cost, at low cost or by donation to attendees and there was a consensus that the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum would be the best place to hold the event on the day after the Banquet of Champions. Preliminarily, it will be held Friday, April, 29, 2005 at 5-8 p.m., so that everybody that will be here for the Banquet of Champions will have an opportunity to attend. Members of the Vancouver Asahi will perhaps be part of a panel that could be posed questions, talk about their experiences, etc. The night will be kicked off by a scavenger hunt or similar activity through the BCSHFM, and could include a viewing of the Asahi film and would be for all ages. (ie: See the film, see the people, fun for all ages). The BCSHFM has already been booked for this event. Elmer’s main concern was how the event will be marketed without detracting from the marketing of the Banquet of Champions. One idea was that the two events can be marketed as a package, with special emphasis on the main event. Possible funding to support the event could come in the form of several grants. It is important to publicize closer to the event, and get it into various publications.

Questions yet to be resolved: Who will take the lead on organizing the logistics of the secondary event? How many volunteers will we need for the evening and how can we recruit them? What will be the schedule of activities during the night? How will the event be marketed, and what do we want to call this event? How will we raise money to support the event? Where will any of the excess money, if any, go?

Organizations and individuals to target with and query interest in the Asahi induction:
National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC)
GCCA
Powell Street Festival Committee
David Suzuki (Had a couple of uncles who were members of the Vancouver Asahi)
Paul Kariya? (Yes the hockey player)
If there are any other organizations or individuals you can think of, please let them know what we are doing or let Sam know. He will send a personal e-mail to gauge any possible support.

Other:
Idea was brought about a possible baseball game during the Powell Street Festival, perhaps by extending the festival to a three-day affair ... perhaps place an inviting article in the ‘Bulletin’ (contact John Greenaway) … also place an article in the Nikkei Voice …

QUICK TO DO’s:
Rika:
Will look into possible community cultural event grants from the city.

Timothy:
Contact information of Fred Yoda to Sam. Also contact information for anybody else who might be receptive to supporting the Asahi’s induction.

Elmer:
Elmer will phone all inductees to see who will be attending the Banquet of Champions and if they will be requiring accommodation.

Sam:
Send e-mails out to different organizational heads and have information disseminated to their boards, staff and constituents
Talk to John Greenaway
Will e-mail Cathy Makihara, CEO of NNMHC
Will e-mail Fred Yoda, president of National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre Society

Conclusion:
The next meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.