Trailblazing JETAA’s Future Year: The Annual General Meeting
This past year JETAA Toronto has seen a multitude of events, many of which have successfully promoted Japanese culture and sought out mutual friendships with Japanese-related organizations throughout the city. This of course reflects JETAA’s raison d’être and mandate, which was created back in 1991 and continues to be our purpose going forward. Like all goal-oriented organizations, though, it needs great leadership to organize, implement and monitor these objectives.
This is why the JETAA executive exists: a group of dedicated individuals who volunteer their time and passion to ensuring JETAA’s survival. This past year’s success could not be told without this excellent team backing it up and so huge gratitude is in order to acknowledge the hard work of the JETAA executive. However, the time has come for change and it is recognized that some of the team can no longer be involved due to other obligations, while other members are seeking to take on a more committed role in the organization. To facilitate this transition, the AGM (Annual General Meeting) is held, to allow members to join in or step down from executive positions.
This year’s AGM was on Saturday, January 18th at the Japan Foundation, where 25 JETAA members participated in shaping the future roles of the executive team. Co-chairs Nadine Bukhman and Julia Rozinowicz, who are ending their first years in a two-year term, started the evening by highlighting the activities and events of JETAA Toronto in the past year. Reflecting on the year, it started in the spring with rock climbing and our annual Hanami picnic at High Park. Summer by far, was the busiest term, with Japanese cooking classes, a sake tour in the Distillery District, regional dragon boating, boat cruising amongst the Toronto Islands, the PDOT conference, and the first Natsu Matsuri at Yonge and Dundas Square. Then in the fall, JETAA organized the returner’s conference, held Japanese language classes, sponsored the Toronto Japanese Film and the Reel Asian Film Festivals, and created the first career-roundtable and networking event. The current season, winter, has already seen the Nakamichi Art Show and the pottery making cultural series, with curling and family skating still to come. It is our hope that the 2014-2015 year will have just as many amazing events, and the new executive will assist in creating them.
At the AGM, members showed enthusiasm in their roles of choice, which greatly sped up the voting process, without any contentions. At a record speed of ten minutes, the new executive positions were decided and are as follows:
Events Coordinator Carl Sachs
Events SupportSabrina Josette & Danielle Taschereau Mamers
Conference CoordinatorSuzanne Pragg
Conference Support Juliene Lima
Communication Coordinators Clarissa Marie & Anthony Ferreira,
Communication Support Judy Cerovski
Community Liaison Nick Jones
Website Coordinator Nam Chuong
Membership CoordinatorDalia Thompson
Secretary Tricia Hamilton
Treasurer Support Soeng Te
Senior Advisor Natalie Bay
(The positions of Co-Chairs and Treasurer are two-year terms and remain unchanged, with Nadine Bukhman, Julia Rozinowicz, and Sonia Cheng holding the positions.)
The current JETAA executive would like to thank all of those who came out to the AGM and participated in voting, and also to current members who will be leaving their executive roles. Without participation and support from the executive and members alike, JETAA could not exist. The new roles are still in transition and will not take effect until March, so for any members who are still interested in joining the executive team but were unable to attend the AGM please contact us and let us know. We are always looking for reliable and dedicated members with strong leadership skills.
In conclusion of this summary report and of the AGM, after the voting process, snacks and drinks were shared amongst the old and new executive at the nijikai at Gabby’s (because there’s always a nijikai). It pays to vote, and in this instance it paid delicious and delectable pork sliders. Don’t miss out on future events.
Text by Judy Cerovski
Photos by Nicholas Jones, Bokeh Photography