JETAA USA e-mail subscription now available
JETAA Chapters 
Comments Off on JETAA USA e-mail subscription now available
FYI, you can now get JETAA USA website updates via e-mail just like many of you already do for JETwit. (I just worked with Country Rep Jessyca Wilcox to get it set up on the JETAA USA site.)
Just go to www.jetaausa.com and enter your email into the subscription field in the right sidebar.
(If you’re not already getting JETwit posts sent to your inbox, just go to the subscription field in the right sidebar on JETwit.)
Update 08/14/11: See below for responses so far from various chapters.
This survey is intended to help figure out how much collaboration exists between JETAA chapters and the Japan-America Societies in their area.
It comes on the heels of having a chance to talk with and listen to Peter Kelley, President of the National Association of Japan America Societies (NAJAS), and JET alum Marc Hitzig, Deputy Director of the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., who both spoke at the JETAA National Conference in Washington, D.C. a couple weeks ago, as well as a recent conversation with Japan Society of Boston‘s President, Peter Grilli, and Program Marketing Manager (and JET alum) Bhaird Campbell.
*Please e-mail responses to Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, Kariya-shi, 1992-94) at jetwit [at] jetwit.com or post in the comments section below.
From talking to JETAA officers at various conferences and in other contexts, it seems that each JETAA chapter has it’s own unique relationship with its local Japan-America Society (JAS). And of course every JAS has its own unique characteristics.
As a result, I’d like to ask JETAA chapters cooperation with:
- Gathering responses from JETAA chapters that comment on or share some of the collaborations with JAS that have been successful or beneficial in various ways; and
- Getting a sense of what the relationship history has been, whether any JET alums work for the JAS and any additional thoughts you might have on the topic.
For example:
- With respect to JETwit, I started just subscribing to all of the JAS e-mail lists which led to an ongoing and periodic Japan-America Society Round-up post, now written by Gail Meadows (Hiroshima-shi 2007-10).
- In Washington, D.C., the Japan America Society, among other things, runs the annual Cherry Blossom Festival which attracts thousands of people and involves many JET alum volunteers who play a very significant role in running the event. It also happens to have a JET alum, Marc Hitzig, working there, and another JET alum, Laurel Lukaszewski, who previously served as the organization’s Executive Director.
- In Minnesota, apparently there’s usually a JETAA Minnesota officer who is active on the Board of the Japan America Society in Minneapolis.
There are clearly many more great examples of collaboration and a lot more info to gather. By gathering the information here, I hope to get a bigger picture sense of the JETAA chapter relationship with JAS and figure out if there are ways to foster greater collaboration and sharing of info and ideas in the future.
As responses are received, I’ll add the text to this post so that it becomes a record and a resource available to JETAA chapters and to JAS.
Why? This ties in with the “Return on JET-vestment” concept as well as with big picture strategic thinking about the future of JETAA and JET. It’s a first step that will hopefully shed light on the topic and open up new ideas and opportunities.
*Please e-mail responses to Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, Kariya-shi, 1992-94) at jetwit [at] jetwit.com or post in the comments section below.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
********************************
Updated 08/20/2011
Apropos of nothing, here’s a great piece by Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) about a recent film event at Japan Society in New York featuring an appearance by Sora Aoi.
********************************
9. JETAA Heartland & The Heart of America Japan-America Society
Via JETAA Heartland President Warren McAllen:
I’m not sure how far back JET Alum involvement with JAS goes, but I do know that we have had members in common with The Heart of America Japan-America Society almost as long as there has been a chapter in KC and several of our members have held positions on the JAS Board over the years.
We have a joint event this weekend, HJETAA and HoA JAS co-sponsor the Japan Pavilion at the Greater Kansas City Ethnic Enrichment Festival (http://www.eeckc.org/). We promote JET and recruit new members (and find some who have slipped through the cracks over the years) and help JAS with their fundraising efforts. We may, eventually, do our own fundraising at this event attended by 10′s of thousands of people.
We also sponsor networking events with JAS and other Japan-related org’s two or three times a year. Last year we organized a food tasting for the UMKC Jazz Band and JAS members who were selected to perform at the National Culture Festival in Kurashiki, Okayama, Kansas City’s Sister City.
Of course, we have a booth at the GKC Japan Festival and our members are involved in many phases of the organization and execution of the festival (I was almost it’s Executive Director, at one point). This year we have volunteered to do a presentation on JET and the Alumni Association on one of the event stages as well.
This year we worked with JAS to inaugurate the GKC Japanese Film Festival and look forward to continued cooperation on future film festivals. We also worked together on disaster relief fundraising
Naturally, we promote each other’s events and I recommend the JAS to all JET recruits and returning members. We’ve talked about reciprocal membership but we’re still negotiating.
On an individual basis, many of our members are also in JAS and are involved in varying ways from simple membership and volunteering to serving on the board, as I mentioned earlier, organizing events and making presentations.
