NEXT MEETING: April 29, 2016

The Y Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

After working for the YMCA for 33 years, Richmond Rotarian Don Lau will be retiring in December 2016. The West Contra Costa Y has been serving this community since 1918.  What started out as a single facility on Macdonald Avenue has grown into a $15 million dollar operation, with 470 full and part-time staff providing services at 40 sites daily.  The Y is for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility and provides a wide variety of youth and family programs that focus on those core objectives. Don will talk about the Y’s past, its current role and its future in our community.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Thursday, April 28 – TGIF means Thank God It’s Friday but this month we celebrate on Thursday at the Hotel Mac from 5:30pm – 7:00pm
• Friday, April 29 – San Pablo Rotary major fundraiser at Maple Hall at 6pm 13381 San Pablo Avenue San Pablo Buy Tickets online at http://anightintuscany.eventbrite.com This event is why TGIF is on Thursday this month.
• Saturday April 30 – Joe Bagley has been working hard to prepare for the Rotary work day at the Veterans home in Richmond. We need a large group of volunteers to get this done and the list is light right now. Contact Joe and sign up for the work day and show your support for the Veterans who fought for our Country and lets fix up their house. Joe’s email is joe@gdsigns.com
• Sunday, May 1 – Cinco De Mayo Celebration and will held all day along 23^rd Street.

MEETING OF

Welcome

Alan Baer is the presiding over the meeting in President Alan Blavins absence. Tom Waller was really happy to be here and to lead the pledge. George Egan led the moment of silence for Peace in the world. Sid’s thought for the day: Don’t die a virgin. Seriously there are terrorists waiting for you up there.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Jon Lawlis’s “guest” was Darlene Quenville.

Recognitions and Happy and Sad Dollars

• May Saecho celebrated her birthday on 3/14 and was happy to be back at rotary after a busy but best year ever tax season.
• Dan Tanita celebrated his birthday this month
• Jerry Feagley celebrated his 40 years of marriage with 40 dollars one dollar for each happy year.
• Tom Waller had happy $’s for his recovery from a successful procedure to install a stent after he suffered a heart attack 2 weeks ago. He stated he has only completed 1 Iron Man competition since his operation. In all seriousness, he is getting back to the gym slowly and will monitor his health and medications closely.
• Herb had happy $’s for Jon Lawlis’s new teeth received from Dan Tanita
• Mae Saecho had Happy $’s that the tax season is over, best season ever and can get back to attending Rotary.
• Connie Tritt also had Happy $’s to be back after the tax season and is ready to get back to working hard for Richmond Rotary
• David Brown wished us all a Happy Passover
• George Egan also had Happy $’s to be out of the office and back at Rotary

PROGRAM

The Tanita family experience during the WWII Internment of Japanese-Americans

Our speaker was our very own Richmond Rotary legend Dan Tanita. Dan spoke about Executive Order 9066, which ordered the internment of the Japanese Americans on the West Coast, regardless of citizenship, during World War II. Fred Korematsu was one Japanese American who fought the internment and took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote held that the internment was constitutional. It was not until 1983 that the United States government finally cleared Fred Korematsu of the charges for not voluntarily going to the internment camps. Dan was involved in the committee to change Portola School to the Fred Korematsu School. After many meetings and explanations of who Fred was the school board approved the name change.

Dan also spoke about his family. Dan’s grandfather was a citrus farmer but after attended a revival he converted to Christianity and at 37 decided to become a Methodist Minister. He also talked about his uncle who never shook the idea of being arrested even though he was an American citizen and was attending college at the time of the internment. He was shocked that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor and saw the reaction of the American government to intern Japanese American citizens as fear and racism. He would equate the reaction to Muslims in Europe after the attacks recently there to the internment. The college his uncle attended contacted him at 86 years old and offered an honorary degree to him since he had been affected by the internment and he accepted it with honor.

Dan also told us that the executive order was only for the West Coast and his family was not directly affected since they lived in Arizona. He also mentioned that there was a big population of Japanese Americans living in Hawaii but there was no internment camps started there because the economy would have been greatly affected if the camps were started there.

- Henry Moe, Rotating Editor