Winter 2003 Volume 9 Issue 4

Winter 2003

Volume 9 - Number 4

The JET Quarterly Update The Japan Exchange and Teaching Alumni Association Newsletter

A Decade of Design - By Paul Donovan

It is really hard to believe, but 2004 will be the 10th anniversary of JETAABC. What we call JETAABC today was started back in 1994. Hardly anybody seems to remember what things were like in those days, except Patricia Birch (a Past President who was formally known as Patricia Kho) and Jason Hicks (also a Past President), and even then their memories are weak on the early details. The seed for this article came up as a result of speaking with the current president of JETAABC, Kristin Olson, and also with Jason Hicks.

The conversations also ignited a summer BBQ at Stacey Fujimoto’s (or Stacey Rolofs, for those early alumni) home with most of the past presidents in attendance.

I can recall while I was in Japan (1991-1996) I got the letters from CLAIR in June each year telling us about this magnificent organisation called the JET Alumni Association. I was both surprised and pleased to hear about this. Imagine being able to go back to our home countries and have this association to help us stay in touch with Japan and with some of the people around the world that had been on the JET Programme. Little did I realise that the whole concept was an offspring of CLAIR with some help from local Japanese Consulates and Embassies, or that it would grow into what we see today.

On with the history then! When Patricia moved to Vancouver there wasn’t an organisation in place. A

woman named Wendy Young had apparently been persuaded by the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver to become the representative for JET Alumni in BC. At that time the number of JET alumni was really small (well under 50) making the task of running the society not so onerous. The problems for her however, were that not only did she have no helpers; she didn’t know any of the alumni. That was 1994; and thus, JETAABC was born.

Patricia had gone to Japan the same year I did, 1991. She stayed one year, then returned to her hometown of Winnipeg. Eventually, she moved out to Vancouver in 1994 in hopes for better job opportunities, as Vancouver is on the Pacific Rim. Missing Japan and its atmosphere terribly, she got in touch with the Japanese Consulate in Vancouver and was advised to contact Wendy. In time, Wendy dropped out of the picture due to too many personal commitments and the leadership or organising of the society was left to Patricia’s demise.

Patricia, like Wendy, had nothing to build upon and so went about calling people on the phone, trying to locate them. What was amazing was that in no time at all, she became the main person to which Ellie Nakano, a JET Programme Coordinator at the Japanese Consulate, would constantly refer the returning JETs to. As a result of this, Patricia’s phone was ringing ...continued on page 4

Volume 9 - Number 4

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President's Report - by Kristin Olsen I have truly enjoyed my year with JETAABC - and not just for the fame and glory, I might add! Many members became involved in some capacity, either on the committee or as a casual volunteer. I have to say that I’ve truly enjoyed being surrounded by so many genki, open-minded and innovative – not to mention organized – people.

Our greatest accomplishment this year was that many different and amazing people had opportunities and got involved. In my opinion, this is exactly where JETAABC should be going. Currently, the committee and I are working on a complete re-structuring of the organization, in order to allow for greater ‘grass-roots’ involvement and participation. The Annual General Meeting will be coming up at the end of January. So, if you’ve had any inclination to getting involved with JETAABC, the AGM is the perfect opportunity to do so!

As I mentioned above, we are in the process of re-structuring JETAABC and this will mean some fundamental changes. Judging from the turn-outs we’ve been getting for the career think tanks, pub nights and art gallery soirees that were held this year, I know there is a lot of energy and interest in Japan and JET-alumni related events. The problem has been, I believe, in the top-down approach we’ve been taking. That is, the committee tried to organize events and get people involved, but there seemed to be a gap between the people who wanted to get more involved, and the avenues of opportunity to do so. This is where the re-structuring comes in, and we’re hoping to do two things: 1 ) get the people who want to be involved involved; 2 ) garner as many perspectives and ideas as possible.

This is, after all, your organization. We can guess what you’d like us to organize, but clearly this is not as efficient as outright telling us what to organize.

JETAABC is definitely growing as an organization. We’re probably the most active chapter in Canada, as well as one of the most active chapters internationally. We had a very solid committee this year, a committee that was very supportive of each other in so many ways. This is not to say we didn’t have any challenges either; but I think I can safely say that we have definitely grown from those challenges and have really come together as a group.

So, come to the AGM, if only to see what an evolved form of JETAABC looks like! This is your organization, so why not be a part of its evolution? Who knows where JETAABC could be this time next year? It’s time to think of the possibilities!

Greetings from the JET Desk at the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver - by Steve Chevalier Recruitment season is over with the final deadline for application submissions passing on November 21. Initial word from the Embassy is that there are a lot of very strong applicants from BC this year. Let’s hope they’re just as strong for the interviews in February.

A few alumni commented on seeing our new ads on busses around the Lower Mainland. The design keeps to the format set by other JET Programme promotional materials distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We hope the new ads will prove successful in promoting the JET Programme in the years to come.

Thank you to all the alumni who lent a hand in speaking at our information sessions and promoting the JET Programme throughout BC. It’s amazing the amount of enthusiasm that is generated at our information sessions when an alumni talks candidly about his or her experience. Through you, interested applicants truly get a feel for what it will be like to live and work on the JET Programme.

We currently have extra copies of a CLAIR publication entitled “JET Programme: Looking Towards the Future After 15 Years.” If any alumnus would like a copy of this book, we would be happy to send one out to you. Please forward your name and address to culturalcentre@consuljpnvan.com or 604-684-5868, ext. 415. ...continued on next page

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Winter 2003

2003 Re-Entry & Career Seminar - by Lawrence Wong Ever since I got back from Japan in August this year, I have been living in my parent’s house, bumming around and not doing much. During the JET Programme I decided that I want to work in the video game industry.

I applied to study computer animation; but classes will not begin until January. So, in the meantime, I opted to not bother getting a job, enjoy the free time, while trying not to squander my JET savings on music and movies.

After a couple of months of loafing around, I received a notice for the 2003 Re-Entry and Career Seminar through the JETAABC e-mail list. I decided to attend, as I desperately needed to get out of the house and engage in some social interaction. Plus, the seminar was free. How could I say no?

In the seminar Using your Japanese Experience... i t w a s interesting to hear first- hand accounts of the speaker who has worked for Japanese companies and used her Japan experience in her other jobs. She also provided some tips on how to find Japan-related jobs. Perhaps, the most important advice of all was to resist over-stating our own Japanese language ability in our job application.

There’s nothing worse than being expected to speak teinei to a Japanese corporate big wig when all you could really do was order sushi or speak rude manga/anime Japanese. It was a bit disheartening to find that most

My past experiences with career seminars have always been just a bunch of pep talks and some mildly helpful resume or cover-letter tips. Thus, I went into this particular seminar not expecting much. To my amazement, I was pleasantly surprised. I was impressed by the professionalism, quality of the speakers, and the efficiency and helpfulness of the organizers. Overall, the seminar was very helpful, productive, and reassured us that not knowing what to do after JET is in fact the norm. On top of that, I was very happy to find that instead of spending precious seminar time to talk about resume and cover letter writing tips, they included hand-outs to read at a later time. I have sat through one of those in the prefectural returning JET’s seminar back in Japan. Doing it again now, would not have been helpful.

We started off in the morning with greetings by Stephanie Gold, followed by a discussion of issues we face when re-integrating ourselves back into Canadian culture. It was interesting to share our experiences of reverse culture shock. Now I know I wasn’t the only one to get 7-11 onigiri cravings late at night.

Japan related jobs require fluency or near fluency in Japanese when my Japanese isn’t quite up to that level.

I came out of Identifying Our Successes... a bit more reassured. It got me thinking about identifying my talents and skills in my recent achievements, and how to present that to potential employers.

Then came the keynote presentation by Toshimi Ono, which in my opinion was the highlight of the day. Onosensei is currently the director of Japanese Culture and Communication at SFU. She has had years of counseling experience and is an excellent speaker. Her tips on networking were particularly helpful to me.

Assess This! was what they can and can’t tell you on assessment tests used in the career-counseling process.

With only two participants, including me, a lot of personal attention was provided. From past assessment tests I had taken, this session helped re-affirm my decision to get into the gaming industry.

After the lunch break, we got to choose three mini-seminars from a list. I chose Using your Japanese Experience in the Private Sector , Identifying Our Successes and Our Strengths, and A s s e s s T h i s !

All in all, it was a very productive day. The speakers were professional and very helpful. I greatly enjoyed socializing with JET alumni and sharing our Japanese experiences.

I say “kudos” to the organizers for the quality of the seminar.

I think everybody went home feeling a bit more confident and assured of what they want to do.

Consulate Report (continued from page 2) The book celebrates the 15 th anniversary of the JET Programme by compiling together articles, opinions and suggestions from individuals (including ALTs, CIRs, JTEs, etc) involved with the JET Programme. It includes an outline of the JET Programme Special Evaluation Commission report, which was produced to evaluate the results of the JET Programme, thus far, and to discuss the direction of the Programme in the future. CLAIR hopes this publication will contribute to the further improvement and progression of the JET Programme.

Volume 9 - Number 4

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A Decade of Design (continued from page 1) the hook and at strange hours as alumni were asking the trivial questions such as where is the best place to get sushi in Vancouver, and what off

other places provide a Japanese atmosphere. Nontrivial questions such as “I’m back, so how do I find a job?” was also amongst some of the returnees as they found themselves lost once they got back. With this, Patricia soon realised that it was not simply a nice idea to have a local chapter in BC, but that it was a necessity.

of a Vancouver Island representative, Glen Allen. Through Glen we had been able to hold several events in Victoria and provide representation on Vancouver Island. Since then we have had Ali Abbott, Anna Poulton and Shaun Sephton working to build a small sub-chapter in Victoria; thus, keeping up the JETAABC presence on the island.

1997 was also another milestone year for JETAABC. This was the first year that the annual JET Preparation Seminar (then called Pre-Departure Seminar) was managed completely by the chapter and held at a facility away from the Consulate. That year our membership rose to about 100, and about 50 to 60 new JETs headed to Japan to begin a new life.

Another big event happened in 1997. With Perren Stern, a law student, on the committee we prepared the first constitution for JETAABC and registered ourselves with the Province of BC as a non-profit society. All this was ratified at the Annual General Meeting in January 1998.

It was with deep regret that Jason chose that year to resign as President of JETAABC. However, after three years of hard work with the committee it was time for him to pass the baton of leadership. Under the new President, Stacey Fujimoto, we moved forward with the initiatives that Jason had implemented during his previous years of leadership.

Early JETAABC alumni having a meeting at a restaurant.

Enter Jason Hicks! Jason went to Japan in 1991 as well, and stayed on the JET Programme for two years, then went into private ESL teaching for another year or so. He returned from Japan in 1994 and like so many of us, followed up on the alumni association reference and hooked up with Patricia. In September 1995, he and Patricia took on the role of co-leaders of the group and built up a small committee of supporters like Barb Onstad, John Kibblewhite, Stacey Fujimoto, John Duque and others. Soon they started monthly meetings and began preparing the infrastructure of the organisation to include events, committees, newsletters and so forth.

In 1998, the membership grew to about 150. We implemented many interesting events, including the beginning of our nearly monthly Pub Nights and the Round Table Discussions.

Both events proved to be popular. We also continued with our tradition of the Preparation Seminar in the summer - now completely run by JETAABC - and the ReEntry Orientation and Career Day in the fall. We also put in our first bid to host the JETAA International Conference in Vancouver for the fall of 1998, which was delivered by Stacey while she was attending the conference in Atlanta, but lost to the chapter in Los Angeles.

I returned from Japan in the spring of 1996 and joined the local chapter immediately. My first social gathering was a volleyball event, organised by John Duque.

About 20 people showed up, plus a few non-JETs, making it a very successful turnout. I started attending committee meetings held at various restaurants along Commercial Drive. Even at that early stage Jason was busy researching and consulting with other chapters about how to better organise our own chapter.

1996 was also the first year that JETAABC ran the ReEntry Orientation/Career Day. Up until that time the Consulate had run this event, but with Jason’s leadership, we were given the task and the event got off the ground and was held at the Consulate’s office. About 25 to 30 people were in attendance. This is an immensely large turn out when you realise that the entire membership list of JETAABC at that time was about 50 people.

1997 was the first year that JETAABC started to take on the appearance of what we know today. We held an Annual General Meeting and voted on some members to form the steering committee. Another first was the appointment

Goofing around after creating the new bylaws: Jason Hicks (TL), Steve Chevalier (TC), Patricia Birch (R), John Duque (C), Anjali Atal (BL).

If it weren’t for the fact that Stacey was getting married in June 1999, we might have been able to convince her to take on another year of presidency. As it turned out, 1999 saw a new leadership, namely yours truly. I chose to take on the role of presidency after being on the committee for two years. In my first year, I acted as Events Coordinator; and in my second year, as Newsletter Editor. When the third year came along, it seemed like

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which turned out to be one of the most lavish of all conferences ever held. The international constitution which was ratified the previous year had its first elected committee voted into office in Tokyo this year, and Boleyn became a member of the JETAA International Executive Committee. Also, at the conference, Liz and Boleyn, on behalf of JETAABC, put in a bid for the third time to host the following year’s international conference at Vancouver for the fall of 2001. And, once again we lost - this time to London, England.

At the 2001 Annual General Meeting, we re-elected Liz to stay on as President and once again the committee members were re-shuffled as some new faces joined us and some old ones departed. Membership at this time had shot up to almost 300.

A

hiking

trip

with

Mokuyokai

Society.

a natural progression for me to move to the leadership position. No major initiatives were implemented during this year. The Preparation Seminar was held at UBC’s Student Union Building, with Krista Watson leading the committee. Pub Nights continued and a few other professional and fun activities continued as well. The Re-Entry Orientation/Career Day also continued. Things were a little hectic for me that year and I felt I needed to devote more time to my work and personal life. As a result, Liz Stephen stepped in and represented our chapter at the Los Angeles JETAA International Conference and presented our second bid to host the International Conference in Vancouver for year 2000. Again to no avail – Tokyo won that one.

In 2000, I stepped down as the President, and Liz took over the role, a role she maintained for two years.

This was a very trying year for the committee as it was the first year that none of the committee members, other than myself as a Past President, were from the original steering committee. As a result, the committee went through some growing pains as the new members tried to figure out where it was going, as well as trying to plan for events and activities. Our membership had shot up over 200 at this time. The tasks for each of the steering committee members were growing in proportion to the ever-increasing membership and the committee, as a whole, was finding it harder and harder to keep up with the needs and responsibilities of the entire organisation.

In April of that year, we had our very first Canadian National Conference. This was held in Edmonton, hosted by the Northern Alberta chapter of JETAA. Two official representatives from each Canadian chapter were sent to this event, but since we also had Boleyn who acted as Country/Chapter Representative with us, we ended up sending three: Liz Stephen, Adele Pransky, Boleyn Relova. A few other BC chapter members also went at their own expense.

Other events continued as in 2000 and the committee attempted to resolve many difficult issues. In the fall of 2001, Boleyn had stepped down as the Country Representative, and the position was taken up by Liz. For the duration of the remaining year, Liz acted as both the President and Country Representative. A few months later, Liz, as the President and Country Representative, and Boleyn, as a member of the JETAA International Executive Committee, went to London, England, to attend the JETAA International Conference.

At the international conference, JETAABC was approached and asked to submit its proposal to host the 2002 JETAA International Conference. Due to the many failures in the past to win this bid, we debated for a long time, but finally decided that we would proceed with the proposal. This would be our fourth attempt. The number

Until this time, it was assumed that the President was also the Chapter Representative (as it stipulates in our bylaws), but this year, in order for Boleyn Relova to run for the position of JETAAI Canadian Country Representative, Liz decided to share that position with Boleyn, who was also on the committee.

As a result, Boleyn became the Chapter Representative and eventually took on the role of Country Representative. Boleyn was a long-time and loyal supporter of JETAABC, and she served her roles with great enthusiasm.

In 2000, Liz and Boleyn had the opportunity to attend the JETAA International Conference in Tokyo,

Another monthly meeting at a Japanese restaurant. John Duque (L), Patricia Birch (C).

...continued next page

Volume 9 - Number 4

PAGE 6 task.

By the summer of 2002, all seven chapters were officially a part of this initiative. www.jetaa.ca w a s to be the centre for all Canadian JET alumni, and on the site is a special CHAPTER RESOURCES section where chapters can place information such as logos, newsletters, and so forth to all other chapters across Canada.

I continue to be the webmaster for this site, but aside from this common domain name which is shared by all chapters, each chapter also has its own website that is run and operated by the chapters themselves.

A

volleyball

event

organised

by

John

Duque.

four may be an unlucky number for some cultures, but for us, it was a lucky one, for in our fourth attempt, we finally won. This was a marvellous opportunity for JETAABC because after four years of talking about this, we wanted nothing less than to make it a worldclass event.

The 2002 Annual General Meeting saw Liz stepping down as the President to become the Past President as well as the Country Representative. Ryan Butt put his name forward and was voted in as our new President. Ryan was not a stranger to anyone as he had served as the Treasurer the year before. The 2002 committee started off with a huge internal problem, as there were conflicts in the direction of leadership. As a result, some members left, leaving the committee incomplete.

Due to the shortage of supportive members and help, many events were severely cut.

In May of 2002, the second Canadian JETAA Conference was held in Winnipeg, and this time, the committee sent Ryan and Newsletter Editor, Stefan Chobotar. Liz attended as well, this time as our national representative to JETAA International. The conference brought out a few new initiatives. The first was a logo for JETAA. This logo has since been adopted on the web site and is used to represent JETAA Canadian chapters around the world. In addition to this logo, each chapter also has it own logo for identification among its members. You can see the logos at w w w . j e t a a . c a, and click on the CHAPTER RESOURCES link.

The second initiative was the implementation of w w w . j e t a a . c a . This initiative had actually been set up the year before, but at the conference it was welcomed and officially sanctioned. The implementation of this website made it possible for all seven Canadian chapters to have a common domain name and therefore, reduce the cost of the website to only $30/ year for each chapter. A private company, owned by me, called Living Productions Inc ., was hired to carry out this

With the JETAA International Conference coming to Vancouver in November 2002, the committee had their hands full and their work cut out for them.

Despite the fact that the committee was short handed due to lack of volunteers, the conference was a huge success.

This success could be directly attributed to the hard work of a few people, primarily Liz Stephen. Others, for whom there were too many to mention, helped out in areas that needed help such as planning and implementing certain events, and volunteering onsite. One member from 41 chapters around the world came to Vancouver for three days to discuss the future of JETAA International and other issues associated with JET alumni chapters such as maintenance and support.

A new Canadian Country Representative was also elected.

This position went to Gary Gervais, a member of the MANSASK.JETAA, a chapter that covers Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Throughout the year, the 2002 committee encountered a lot of hardships, mainly due to a shortage of volunteers; but nonetheless, some events were held - although slightly modified. For example, the Preparation Seminar was reduced to only one day, due not only to the lack of volunteers, but to a reduced financial support, as well.

This meant that the new JETs had to grab a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time.

The Annual General Meeting in February 2003 brought in new committee members. Kristin Olson bravely challenged for the position of presidency, and won the leadership through a secret ballot against the incumbent, Ryan Butt. Kristin, who was the Secretary the year before, had her work cut out for her mainly because the committee was comprised mostly of alumni who had little knowledge of the inner workings of the organisation or its background.

She lost Ryan’s support as the Past President due to his inability to participate in JETAABC meetings or events throughout 2003. To add to the challenge, she also lost the counsel of the 3-year Vice Consul of the JET Programme, Hideaki Kawai-san, who was reassigned back to Japan. Past committee members, like Liz Stephen and myself, are keeping in close contact with the current committee members to provide assistance and contact with the history of JETAABC. For year 2003, membership rose to about 500. However, under Kristin’s strong leadership and a committee that was comprised of very enthusiastic supporters, many events were held, and with great successes. The Canadian Conference of 2003 was held in May, in Toronto. This time,

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the committee sent two representatives, Stephenie Gold “ambassadors” for Canada while in Japan. When we returned, and Damien Vilaysane, Career Seminar Coordinator and we would be ambassadors for Japan. We are also JET Newsletter Editor, respectively. alumni, so let’s not forget the organisation that helped us on our way to Japan in the first place, or the work that Year 2003 has come to an end, but it shall prove is needed to maintain the organisation in the coming years. interesting as to what the new committee of 2004 has in store for the rest of us. Furthermore, September 2003 For those alumni who have never physically come in contact marked the 75 th a n n i v e r s a r y o f d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w i t h J E T A A B C , o r h a v e a t t e n d e d a n y o f i t s e v e n t s , b u t w i s h between Canada and Japan, and it shall prove interesting to, but too shy to make a move, we encourage you to as to what we shall see from JETAABC. come to a meeting or a function. You can also sign up to our e-list serve at http://bc.jetaa.ca. Being on the e-list As it stands, it’s really hard to predict where JETAABC serve will allow you to be notified of current meetings will head in the future. We are fortunate that we have and events being held by JETAABC. It should be many past presidents and past committee members still stressed at this point that registering yourself as a in BC, so that committee members can contact them for member of JETAABC does not automatically register you any advice or assistance. The biggest push must on the e-list serve. This might explain why some of you always be to promote JETAABC to the new JETs are in the dark when it comes to JETAABC’s social events. heading to Japan and to contact them before they return home. We host “welcome back” parties for those who For those who would love to volunteer, but never know have reached us, and the Japanese Consulate in Vancouver when it’s the appropriate time, let me stress that anytime continues to host a welcome back reception each fall. is appropriate. We are always looking for volunteers.

And, for those who can only commit a short amount of So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! This is one time rather than an entire year, there are positions for historical perspective from one alumnus who has been that, too. For those who are too busy, but would love to there shortly after its conception. Many wonderful things hang out with some fellow JET alumni and share some have been achieved and many challenges have been stories once in a while, you are welcome, too. overcome by those whose lives were forever changed by the wonderful trip to Japan.

- The above contents are the opinions of the author and do not truly reflect that of JETAABC.

When each of us left for Japan we heard that we would be

Below is a table of committee members and their positions since 1996.

There was no formal committee in place prior to 1996.

Year President Committee Members 1996

Patricia (Kho) Patricia (Kho) Birch – President, Jason Hicks – Co-president & Newsletter, Barb Onstad, Dan Keen, John Birch & Jason Kibblewhite, Stacey (Rolofs) Fujimoto, Chris Vandaele, Steve Chevalier, Glen Allen, Anjali Atal, Mr. Sasaki Hicks – Consulate Rep.

1997

Jason Hicks

Jason Hicks - President, Patricia (Kho) Birch – Past-President, Anjali Atal - Secretary, Barb Onstad Treasurer, Paul Donovan - Events, Ellen Clague – Newsletter & Membership, Glen Allen – Island Rep, John Duque – Member-at-Large, Stacey (Rolofs) Fujimoto – Member-at-Large, Perren Stern – Member-at-Large, Mr. Sasaki – Consulate Rep.

1998

Stacey (Rolofs) Fujimoto

Stacey (Rolofs) Fujimoto - President, Jason Hicks – Past President, Ellen Clague - Secretary, Tanya Hill Treasurer, Boleyn Relova - Events, Liz Stephen - Membership, Paul Donovan - Newsletter, Kevin O’Donnell – Member-at-Large, Glen Allen – Island Rep., Mr. Tomonori Ida – Consulate Rep.

1999

Paul Donovan

Paul Donovan - President, Stacey (Rolofs) Fujimoto - Past President, Elizabeth Marty - Secretary, Tanya Hill - Treasurer, Sean Fowler - Newsletter, Krista Watson - Events, Adele Pransky – Assistant Events, Liz Stephen - Membership, Kevin O’Donnell – Member-at-Large, Chris Macintosh – Member-at-Large, Alida Abbott – Island Rep., Boleyn Relova – Chapter Rep., Mr. Tomonori Ida – Consulate Rep.

2000

Liz Stephen

Liz Stephen - President, Paul Donovan – Past President, Jacqueline Molinaro - Secretary, Helen Carmichael - Treasurer, Matthew Fedoruk - Newsletter, Angela Tan – Assistant Newsletter, Krista Watson - Events, Adele Pransky – Assistant Events, Albert Ngai - Membership, Alida Abbott – Island Rep, Boleyn Relova – Country/Chapter Rep, Mr. Kazufumi Ikeshita – Consulate Rep., Mr. Hideaki Kawai – Consulate Rep.

2001

Liz Stephen

Liz Stephen - President, Paul Donovan – Past President, Carolyn Ali - Secretary, Ryan Butt - Treasurer, Matthew Fedoruk - Newsletter, Angela Tan – Assistant Newsletter, Adele Pransky - Events, Wendy McAvoy – Assistant Events, Albert Ngai - Membership, Alida Abbott – Island Rep., Boleyn Relova – Chapter Rep., Mr. Hideaki Kawai – Consulate Rep.

2002

Ryan Butt

Ryan Butt - President, Liz Stephen – Past President & Membership, Kristin Olson - Secretary, Matthew Fedoruk - Treasurer, Stefan Chobotar - Newsletter, Julian Rendell – Assistant Newsletter, Suzette Bradford – Assistant Events, Alida Abbott – Island Rep., Mr. Hideaki Kawai – Consulate Rep.

2003

Kristin Olson

Kristin Olson – President, Ryan Butt – Past President, Angie Freedman - Secretary, Matthew Fedoruk Treasurer, Stephenie Gold - Career Seminar Coordinator, Damien Vilaysane - Newsletter, Andrew Eisenberg - Membership, Shaun Sephton – Island Rep., Mr. Kosuke Kuroe – Consulate Rep., Ms. Akiko Fujikawa – Consulate Rep., Mr. Hideaki Kawai – Consulate Rep.

Special Announcement 2004 Annual General Meeting Saturday, January 31st, 6:00pm All JETAABC members are invited to attend the 2004 Annual General Meetng and vote their favourite alumni into elected positions. Any JETAABC alumni may run for a position. Come and exercise your right to vote for the leaders that will take us through 2004 together.

Our Shinnenkai will follow the meeting at 7:00pm.

Details can be found at the following site: http://bc.jetaa.ca/

OTE From the Editor…

This will be my last publication. It has been a wonderful experience serving on the committee. I thank everyone who contributed articles and gave advice. Without your help, the newsletter would not have continued the way it did. Like everything else in our society, the newsletter, too, has transformed this year. I wish the next newsletter editor the very best in continuing this tradition.

As always, the JETAABC newsletter features contributions from JETs (current and past) who come from all walks of life. If any of you out there wished to contribute articles or assistance, please send me an email at newsletter@bc.jetaa.ca .

Thank You Contributors Paul Donovan, Jason Hicks, Patricia Birch, Stacey Fujimoto, Liz Stephens, John Duque, Kristin Olsen, Lawrence Wong, Steve Chevalier