On September 25th, for the first time in two years, JAMsj was able to hold a Volunteer Brunch. A total of forty-five volunteers gathered to see each other in person – some for the first time – and to hear the latest on what is happening at the museum.
2021 JAMsj Volunteer Brunch
Presentations were made by JAMsj board members.
Michael Sera, JAMsj President, shared with the group how the museum has been utilizing technology to reach out to a broader audience (link to Volunteer Spotlight article) during the pandemic. He showed a demo of the two Virtual Tours that JAMsj is preparing to launch. One is a docent-led virtual tour in which participants can feel like they are actually walking inside the museum and even take a close-up look at artifacts. The other is a self-guided tour that visitors to the JAMsj website can enjoy anytime at their own pace.
Gordon Smith, Vice President and Head Docent, gave an update on the Kawakami House Project. Aaron Ushiro, who is the Senior Architect at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, has become a new member of the JAMsj Board of Directors. “Having a real architect on board has really helped us accelerate the Kawakami House renovation project,” said Gordon. The project is estimated to cost over $2 million and JAMsj will be working on a major capital campaign in the coming months.
The Kawakami Project is one of the three pillars of “JAMsj 2025,” which is the roadmap for the next few years that will guide JAMsj in realizing the museum’s vision - “Building bridges of understanding through inspiration, innovation, and inclusion.” The plan is for the Kawakami House to become a hub for events and future leadership programs across the Asian American community, according to Todd Shimizu, Marketing and Creative Director of JAMsj.
Lynda Gomi, Secretary and Education Leader of JAMsj, shared a major accomplishment that around 2,000 students have attended the JAMsj virtual tours just in this past year.
For those that couldn’t make it, you can see the recording of the event below. Thanks to Kazu Gomi for manning the video camera!
After the presentations, each volunteer received a nice bento prepared that morning by JT Express in San Jose Japantown and a new purple JAMsj T-shirt. The T-shirt was designed by volunteer Emily Schulze who just entered college.
Many thanks to all the volunteers that made the Volunteer Brunch successful and all that attended! It was great to see you all!