Memorandum for Record 3 December 2001

Subject: Minutes of the JAVA Executive Council, 1 Dec 2001.

2. Dave Buto, Secretary, read the minutes of the general membership meeting. Stan Falk mentioned that Ms. Leila Meyerratken was a special JAVA guest at the luncheon. Phil made a motion to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

3. Mike Okusa, Treasurer, gave his report.

a. The combined account for last two months was $------- . JAVA spent $1596.22 for office administrative expenditures…for example, it placed an ad in the Pacific Citizen for $382, which covered graphics and an article. That included the contribution to the Arlington County Fire and Rescue as well as the Red Cross. JAVA sold 7 more books (The American Patriot), and received more dues….$360 incoming. Plus $85 contributed from Warren Tsuneishi meant to cover some of expense of the Pacific Citizen.

b. Also, $100 was contributed by William Moritani. At the last mtg, Mike asked for contributions to the Red Cross. JAVA had collect $450 dollars, but no additional funds were received. The Luncheon at China Garden cost $540 and we collected $540.50!

4. "Frank" Kuge was introduces as a new member from Silver Spring -- he is a veteran of the Korean War.

5. Java expenses. There was considerable discussion about giving the President more leeway on approving expenditures. The suggestion was made that anything above to $200 needs Executive Council approval…Hank suggested a smaller number of representatives could represent the council (rather than whole council) -- it would be their judgement whether or not the full council needed to vote on a matter. Stan disagreed and believes telephone coordination will work with entire council. Bylaws were changed to accommodate $200 threshhold -- With a majority rule vote to pass…the group agreed to use email and phone and that once notified, members who did not respond were assumed to concur with a measure.

6. Calvin asked for clarification regarding what constitutes the Executive Council…this was deemed to be the Officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, etc.) plus the Board which is appointed by the president for two year term. The group agreed to keep the timing of the elections (reelections are in July of even years) as they are as opposed to trying to align them to the recently changed fiscal year. Cal said he plans to update Bylaws then send out a final version…no response from the addressees means concurrence. The distinction was made that a "Quorum" is the minimum number needed to hold a meeting while a "majority" is for voting purposes. Cal made a motion that all expenses in excess of $200 will require a board vote where the majority rules. Email and phone will be used if a meeting is not practical and no response means concurrence. Stan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Hank commend Cal on great job. This was the first effort of revision since the By-Laws were put together 10 years ago. There were some suggestions on the By-Laws: Election of officers, sect 2, para 4, line 2…."seasonably" or "reasonably"? Some expressed concern about overhead of having to mail out so much information. Some agreed that we should consider using email for voting and newsletters. Dave Buto will ask each member who has email if he/she is willing to vote and receive information via email. (Note: Many agreed to receive information via email and a list was started to broadcast information.)

7. JAVA expenditures. $540.80 reimbursement was described for website expenses. All agreed that the expenditure had been authorized earlier and that the treasurer should write a check. Dave Buto agreed to submit a bill annually and will submit a voucher to Mike Okusa.

8. Dave Buto gave the justification for buying Adobe Acrobat. The group endorsed the purchase to continue support for the web site. The software will ensure getting documents from the JAVA website is user-friendly (e.g., can be printed easily), helps conserve space, and is a universal format. Possibly using a summary and responding by exception for requests for complete document. After much discussion, Gordon made a motion to acquire Adobe…it was seconded and passed.

9. Documentation for the web site. Stan commented on recent chronology that was provided to JAVA -- he was concerned about its validity. Norm commented that it was full of errors from a 442^nd standpoint. The group agreed that anything JAVA publlishes should be scrutinized to ensure accuracy for the web site's credibility.

10. Dave Buto indicated that from February to December 2001, the web site has had over 5000 visitors from over 21 countries (mostly from the United States) -- it has prompted phone calls from several national news organizations and one from a Japanese broadcasting company (the result of which was a news article of the Quilt effort on Japanese TV). Phil asked Dave to write up something for next newsletter...

11. Membership. There was considerable discussion about membership in terms of dues for different categories of members, absentee ballots (possibly change the lead time to give the absentee voters more time to receive and send their ballots via the USPS), the requirement for the number of veterans in JAVA. Cal agreed to include draft language in the next version of the By-Laws.

12. Cal raised questions submitted by Mrs. Kobayashi. She asked about some potentially historic materials in Alaska, possibly memorabilia. She would like to see it memorialized in book. She has some guardianship over the material. The material is of the situation in Alaska. Hank said that it is more than just the JA experience (Indians, Aleuts, etc). Someone suggested contacting the Department of Interior which may be interested. Several suggested petitioning organizations for funding -- Go for Broke in Gardenia got $1M. Gerald said he would put her in contact with Gardenia and share what they did to get funding -- she could get project for funding from home state.

13. Salute to the Senators. April 27 at Ft Myers. We have AJA National Council, NJAMF, APAmerican Heritage Council, NJAhisstorical society, local JACL, JA National museum. Phil has spoken to California and Seattle vet orgs. But no commitment on dollars. $50 per person. Choice of beef or salmon, dessert, salad, coffee/tea. Will set up planning groups…won't want to be as elaborate as the reunion. Committees: fundraising, program, -- speaker has not been decided. Stan said it will be critical to keep the senators' offices informed of the number of sponsors so they will be more likely to be available -- they have not committed to attend yet. Security will be tight going into Ft Myer. Gerry will be MC for Inouye and Akaka Salute. Shinseki might be good speaker.

14. Veterans' Oral Hostory project. Warren Tsuneishi was not here today. The effort has taken on new importance. It was started last year, but now there is special council that overseeing this. It is being done by folklife center Library of Congress. Francis Sogi, Sen Inouye, et al -- 5 star council. Others include Brokaw, Cronkite, Dole, Kerry, Ted Stevens, Warner. Everyone is encouraged to bring memorabilia to the folklife center at Library Congress…want memorabilia, etc. JAVA is one of sponsors. Warren is our POC. He will collect stories, etc. He has already sent them two copies of our JAVA book.

15. D-Day museum in New Orleans. Opening a D-Day of the Pacific…2^nd floor. Dec 7 series of events to commemorate new exhibit. Trying to get people to attend. Phil is going. Lots of events including a parade, group meetings, correspondents will talk to vets -- Phil will take copies of the JAVA book and mention the website. Hank said the event is sponsored by Higgins Boat and Stephen Ambrose (author). Ted Inari has been very active -- contacted all JA vet orgs for help. JAVA was one of few to respond.

16. Motion to close was seconded and passed unanimously.