Florin JACL Host's the NCWNP District 2006 First Quarter Meeting 

By Kevin Nakano

On Sunday, February 5, 2006, the Florin JACL hosted the JACL Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific (NCWNP) District Council quarterly meeting. The meeting was held at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and Voter Registration community room on 65th and Florin Road.

The National JACL has eight districts nationwide, and each of those districts has a governing body -- the District Council. The NCWNP District Council has 32 chapters, and is the largest district in the organization.

The event was co-chaired by Kazuyo Morishita and Kevin Nakano. We had around 50 delegates and officers attend the event. As the delegates arrived before the start of the meeting, they had an opportunity to have a continental breakfast and listen to a cellist (a member of the Sacramento Youth Symphony). The council meeting began at 10 AM. Dr. Karen Kurasaki, Florin JACL 2006 President, welcomed the council to Sacramento. Elaine Yamaguchi, Sacramento Chapter President, gave a short presentation about the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program. The council discussed the usual district business. Zokku Restaurant & Lounge, a new Japanese restaurant at 419 J Street, provided lunch that consisted of salad, rice, chicken teriyaki, miso soup and tempura. After lunch, Florin JACL youth (Annie, Tadao and Jane) and Andy Noguchi (youth advisor) presented a slide show that highlighted Florin youth activities and activism over the past five years. At the end of the meeting, around 4 PM, the delegates and officers each picked up a goody bag and a complementary bottle of wine. 

The wine was donated by Jim Taylor. District 8 Sacramento Councilmember, Bonnie Pannell, donated $200 to help cover the cost of the gift bags and incidentals. We had several volunteers helping out: Suzanne Sasaki (Sacramento Chapter), Sachiko Nagao (Florin Chapter), Rei Onishi (Florin Chapter), Connie Lee (UPN 31) and Tony Dai (Ernst & Young). Milo Yoshino (Diablo Valley Chapter) brought the PA system. Nelson Nagai (Stockton Chapter) brought the district LCD projector.