Event Description
2022 MHJCA Annual Meeting by Zoom
02/20/22 Annual Meeting
On Sunday, February 20, MHJCA held its Annual Meeting over Zoom. Out of the 11 who had replied, seven members were able to attend.
The Annual Meeting serves two purposes:
- As an NPO, it is one of the compliance requirements.
- This meeting is when we share the previous year’s financial report. Members can then acknowledge and understand how MHJCA’s funds are used for our operations and activities.
Meeting summary
Thanks in large part to generous member donations last year, MHJCA was able to purchase a mochi usu, a traditional wooden mortar used to pound mochi. Since our year-end mochi tasting has become one of our most popular events, we felt this was a worthwhile item for MHJCA to have.
We may ask the Poughkeepsie Galleria if we can hold our 2022 year-end festival in the food court and demonstrate mochi-tsuki (mochi pounding) to the public.
We also had time for a general discussion, during which one of our members, Rosemarie, told us about how she and her son saw Sumo wrestlers pound mochi while living in Japan. She also shared an interesting book that had recently been given to her:
Woman Running in the Mountains by Yuko Tsushima.
On a more somber note, we took a moment to acknowledge the 80th anniversary of the Japanese internment camps in the US.
Upcoming events
Although we have not yet heard an official announcement, we are anticipating our participation in the annual Kingston Multicultural Festival, which usually takes place around June.
Our performance idea is the Hanagasa Ondo, a traditional folk dance that translates to “flower straw hat dance”. Atsuko-san had an idea for the flower hats and showed us a sample that she made.
Member workshops
We are already planning upcoming workshops for tanka, calligraphy, tea ceremony, and ikebana.
If you would like to see some other offerings, please contact one of the board members and let them know. We welcome all ideas and encourage members to actively participate in MHCA’s program development.
Wishing everyone good health. Spring is just around the corner!
Best,
Board of Directors
