Happy New Year from OKSCA!

In this newsletter edition, please enjoy:

• Greetings from incoming OKSCA President Cheryl Selby

• Join or renew your 2025 OKSCA membership

• Upcoming board meeting 1/23/25, 7 PM, online

• Newly elected members to the Board of Directors

• Greetings from Kato

• Friendship Delegation update

• Silent auction success

• Bylaws change

• Japanese new year traditions: a time for renewal and reflection

Greetings from Incoming OKSCA President Cheryl Selby

I'm writing this note as the Interim President of the Olympia Kato Sister City Association. Heartfelt thanks are due to our Immediate Past-President, Timothy Grisham. Tim stepped into the leadership role at a time when the organization needed some rejuvenation, and boy did he make that happen!

In his time as Board President, we updated our by-laws, set regular board meetings and hosted two successful delegations. Tim also wrote a grant through the City of Olympia "Inspire Olympia" program, and we received $7,000 in funding!

Speaking of inspiration, OKSCA has an active board that is ready to hit the ground running this year. I'm honored to serve with such dedicated community members. We have a lot to look forward to and are gearing up to host another delegation of students this August.

Please consider getting involved with OKSCA. The easiest way is to renew your membership. Please click the link and join the fun!

Join or Renew your 2025 OKSCA Membership!

Annual OKSCA membership dues have been updated for the 2025 calendar year. Please take a few minutes to renew or join our organization.

2024 was a great year for us, with a Student Ambassador trip, the adult delegation from Kato, and the award of an Inspire Olympia grant to further our projects. 2025 promises to be just as wonderful as we host students and share our culture and community with them. We welcome your involvement and thank you for everything you do for the Olympia Kato Sister City Association and our historic friendship with the people of Kato.

• Student: $15

• Individual: $30

• Family: $50

• Civic/Non-Profit Organization: $50

• Patron: $100

• Corporate: $200

Dues and donations may now be made directly through our website! https://www.olympiakatosca.org/membership

We also accept check or money order via mail, and card transactions via Zelle (please add $2 for Zelle transactions). Additional contributions for Kato Friendship Delegation activities and Olympia Student Ambassador trips are gladly accepted.

For assistance with the dues process, contact Treasurer Debbie Macy, macyhome@comcast.net.

Upcoming Board Meeting

Our first meeting of 2025 will be held Thursday, January 23, at 7 PM. This meeting will be held online. The agenda and meeting link will be shared with current members no later than January 15.

The full schedule of 2025 OKSCA meetings will be published soon.

Newly Elected Members to the Board of Directors

At the December 11 Annual Membership Meeting, new officers were elected to the Board of Directors. Bob Nakamura was elected to the Board of Trustees to serve as Director-at-Large. Cheryl Selby was elected President. Timothy Grisham remains on the board as Immediate Past President. The elections of the new board members are due to departures/changes, and they will serve the remaining one year of their predecessors’ term. Elections for all positions will be held at the December 2025 Annual Membership Meeting.

The 2025 OKSCA Board of Directors consists of:

• President: Cheryl Selby

• Vice President: Sam Sullivan

• Secretary: Sharyn Merrigan

• Treasurer: Debbie Macy

• Immediate Past-President: Timothy Grisham

• Director-at-Large: Jack Merrigan

• Director-at-Large: Margo Morales

• Director-at-Large: Bob Nakamura

• Director-at-Large: Patricia Thulin

• Ex-Officio Member, Mayor of Olympia: Dontae Payne

Greetings from Kato

A recent letter from Mr. Iwane Tadashi, Mayor of Kato, expresses his gratitude for our recent hosting of the Kato Delegation, as well as his ongoing appreciation for the work of OKSCA in continuing the special friendship between our two communities.

…I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the warm support and hospitality you have shown to the Kato City delegation during our visit to Olympia. I would also like to thank all the members of the association for your efforts, which made our visit a very meaningful one. Through the various facility visits and exchanges during the visit, I was able to once again realize the depth of the friendly relationship that both cities have built up to this point, and I felt that this was only possible because of the strong bonds between the Olympia Kato Sister City Association and the Kato City International Association…

Sincerely, 

岩福

Friendship Delegation Update

A delegation of middle and high school students from Kato will visit Olympia in late summer 2025. Due to school schedule conflicts, OKSCA and Kato International Association determined that we could not make a spring visit work. Firm dates are still in development but will likely be in the first half of August. In the coming months, the planning committee will be seeking volunteers to serve as host families, drivers, excursion chaperones, and translators. If you are interested in helping, please contact Patricia Thulin, blueequest3@gmail.com, Host Family Coordinator, or Sharyn Merrigan, secretary@olympiakatosca.org. Additionally, donations to support the students’ visit can be made on our website, olympiakatosca.org.

Silent Auction Success

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who made our Silent Auction a success. Special thanks to all who donated auction items, bid generously, and worked behind the scenes to make this auction happen. We appreciate your support in raising over $500 towards expenses related to Kato visitations to Olympia and providing enriching local youth programs! An extra big thanks to Debbie Macy and her daughter (and former OKSCA Student Ambassador) Marissa Lee for all their work curating, communicating, coordinating and collecting for the auction!

Bylaws Change

A proposal to update sections of the OKSCA Bylaws to eliminate gendered pronouns in the descriptions of the various officers’ roles and responsibilities was voted on and approved. This change promotes inclusivity and combats gender stereotypes, while creating structural consistency within the document. The complete OKSCA Bylaws may be accessed on our website.

Japanese New Year Traditions: A Time for Renewal and Reflection

by Sam Sullivan, OKSCA Vice President

In Japan, New Year's, お正月 or Oshogatsu, is the most important holiday of the year, marked by a sense of renewal and reflection. Unlike in the U.S., families in Japan usually celebrate by cleaning and decorating their homes, a practice known as osoji, to welcome the toshigami (New Year's deity) into their homes for good fortune in the coming year. Many also display kadomatsu, a traditional pine arrangement, at the entrance to attract the spirits of prosperity.

Thank you for your continued support!

Fostering good will, fellowship, and cultural appreciation between the cities of Olympia, WA, USA, and Kato, Hyogo, Japan, since 1981