2021 Virtual Annual Gala

Jerry Yoshitomi became Executive Director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on June 1, 1981. With Kats Kunitsugu already on board, he was able to assemble one of the best teams an Executive Director could ever hope for, alongside a remarkable “can do” Board of Directors chaired by George Doizaki, Frank Kuwahara, and finally Tosh Terasawa. Under his leadership, JACCC accomplished much more than anyone thought imaginable, including:

• Presenting the first-ever Exhibition of the Living National Treasures of Japan to come to the United States. The exhibit needed a climate-controlled museum-quality space. The Board stepped up and said yes, then raised the money and completed construction in record time.

• Dedicating JACCC’s Plaza, designed by Isamu Noguchi and his “To the Issei” sculpture with the support of Mayor Tom Bradley. No less important is the Memorial to the Americans of Japanese ancestry who’ve died in World Wars and Military Actions.

• Opening the Aratani Theatre (formerly the Aratani Japan America Theatre) with Kabuki from the National Theatre of Japan and in the next several years, presented tours by the Grand Kabuki with performances by Living National Treasures artists. JACCC also made certain that Americans of Japanese ancestry were also recognized as American ‘National Heritage Fellows,’ hence the nomination and recognition of Sosei Matsumoto and Fujima Kansuma.

• Acknowledging our commitment to the Artists displaced from the Sun Building by providing space in JACCC. And aware of the next generation of visual/performing artists and audiences, JACCC presented work in the Doizaki Gallery and on the stage of the Aratani Theatre. JACCC made its stage available to artists from other cultures, including El Teatro Campesino, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and Chamber Music from the LA Philharmonic.

• Understanding our commitment to the broader community. Jerry served as a Bradley appointment to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, a Deukmejian appointee to the California Arts Council, and also on panels at the National Endowment for the Arts and Chaired the National Task Force on Presenting and Touring the Performing Arts.

Jerry’s grandparents came from Okayama and Wakayama. His parents were born in Oregon and Washington, and he himself was born on a celery farm in Milwaukie, Oregon. When his parents moved to Los Angeles and attempted to buy a home, they were relegated to a mixed racial ‘red-lined’ neighborhood in the Venice/Culver City area. He went to Venice High School and then on scholarship, went on to Stanford to study Economics.

Jerry’s life was blessed forever when he met Cynthia Louise White. Through Cindy, he learned about VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). They joined VISTA together and were assigned to Williams, Arizona, a town of 2,400 people. That changed their lives. Jerry went on to work at Arizona Job Colleges, an Office of Economic Opportunity, and Ford Foundation program for Migrant Farmworkers. He then became Deputy Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. He later became the Vice President of Western States Arts Foundation, now WESTAF. Jerry and Cindy’s son David was born in 1977 and Joseph was born in 1981.

After leaving JACCC, one of Jerry’s favorite quotes became “It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.”[1] New research and initiatives supported by the Wallace and Duke Foundations provided ground-breaking tools and methods to reach new audiences and engage donors. Jerry took his passion for cultural diversity and racial equity into new places, presenting workshops to artists and arts managers from every Canadian Province and Territory; facilitating the Spotlight on Diversity Program for Asian New Zealanders, and presenting workshops on audience engagement in Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires and Madrid.

Most recently, he has been facilitating the Anti-Racism Working Group for a 17 member Consortium of Performing Arts Presenters at Major Research Universities. 

[1] John Wooden, Helen Hayes, and Harry Truman

Hoshizaki is a global leading manufacturer of commercial equipment for food and beverage services that was founded in Nagoya, Japan in 1947. We have continually manufactured and offered a wide variety of high-quality products, in order to meet changing needs and demands, since Hoshizaki’s establishment. In particular, we provide equipment that relates to food and beverage service, such as ice machines, commercial refrigeration,  beverage dispensers, and dishwashers. They are used in various fields, such as restaurants,  cafes, the main kitchens of hotels, wedding halls, food production, supermarkets, offices, etc. In recent years, we have been active in developing new products including water electrolyzers.  Thanks to these products, Hoshizaki is also known in the non-culinary fields such as agriculture, medical care, and welfare business. Furthermore, we value environment conservation activities for a sustainable society, including the development of energy-saving products, reducing CO2 and waste emissions and support for natural environment preservation. 

Hoshizaki has a comprehensive global network with its manufacturing plants in the  United States, Europe, Mexico, China, India, Australia, and Brazil. We also have sales and after-sales service teams based not only in the above areas but also in the Middle East and Asia including Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. At present, our products that incorporate creativity and innovation are highly valued in more than 60 countries, supporting various dining scenes for worldwide customers. With our spirit of “Challenge to the Extremity,” we continue making our best efforts for further growth as a global brand loved around the world. 

Since our relationship with JACCC started in 2017, we have truly appreciated the honor to contribute to their mission by donating our equipment and great dining experience to Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center, Aratani Theatre, and Center Building.

Since 2001, the mission of the Grateful Crane Ensemble has been to pay tribute to the unique hardships and inspiring contributions of Japanese Americans in our country’s history. For 20 years, Grateful Crane has continued the traditions of our Japanese ancestry through educational and entertaining works of music and theater to the Nikkei and broader communities.

Through shows such as “The Camp Dance” and “Nihonmachi: The Place to Be,” the non-profit theater group has honored our Issei and Nisei through storytelling and the singing of their favorite Japanese and American songs.

Along with the JACCC, Grateful Crane has also performed at gala events for JANM, Go For Broke, Keiro, and the JACL, to name a few.

This year marks the sixth time Grateful Crane has sung special songs in honor of the JACCC’s Community Spirit Awardees.