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Welcome! Mahalo!board membersThe staff and Board of Directors bid farewell and mahaloto four outstanding board members for their years ofservice and many contributions to the Japanese CulturalCenter of Hawai‘i!After six years on the Board of Directors, Gordon Kagawaand Curt Otaguro have reached the maximum termallowed by the JCCH Bylaws. Gordon Kagawa joinedthe Board of Directors in 2007, chaired the Facilities& Operations Committee and has served on the Budget& Finance, Fundraising, and Executive committees duringhis two terms. Gordon oversaw many major upgradesand renovations of the center’s facilities during his termPlease join us in welcoming threenew members to the JCCH Boardof Directors!Christine Kubota isa local attorney andDirector at Damon KeyLeong Kupchak Hastert.Born and raised in Japan,she joined the firm in1988 and immediately began buildinga practice in corporate, commercial,and real estate law, primarily withJapanese-speaking clients. To addressthe needs of her Japanese clients,her practice also encompassesimmigration law, estate planning andemployment matters.Christine graduated from ChaminadeUniversity with a Bachelor of Artsin International Relations andAsian Studies and received her JurisDoctorate from the University of thePacific, McGeorge School of Law.Christine is a past director of Meritas,a worldwide affiliation of commerciallaw firms, which has members in over(left to right): Past Vice Chair Gordon Kagawa, ChairmanTyler Tokioka, past Chairman Curt Otaguro, and Presidentand Executive Director Carole Hayashinoand was a generous contributor to the JCCH gala, annualfund and fundraising initiatives.Curt Otaguro also joined the Board of Directors in2007 and was a member of the Facilities & Operations,Budget & Finance, Fundraising, and Executive committees.Curt served two years as Chairman of the Board ofDirectors, chaired the search committee for the newpresident and executive director, helped JCCH launchits year-long 25th Anniversary celebration in 2012 andrepresented JCCH on the Hawaiian Airlines inauguralflights to Haneda and Fukuoka.We would also like to acknowledge Dennis Esakiand Lance Mizumoto for their service to the center.Dennis Esaki joined the JCCH Board of Directors in2011 as the representative for the island of Kaua‘i. Duringhis term, Dennis served on the Facilities & Operations,Fundraising, and Membership Development committees.Esaki was recently appointed to the Commission of Landand Natural Resources by Governor Neil Abercrombiecontinued on page 11270 cities. Damon Key is the exclusiveHawai‘i affiliate of Meritas. She wasa past chair and still currently servesas a board member for the HonoluluJapanese Chamber of Commerce.She is also the immediate pastpresidentof the United JapaneseSociety of Hawaii. She activelyvolunteers with and is a member of anumber of community organizationsincluding the U.S.-Japan Council,Japan-America Society of Hawai‘i,Hiroshima Kenjinkai and JapaneseWomen’s Society Foundation just toname a few. Christine was a finalistfor the Pacific Business News WomenWho Mean Business in 2010 and wasnamed the Best Corporate Lawyer inHawai‘i for 2013.Mitchell Nishimoto is Senior VicePresident of First Hawaiian Bank andsupervises the Kapiolani BankingRegion. The Kapiolani Banking Centeris a multi-line, full service branchwithin the First Hawaiian network andhouses a full complement of personal,commercial and business banking,along with wealth advisory, privatebanking, and Japan personal bankingservices.Prior to this, Mitchell was the MauiRegion Supervisor of First HawaiianBank, supervising the bank’s sevenbranches on Maui and one on Lāna‘iwith over 100 employees. He formerlyheld several other managerial positionsincluding managingfour branches withinthe Maui region.Mitchell is a graduate ofPunahou School and isalso an honors graduateof both the University of SouthernCalifornia and the Pacific CoastBanking School in Seattle.He currently serves on the board ofCastle Medical Center. He formerlyheld board positions with the MauiChamber of Commerce, MauiMemorial Medical Center Foundation,Maui Economic Development Board,University of Hawai‘i Maui Campus —Chancellor’s Advisory Council, Mauicontinued on page 117