McKinley Alumni Association - Greater Los Angeles Chapter

Greater L.A. Chapter Calendar

Posted 10/20/08

Don Sison, Class of '52, is creating a 2009 calendar and needs your help. He is looking for information like dates of his senior year functions and events, such as the senior class picnic, prom, graduation, etc., and also any pictures.

Please send to Don Sison at 3791 Provincetown Ave., Irvine, CA 92606, or email to dsison@aol.com. If emailing, use "TALK STORY" in the Subject line so the message will be read, and not accidentally deleted as spam. Pictures will be returned. If you have any questions, you may also call (949) 551-2179. Mahalo!!!

GLAC Year 2007 Recap
Posted 2/5/08

The Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles started the year planning its annual fundraiser. Committees were assigned. Larry Arii ('52), Pete Cabalse ('52), and Frank Itai ('54) went out and canvassed the local area to find a suitable place to hold the event. It was later decided to have the fundraiser at the Torrance Presbyterian Church located in Torrance on September 15th. Subsequent meetings involved to include logistics (hall layout, tables setting), hiring an entetaintment group, door prizes, tickets sales, etc.

During the year, sensei (instructor) Tom Ohara ('51) and his capable assistants; Emma (Sun) Chang ('54), and, Katherine (Okubo) Mishima ('49), continued conducting lei-making classes, creating beautiful fabric/ribbon leis. Leis were later donated and made available to members to purchase at the annual fundraiser with the proceeds going to the scholarship funds.

Members were made aware of the GLAC Scholarship Drive. Immediate family of members including children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were eligible to apply before the July 31st deadline. The winners were announced at the September 15th annual fundraiser.

On March 23, 2007, the U. S. Internal Revenue Service granted our Association to be exempt from Federal Income Tax under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. This means that donations and contribution given to our association are tax deductible; however, there are certain requirements that must be met before it qualifies to be tax deductible. Any tax exempt inquiries are to be directed to any GLAC officer or Board of Directors member for clarification.

The summer Alumni Newsletter issue in an electronically format was emailed to members having email addresses. Ivan Lee of our parent alumni association in Honolulu was instrumental in formatting the newsletter for email delivery. Emailing our newsletter saves printing, handling & postage. The savings will benefit GLAC members. The emailing of the newsletter will continue for future issues. Mahalo to Ivan for his assist.

Members were made aware of The State of Hawaii Department of Education online website for all schools in the State. This opens a line between all alumni to coordinate reunions, gather updated class information or just to keep in touch. For further information, members were directed to go online with this, our parent McKinley Association of Hawaii link, www.mckinleymaa.com and read the topic, Online Alumni Community.

The September 15th's fundraiser theme was set to be a Hawaiian luau with live entertainment featuring the popular Orange County Polynesian dance and drum group, Lokelani's Rhythm of The Islands. The lucky winner of the fundraiser grand prize, the KoAloha ukulele, was Gilbert "Gil" Sora. Sora, a resident of Orange, is a 1957 graduate of Kapa'a High School on the island of Kauai. Gil has been taking ukulele lessons from last year's KoAloha ukulele winner Lincoln Kaio. Pictures were featured in our Fall Alumni Newsletter issue.

Five continuing students who are family members of current GLAC members were awarded GLAC scholarships. They were: Mariko Chilcott of Cal State University Northridge, Teresa Chow of Azusa Pacific University, Lauren Lau of Cal State University Long Beach, Claudio Mau of University of California Santa Barbara, and, Scott Tanaka of Biola University.

During early November, election ballots were mailed to current GLAC members. Members were to return the completed ballots by November 30th or bring the ballots to the year-end General Board Meeting and social on December 7th. (For election results, please refer to GLAC Menu and select "Officers/Board.")

The year-end social event was the last hoorahs for members to gather and have fun before the hectic time of the year as they rush to get ready for the holidays. The event was held at the VIP Buffet located in La Palma. Pictures of the event were featured in our winter Alumni Newsletter issue.

Mahalo to all those making 2007 a successful year. High hopes for an even more favorable Year 2008 for all.

GLAC Monthly Meeting

GLAC monthly meetings are held the first Saturday of each month. The only exception is when a holiday precedes that weekend or the Monday after, then the meeting is held on the following Saturday.

Meetings are held 11:00 AM at 2880 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance, just half mile west of Crenshaw Blvd. A Talk Story session and luncheon follow the meetings. All are invited.

GLAC Alumni Newsletter

Our newsletter is a “family-type,” a mini-version of a newspaper with news and information of interests for GLAC members. The newsletter is mailed to current members quartely.

If you have anything you want to share, please do not hesitate in sending them to:

Don Sison
3791 Provincetown Ave.
Irvine, CA 92606-1727

Or email dsison@aol.com. IMPORTANT: Remember to use “TALK STORY” in the subject line for those writing in for the first time.

In addition, GLAC Happenings messages are sent to members with email addresses. These messages are our "catchall" for our Alumni Newsletter. It's sort of a last minute "pass the word" that didn't make the last newsletter issue or "gotta" disseminate information between issues. It sort of reminds members what's going on and sometimes where action is required.

Membership

McKinley graduates, family members, and friends are eligible to join. Contact Don Sision for a blank membership application form or download the PDF version via the Membership page.

GLAC Happenings Messages

The GLAC Happenings messages are our "catchall" for our Alumni Newsletters and sent to all members with email addresses. It's sort of a last minute "pass the word" that didn't make the last issue or "gotta" disseminate information between newsletter issues. It sort of reminds you what's going on and sometimes where action is required on your part.

Change of Mailing/Email Addresses

If you are moving from one location to another or changing your email address, please send a change of address card to GLAC and if you are also a member of our parent McKinley Alumni Association (MAA), send them a card too.