Dear friends,

With so many changes underway, it's easy to forget all the things that haven't changed. The Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) is continuing to partner with other veteran groups to deliver some of our education programs. And, the teacher training planned for Hawaii, San Francisco and Texas are on track. The National Veterans Network has been working very hard and very successfully on moving the Congressional Gold Medal legislation to a positive conclusion. The House is expected to pass the revised bill in the upcoming session. Planning for our annual gala dinner, Evening of Aloha, is in full swing with the hard-working dinner committee being chaired by Stephen Kagawa. Thank you, Stephen, for sacrificing time away from The Pacific Bridge Companies and stepping in and bringing so many people with you. And, our wonderful volunteers, veterans and staff remain a constant force helping move the organization forward.

To pick a fight with Gordon Riess as a boy, all you had to do was hand him a kite. With ground glass glued to the string, he would take to the Hawaii sky battling box kites, fish kites, and triangular kites. The kites mirrored the diversity of the young "warriors" who flew them – Riess's Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Pacific Islander friends. There were haoles, too, often from the military families that frequented the Army/Navy YMCA operated by Gordon's father on Oahu.

Evening of Aloha 2010 is set for November 13 at the Anaheim Hilton and will feature Chef Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's restaurants worldwide & Akira Hirose of Maison Akira restaurant of Pasadena, CA. A delicious dessert will be provided by King's Hawaiian Bakery and Restaurant. In addition to a fabulous menu, Evening of Aloha, which is being sponsored by Union Bank and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., will feature a full-spectrum of Silent Auction items.

The Go For Broke National Education Center's annual Opportunity Draw has begun! Enter to win Toyota's all new 2011 Prius, setting new standards for innovative hybrid design and technology, raising its level of convenience features and performance, including a combined EPA estimated fuel efficiency rating of 50 miles per gallon. The third-generation Prius is quieter and roomier than previous models and features the 90-percent newly developed Hybrid Synergy Drive system.

Consulate of Japan members Consul Hiroshi Furusawa, who will be returning to Japan shortly, and his successor Consul Toshio Odagiri visited the GFBNEC office on Wednesday, August 11. Pictured here (L to R) are GFBNEC volunteers Christie Ichikawa, Bertha Shimazu, Chuckie Seki, Beverly Iba, and Chiz Ohira with Consul Odagiri and Consul Furusawa. In the background on the left is GFBNEC's Tanabata entry, which won first place in the "Theme" Category at the 2nd annual Tanabata Festival held in conjunction with the Nisei Week Japanese Festival.

Houston-area residents Donna Cole, Glen Gondo, Dr. Abbie Grubb, Sandra Tanamachi, and Linda Toyota brought the WWII Japanese American experience to the forefront of American history classrooms in Texas. In March, the state of Texas became a feature headline as the State Board of Education (SBOE) voted to approve a series of controversial amendments to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. Though many of the proposed changes came under fire, the Japanese American community was particularly concerned that none of the amendments mentioned the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) or the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). In addition, the only mention of the Japanese American confinement equated the mass internment of Japanese Americans with that of German and Italian Americans.

The Go For Broke National Education Center is set to launch its second machinima film, "The 522: Japanese American Witnesses at Dachau," in the fall 2010. The machinima is a short video animation film that centers on the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion's unexpected encounter with Jewish prisoners from a sub-camp and death march near Dachau.

The Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) and National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) will jointly present a teacher training workshop aimed to teach educators about two historical events that took place at the Presidio, of San Francisco. GFBNEC will present its "A Tradition of Honor" documentary/lesson plan focusing on the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). It was at Building 640 where the first MIS Language School was formed in 1941. The workshop will include video and lesson application and participants.

Go For Broke National Education Center's feature-length documentary, "A Tradition of Honor" will be getting a refreshed cover and menu design in the upcoming months. Included in the new edition, which will be released in early 2011, will be deleted scenes, maps, historical images and additional Hanashi Oral History Program video clips.