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GO FOR BROKE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, BILL H. SEKI
 |
Bill Seki, Chairman
of the Board, Go For Broke Educational Foundation |
TORRANCE, Calif. (January 31, 2005) - The Go
For Broke Educational Foundation, the only organization truly
focused on the preservation and education of Japanese American
World War II veteran history, is proud to announce its new Chairman
of the Board, Bill H. Seki.
A prominent Los Angeles trial attorney, and 2002/2003 president
of the Japanese American Bar Association, Seki is leading the
Educational Foundation as it embarks on a new direction and focus
for its future. Seki was the Educational Foundation’s 2004
fundraising campaign chair, leading nearly 125 volunteers to raise
more than $250,000 in a five-week campaign. Former Founding Chairman,
Col. Young O. Kim (Ret.), was named Chairman Emeritus.
“The Go For Broke Educational Foundation is grateful for
the years of leadership under founding chairman and pillar of
the community, Col. Kim, who led the generation of WWII Nisei
(second generation Japanese American) veterans for more than a
decade to build the Go For Broke Monument and establish the Educational
Foundation,” said Seki, himself the son of late WWII veteran
Lloyd Seki. “I look forward to initiating future initiatives
that will ensure the work of the WWII Nisei veterans and especially
their story - an integral American story of patriotism, loyalty,
perseverance - are preserved and educated to future generations
of Americans.”
Currently Seki is an attorney with Los Angeles-based law firm
Harrington, Foxx, Dubrow & Canter, practicing criminal defense,
business litigation, and labor and employment litigation. He is
also an adjunct professor at Southwestern University of Law, where
he received the Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000.
He is active in the community and was recognized with the Pro
Bono Service Award by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center
for his criminal defense work with immigrant survivors of domestic
violence. Seki served nearly a decade as a Los Angeles County
Deputy District Attorney before he became a partner of Mounger,
Gonda & Seki, where he handled state and federal criminal
defense cases, with an emphasis on law enforcement officer representation.
The Go For Broke Educational Foundation educates the general
public about the injustice that was the incarceration of Japanese
Americans and the pivotal role the Nisei WWII veterans played
in ensuring that such atrocities never again occur to any group
of Americans. Through the Go For Broke Monument located in Little
Tokyo and Educational Foundation programs that include an ever-expanding
oral history archive, vital resource center, award-winning educational
Web site and comprehensive teacher training
program.
The Educational Foundation’s Hanashi Oral History Program,
which is volunteer-based, records the life histories of WWII Nisei
veterans and currently the archive has more than 510 interviews.
More than 200 interviews are accessible on the Educational Foundation’s
Web site, www.GoForBroke.org
along with a comprehensive historical section, interactive maps
and other content that utilize oral history interviews. The archive
is also used to create teaching materials, including “A
Tradition of Honor” documentary and teacher’s guide.
The documentary features 40 interviews from the Hanashi archive.
In addition, its Resource Center --located in its Torrance office-provides
more extensive information not available at www.GoForBroke.org
offering the opportunity for anyone to inquire and further research
the Japanese American World War II veteran experience.
In 1989 Japanese American World War II veterans built the Go
For Broke Monument, which would become an eternal tribute to the
heroics of the segregated Japanese American units: 100th Infantry
Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, MIS (Military Intelligence
Service) and the many other men and women who served overseas
during World War II. The Monument is located in downtown Los Angeles
at Temple and Alameda streets. Today, under a new generation,
the Go For Broke Educational Foundation continues to carry the
torch through educational initiatives to perpetuate this important
American story.
