Photo and Art Show 2007

 

The Photo and Art show was a resounding success this year with at least 38 people at last head-count. Art and photos were submitted by various contributors, including the Global trainees, so there was plenty to see as well as many folks to talk to.

The winning photos are as follows:

In first place - Steve with his shot, Sunset:

Next, in second place, Brian with his Preying Mantis:

 

In third place, Larry with his Canadian goat photo:

Christmas Party 2006

Fall BBQ

Well, the Social Committee would like to thank everyone who showed up and had a blast at the BBQ last month. Brief summary for posterity’s sake: preparations began the night before as Van and Kinsella stayed up into the wee hours of the night making Hamburger Patties; early on the day of the event the entire Social Committee met at the Senpuku Gardens to light the grill, harness the powers of fire, and begin the magical chant that would later turn ordinary pig, chicken and cow flesh into unimaginably delicious BBQ hamburgers, chicken steaks and hot dogs; brave competitors from all over Japan came to test their skills in a grueling gauntlet of games that would have tested the mettle of the boldest Olympians, and the winner walked away with a huge bag of Kona coffee beans (although her parents may make her wait a few years before they let her drink it, so that it doesn’t stunt her growth); the total number of casualties and wounded has been classified to protect the innocent; and to all who showed up and enjoyed free beer and food – congratulations on your new PS3 (for those of you who chose not to come, maybe we’ll be giving away more of them at the next BBQ if the budget permits).

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August - Annual Summer Beach Party

Good Fun, No Casualties

The beach party has wrapped up once again for 2006, and what started out as a bit of a cloudy day turned into one with sun and a nice breeze coming off the Pacific to keep everyone cool. Mind you, the beer and chu-hi were doing a pretty good job of keeping people cool too.

Thanks to the trainers and their members who came out and spent the day, and also stuck around to help with the clean up at the end of the day. Of course any party does take quite a bit of effort to have fun, so a special thanks also goes out to Brian and Tracy for lugging the cooler of beer down to the beach.

All of the pictures from the beach party can be seen in the SC Photo Album.

July - Farewell to Steve, Caroline, Julian, and Will

Farewell Party for Julian and Will- A few of us had a small party for both of them at the Gotenba Kogen Restaurant on Saturday, August 5th.

June - Welcome to new trainer Chris

May - The Annual Photo and Art Show

You can see a complete writeup of the recent photo and art show held inY-City at the Training Center in the May Newsletter. This annual event always brings together trainers, their families, members, and friends of FIA to enjoy a nice relaxing time viewing many photos and different kinds of art.

This year's photo winners are Dan Bourne, Tracy Olson, and Mr. Hasegawa (SYS OJT). While Mr. Hasegawa's image was unavailable, we can still enjoy Dan and Tracy's entries seen below. Congratulations everyone!

April '06 - Farewell Party

There was a farewell party for Anna White in Haibara, in April. Several trainers met to celebrate and wish Anna good luck for the future! You can read more information about Anna's party in the April Newsletter.

December '05 - Christmas Party

FIA staff, family, and a few members joined in late-December to celebrate Christmas. Chris Madere spent the day cooking, decorating, and preparing the Speak-EZ bar in Numazu for his traditional Turkey dinner with all the fixin's. In addition to the turkey, potatos, stuffing, and gravy, we enjoyed a bit of Southern cuisine with some Gumbo soup and jambalaya.

It was all very delicious and a nice, relaxing way to wind-down the holiday season. Thanks goes to Mr. Kaneko for supplying the two turkeys to make our holiday dinner complete! Thanks to Chris and Mr. K!

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December '05 - Farewell to Mayumi

Saturday, December 10th, we bid Mayumi farewell with a dinner party at Gotemba Kogen's Grand Table.
Mayumi completed a year of training at FIA's WHQ3, and plans to return to the US during this holiday season, with an eye on starting her own business. Otsukaresama Mayumi - take care and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors! Thanks to all those who came to wish her luck, and special thanks to "Larry's Cocktail Bar" for hosting the nice nijikai.

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Nov '05 - Fall BBQ

Our Fall BBQ / "changing of the leaves" party was held on November 19th, with very favorable weather and beautiful surroundings! Trainers, families and members from Tobu & Seibu were able to relax and enjoy the fall colors at Wappazawa park in Kanaya (between Shimada and Haibara). It doesn't get any better than a 'fusion' BBQ with with flavors and styles from around the world.

Thanks to the SC for all your hard work in organizing these events, and special thanks again to Larry for the use of his prosumer BBQ gear (and the condiments!).