By Eric Ngo
At the beginning of August, the Monterey Abalone Festival brought all walks of life to the Monterey JACL hall. The wonderful members of the SELANOCO Orange County chapter visited us. They gave me a chance to learn more about how their chapter serves its community differently while sharing the same larger purpose.
Pictured (from left) are SELANOCO-OC JACL board members Erin Hitomi, Reilly Chang and Jamie Morishima with JACL of Monterey Peninsula board member Eric Ngo. (Photo: Courtesy of Eric Ngo)
Every JACL chapter has its own character. In Monterey, our chapter has a historic hall that serves as a headquarters and gathering place for community events. Because we have many longtime and older members, a lot of our work centers on maintaining those relationships, preserving the Japanese American footprint in Monterey and creating opportunities for different generations to come together.
The SELANOCO Orange County chapter has a unique dynamic. From my experience with the delightful board members, I saw a chapter that is strongly connected with a large number of younger people. Their involvement showed me how JACL can also provide a space for younger generations to build friendships, develop leadership skills and become more involved in the community through advocacy and heritage.
Even though our chapters may have different demographics and ways of engaging members, the purpose behind the work is very similar. Both communities are creating places where people can connect, learn from one another, celebrate culture and keep those connections strong for future generations.
While fortunate to reside near a coastal scenery, I was able to do a special little “Tour de Big Sur” for our visiting JACL members. It was a spontaneous, unforgettable experience to strengthen ties between our communities.
All in all, my experiences with both the Monterey chapter and SELANOCO OC chapter helped me appreciate that there is no single way to build a strong JACL community.
Eric Ngo is a board member of the JACL of Monterey Peninsula chapter.