Dear Editor and George Yoshinaga,
In a recent issue of The Rafu Shimpo, my name was mentioned in an article written by George Yoshinaga in which he claims that a Salt Lake City JACL chapter board meeting attendee sent him an email regarding a report I gave at the meeting. Since Mr. Yoshinaga said that he is open to corrections, I know he will want to set the record straight.
This much is correct in his article: We did have a board meeting in which I gave a brief report on the National JACL Board meeting that I attended in February. I did report that a new executive director was selected but did not give the name since it was to be officially announced at a later date. I did mention that Floyd Mori was being bestowed an emeritus status when he retires in June. I voted for the motion. (Obviously, one would not be given an emeritus status if he were fired from his position.)
I have no idea where all the other allegations and innuendos in the article came from. They were not mentioned or discussed at our meeting.
I have conferred with all those who attended our board meeting. The board members have denied knowledge of such an email being sent to Mr. Yoshinaga. I have full confidence in the integrity of our SLC board members. They are very trustworthy and responsible JACLers.
Therefore, I must refute the damaging allegations and innuendos that are within the article. If Mr. Yoshinaga would have contacted me directly before going to print, I might have been able to save him from making the errors in his article.
Since Mr. Yoshinaga withheld the name of the person who sent the email, I have to assume that he was misled by someone who fabricated the story with the intent to discredit those individuals mentioned in the article, including the SLC JACL Board.
I would like to recommend that he retract the false statements and apologize to those who were mentioned in the article for the negative effects it has had on them. Thank you.
Jeanette Misaka
Co-President
Salt Lake City JACL