Chairperson's Report 2004/05 - Peter Patterson

I have pleasure in presenting the Chairperson’s report for the year 2004/2005. It has been a busy year with 2 Cultural Fairs, Festivals and delegations to and from Japan. Thank you to all the members of the FSFA Executive for their great efforts. The sister city relationship continues to be robust with new faces both here and in Susono. Both FSFA and SOFA are committed to exploring ways of celebrating the relationship in new ways.

Student Exchange

Sam Warrington is out student in Susono this year. He has entertained us weekly with his emails on life in Susono. We have been very impressed with his efforts to date and we amazed at his personal development when we say him Susono a few weeks ago. He has been very well looked after by SOFA.

3 boys from Susono arrive in Frankston on 7 August 2005 for a 2 week visit. They will be hosted by Elizabeth Murdoch College in Langwarrin.

Japanese Fair

The Fair was an outstanding success from the moment our Japanese guests arrived until they left.  There had been good weather and good crowds. The success of the Fair had been due to a lot of hard work from many people – Kimono House, the Arts Centre staff, Australian Arrow and the Committee, to name a few. 

FSFA took the delegation on the Monday to Australian Arrow, McClelland Gallery, the chocolate shop, the Golf course and to Waves.  On the Saturday night they had gone to the Seaford Hotel for dinner, which had been very different from the type of thing they would do in Japan, and they had enjoyed playing the pokies.

Speech Contest

Another great effort from Des to put together our annual Speech Contest. Good support from local schools.

Phil Harris’s Book

FSFA supported Phil and Meredith Harris who have written a book on their trip to Japan. It debuted at our Japanese Fair. It was a humourous account of their time in Japan. It provided a great insight into life in Susono.

ASCA Conference

Steve Walker and Chris Hodgins attended the ASCA Conference in Noosa. The next ASCA Conference in 2005 would be hosted by LaTrobe City Council and Devonport in Tasmania had managed to secure the hosting of the 2006 Conference

Australian Arrow

Yoshio Noda in his short time with FSFA, had a major impact on us with his knowledge of Susono and drawing FSFA and Australian Arrow closer together. He is now back in Susono and we had the pleasure of catching up with him on our recent visit. Yoshio now runs the Susono branch of FSFA. 

Yoshinori Hashimoto has continued the high level of support we receive from Australian Arrow.

FSFA supported the recent visit of 2 groups of children of Yazaki staff in Japan. They we welcomed at Frankston High School on the 22^nd and 29^th March 2005.

Visit to Japan and World Expo 2005

I was most fortunate to lead a 33 strong delegation to Japan in late June this year. The group visited Kyoto, Nagoya and the World Expo, Susono and Tokyo. An outstanding success in every aspect, apart from the hot weather. We witnessed the Frankston High School Stage band play at the Aichi Pavilion at the World Expo, at Yazaki headquarters , Susono High School and at the Australian Fair. Many thanks to those who were part of the delegation, and to the Frankston Council, Australian Arrow and Frankston High School for their financial support. A presentation on the trip will be made later in the evening.

Sea Festival

The Sea Festival has become a key part of our promotional program. The partnership with AAPL works well with mutual support of the weekend’s activities.  Thank you to Megumi Restaurant, Australian Arrow, Council and the people who were not on the committee, but worked at the Fair.

We had great support from Brenda Saunders and her team and Yoshinori, his wife and the Japanese staff at AAPL.

We are looking to invite a delegation from Susono to a future Sea Festival rather than the Japanese Fair.

Assistant Language Teacher

Laura Wallis and Emma Kennedy have been selected as Assistant Language Teachers to commence work in Susono in the next weeks. Both are locals and are excellent candidates. We wish them well in their roles.

We look forward to another exciting year. Thank you to everyone who supported the Association over the past 12 months.