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Jarrett Dave, Ragan Jr. (Membership Chair)
Cunningham, Mark (Program Chair)
Okakoi, Yumiko (Treasurer)
Kimura, Mio (Facilities Chair)
Shucart, Stephen (Publicity Chair)
2. President's Overview: (A narrative summary of the general operation of the chapter.)
Akita is a small chapter, but has been extremely active for the past several years. Holding a monthly regular meeting with a guest speaker (except for January and December) has been our main activity. Last spring AIU (Akita International University) was opened here. It is a kind of developed institution from the former MSU-A (Minnesota State University - Akita), which lasted over a decade. Akita JALT has had good relationship with both institutes and will try to strengthen the tie with AIU this year.
3. Membership: Statistics and Membership Summary (Estimated membership totals as of the end of the year and a summary statement about national and local membership growth or decline.)
The number of national membership has been rather stable for the past several years. Although some have kept leaving us for whatever reasons for the past years, we have had new members coming and applying for new membership. Most probably this is because of the good regular meetings we have had over the years.
4. Programs: Statistics and Program Summary (Some general info about the number and type of events, average attendance plus an explanation of any special events held and possible problems encountered during the year.)
We held 9 regular monthly meetings last year. The average attendance was 16. Susan Barduhn of the Four Corners last November attracted 32. We usually hold the meeting on the fourth Saturday afternoon (2:00 to 4:00PM). For the past 7 years we have managed to hold 9 or 10 meetings a year. JALT is famous all over Japan. It is good that we can invite excellent speakers from others cities in Japan.
5. Chapter Executive Committee Meetings: (A brief summary as to how often you meet, when you meet and any problems dealt with by your executive board.)
Usually almost all our officers attend our monthly meetings. We can talk to one another and communicate before and after each meeting. We also communicate by email. We have no problem communicating one another.
6. Finances: Financial Summary (A brief explanation of the chapter's financial position, stability and annual budget.)
Since we base our activities on our regular monthly meetings and hold 9 or 10 meetings each year, it is necessary to invite a guest speaker every month - that means we have to pay the speaker an honorarium and transportation fees if he or she comes from far. Financially this causes us problems since our grant is rather limited - it was about 110,000 yen in 2004. But we have somehow managed so far - by being thrifty in many areas.
1) how much was the total chapter fund of Akita chapter at the end of 2003 \348,490
2) how much was our 2004 chapter grant \111,500
3) how much did we spend in 2004 \298,958
4) how much was the total chapter fund we had at the end of 2004 \383,585 (as of Dec. 31, 2004)
(*excluding Tim Murphey's February meeting)
5) were there any unusual chapter expenses or income in 2005 none
6) did our chapter file all required Financial Reports yes,
7. Facilities: Facility Summary (An explanation of the facilities used for meetings and their related costs.)
We either use a public place in Akita City or AIU (Akita International University. We pay about 1,500 to each per a meeting. Facility is not a big problem for us.
8. Publicity: Publicity Summary (An overview of the types of publicity used to promote meetings and their effectiveness.)
Email to our members and prospective members as well as the National Calendar. I think email is an efficient way to publicize our activities because it costs little and more and more people are getting access to it. We also have Akita JALT website, which started in 2001. Many pictures of the past regular monthly meetings in the past several years are available in the website. It is a good way to appeal our chapter meetings and events. Of course it takes some time and effort to keep it updated, but it is worthy of the time and effort.
9. Other: Miscellaneous Summary (A brief narrative of any other issues to address or comments that you would like to make, especially items of concern or suggestions for the national directors.)
The JALT National Calendar is wonderful. I like it very much. National directors are doing a good job, I think.
Lastly let me say this: I have a long time dream related to what JALT is supposed to accomplish - the betterment of English education in Japan. It is my observation that English education at public schools in Japan is flawed in various ways - too much emphasis on grammar translation, paper testing and teacher centeredness, etc. It hasn't changed much according to me. I wonder if there could be more positive or even aggressive contributions - in various forms - from JALT to fix the problem.
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Chapter Name: Akita (located in the northern part of Honshu)
PRELIMINARIES
Submitted By Name: Takeshi Suzuki
2004 President's name and contact information
Name: Takeshi Suzuki
2003 President's name and contact information
Name: Takeshi Suzuki
A. PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE
How many different officer titles did your chapter have? 6
How many individual officers did your chapter have? 6
Which positions were filled on your Chapter's Executive Committee (ExCom) in 2003?:
President
Program Chair
Facilities Chair
Membership Chair
Publicity Chair
Treasurer
Who was the Chapter Representative to the full Executive Board Meetings (full EBM) held in June, 2003? no one
And at the fall Conference?: no one
How much time did you spend managing your chapter in 2003?: about the right amount
Please feel free to elaborate:
From at least a couple of hours a week to a dozen hours depending on a week.
How much time did you spend monitoring the EBM-NET and ChapRep listserves? about the right amount
Please feel free to elaborate:
I have tried reading all the messages, but sometimes as a non-native person, I don't understand everything. I don't read and skip many parts which are too difficult for me to follow. Long letters are a problem, too. Chances are that I might be missing some important information. It would be of big help if someone could summarize important points of what is being debated or discussed in easier and clearer language periodically and regularly: maybe once or twice a month.
If one of your ExCom members was not one of the 10 chapter delegates or an alternate at the January 2003 EBM, how did your chapter convey its opinions on JALT National issues?
I haven't particularly felt much need to voice ourselves, not at least so far.
What compliments and/or complaints do you have about JALT's online officer database?
No complaints.
What compliments and/or complaints do you have about JALT?
JALT is famous. Many people interested in teaching English know the name of JALT all over Japan. It is a prestigious NGO/ NPO that anyone can be proud of. Thanks to the prestige, each chapter can invite excellent speakers living in other parts of Japan to its monthly meetings with a small honorarium.
B. MEMBERSHIP
Does your chapter offer local memberships to people who are not members of JALT? no
How many local members did you have as of December 2002? 0
How many local members did you have as of December 2003? 0
How many JALT chapter members did you have as of December 2002? 29
How many JALT chapter members did you have as of December 2003? 25
What do you feel are the reasons for membership growth, decline or stability in your chapter?
Some kept leaving us for whatever reasons. But thanks to good monthly meetings (9 to 11 a year) we have had new members applying for membership. As a result the average number has been 26 for the past several years.
What is the rough percentage breakdown of your membership's teaching areas?
Children: 10%; JHS: 15%; SHS: 15%; College/University: 40%; Language School: 20%; Business
What does your Chapter do to encourage timely membership renewals?
Email and face-to-face reminders. We ask them to continue their membership by sending notice through email. Most of our members attend monthly meetings and know one another well.
How effective is this approach?
So far effective.
What are your expectations for membership growth or decline in 2004?
I have high expectations this year because a new university Akita International University is starting this April. Most probably we will be able to expect membership growth this year.
C. PROGRAMS
Altogether, how many events did your chapter hold in 2003? 10
2003 meeting details:
February (2/22) Koki Dobashi: A practical approach for the development of learner autonomy at junior high school: 18
March (3/8) John Small: Putting Words in Their Mouths - Dictogloss, Shadowing and Summarizing: 14
April (4/26) Debbra McClintock: Japanese English education observed by an ALT: 10
May (5/17) Thorfinn Tait: Why can't Japanese speak English?: 11
June (6/28) Naoto Sato: Think in English and Keeping Journals: 24
July (7/27) Takayuki Yoshizawa: Action Research in my classroom: 12
August (8/27) John F. Fanselow: Workshop "Your rapport was great, but. . .!": 21
September (9/27) Mark Cunningham: How to use books I wrote to learn English: 14
October (10/18) Christine Winskowski Ph.D.: Integrating Culture into the Language Course: 10
December (13) Business Meeting: 9
- You can visit Akita JALT website for more information:
http://www.edinet.ne.jp/~takeshis/jalt.htm
You can see some pictures of each meeting:
http://www.edinet.ne.jp/~takeshis/images/jalt/picjal1-02.htm
What was the average attendance (including members of your chapter's executive committee) at your chapter's events? 16
What were the highest and lowest attendance figures at your chapter's events? Highest attendance: 24; Lowest attendance: 10
How many meetings per year would you like to have? 10
Is the required minimum of five meetings per year appropriate for your chapter? no
Why not:
Most members in Akita want a meeting every month except in January. Actually we have managed to hold 9 to 11 meetings each year for the past 6 years. And we would like to continue this.
If any of the meetings held during the year were of a 'special' nature, please provide details. (mini-conference, book fair, extended program, joint program, etc.): none
If there were any programming problems encountered during the year such as cancellations, delays, honorarium discrepancies, miscommunications, unexpected expenses incurred, lack of speaker preparation, etc., please elaborate: none
Did your Chapter participate in the Four Corners Tour? no
Why or why not? What was the cost?
Not last year, but we have in the past.
Did your Program Chair post your chapter's events to the JALT Events Calendar in a timely fashion? no
D. CHAPTER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
How many chapter executive committee meetings did you hold in 2003? 0
What was the average attendance of executive committee members? 0
How many executive committee meetings per year would you like to have? 0
How well did your executive committee function in 2003? What kinds of problems and successes did you have?
Usually all the officers attend almost all monthly meetings. We can talk to one another and communicate before and after each meeting. We also communicate by email. We have no problem communicating one another.
E. FINANCES
Did your chapter reimburse officer membership dues in 2003? no
Why or why not:
We have never done that for the past 6 years. We can't afford it.
What was your chapter fund at the end of 2003? 220,520
Will this cover expenses for meetings to be held the first quarter of 2004? yes
How much was your 2003 chapter grant? 102,109
How much do you expect your Chapter will need for 2004? same
Chapter's financial position is: healthy
Were there any unusual Chapter expenses or income? no
Did your chapter file all required Financial Reports? yes
F. FACILITIES
Where do you hold your regular meetings? Please list the name, address and phone number of each facility:
Joinus:
2-52 Senshu-Meitokumachi, Akita City 010-0875
Tel: （018）837-1171
What is the average cost of these facilities? 1,100 to 1,400 yen for the above facility - Joinus
Did you have any problems in securing adequate facilities? no
G. PUBLICITY
Please give details of how your Chapter publicizes events and meetings. Which are the most effective?
Email to our members and prospective members as well as the National Calendar. I think email is an efficient way to publicize our activities because it costs little and more and more people are getting access to it. In the spring of 2001, we started Akita JALT web site, too. The following is the URL.
http://www.edinet.ne.jp/~takeshis/jalt.htm
Website is another good way to appeal our chapter meetings and events. You can put all the information on your chapter website. You can make it more attractive by putting pictures of your monthly meetings and others so that more people want to visit it more often. That's what I have been trying to do since 2001. Of course it takes some time and effort to start and keep updating your website, but it is worthwhile the time and effort.
What sort of relationships does your Chapter have with other organizations? None in 2002
What compliments and/or complaints do you have about the web page JALT provides for your chapter?
I like National Calendar very much. Evertime we have a meeting.
Does your chapter maintain its own web site (i.e. on a different server)? If so, what is the URL? How often do you update it?
Yes, we do. The following is the URL.
http://www.edinet.ne.jp/~takeshis/jalt.htm
We update it whenever it is necessary.
H. RECORDING SECRETARY
How many newsletters does your chapter produce per year? 0
Did you post reviews of your chapter's events in TLT in a timely fashion? yes
__________________________________________
Takeshi Suzuki
Akita JALT president
PALS English Class
164-1 Detomachi Aza Gomon, Honjo-shi, Akita 015-0007
****** See the pictures!******
pictures of the meetings in 2003 pictures of the meetings in 2002 pictures of the meetings in 2001 pictures of the meetings in 1998-2000******************************
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