Texas REALTORS®はテキサス州の不動産協会で、毎年「Shaping Texas」と呼ばれる年次カンファレンスを開催しています。今年は8月27日から30日までサンアントニオで開催されました。Regional Vice Presidentを務めるスーザンは、30日に行われたBoard of Directors Meetingをはじめとする各種会議に間に合うよう、世界を飛び回って戻ってきました!今回の会議では、州協会のガバナンス体制改革案について、活発で有意義な議論が交わされました。また、次期Chairman of the Boardに就任するTony Lloydを迎える素晴らしいInstallation Galaも開催されました。Texas REALTORS®の皆様、そして州内146,000人の会員のために、このような素晴らしいクラス、会議、イベントの数々を企画・開催してくださり、本当にありがとうございました!
Texas Realtors is our state’s real estate association and every year, they have an annual conference called Shaping Texas. This year, the conference was August 27-30 in San Antonio. Serving as a Regional Vice President, Susan flew around the world to get back in time for various meetings, including the Board of Directors meeting on the 30th. There was much healthy discussion regarding a proposal to reform the governance structure of the state’s association. There was also a beautiful installation gala to welcome Tony Lloyd as our incoming Chairman of the Board. Kudos to Texas Realtors and thank you for putting on such an incredible program of classes, meetings, and events for your 146,000 members statewide!
もっと早くスケジュールを確認しておくべきでした!攻とスーザンはParents Weekendの前日になって、11時45分までに到着すれば泰と一緒にKing’s Hallでランチができることを知りました。King’s HallはNaval Academyの全Midshipmenが毎日の食事をする巨大なダイニングホールで、家族が中で一緒に食事をできるのはとても貴重な機会です。そこで急遽フライトを朝6時発に変更し(つまり朝3時45分頃に起床!)、到着後レンタカーをピックアップし(これについては長い話になるので省略します!)、大急ぎでAnnapolisへ向かいました。奇跡的に駐車スペースを見つけることができ、そこからBancroft Hall前でランチ前の整列をしていた泰を探して猛ダッシュ!Company 9へ移ったことで場所も変わった泰の新しい部屋も見ることができました。今回は6人で使用する特別な角部屋です。そしてKing’s Hallでは、泰をはじめ2/CのMidshipmenとそのご家族の皆さんと一緒にランチをいただきました。ランチの後は泰のElectrical Engineering(電気工学)の授業にも参加しましたが、とても興味深かったものの、内容はスーザンには完全に難しすぎました(笑)!イベントの締めくくりはWorden Fieldで行われたBrigade Paradeで、4,400人以上のMidshipmen全員がフィールドを行進しました。パラシュート隊、Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon、Drum and Bugle Corps、そして何千人ものMidshipmenが一斉に行進する姿は本当に圧巻でした。土曜日には初めてNavyのフットボールゲームを観戦し、Navy対Towsonの試合を楽しみました。日曜日には泰や彼の友人たち、そしてそのご家族とも一緒に過ごすことができ、とても貴重な時間となりました。普段なかなか見ることのできないNaval Academyの内部を実際に見ることができ、そして国に奉仕することを志す素晴らしい若い男女の姿を間近で見ることができるのは、本当に特別で光栄なことです。ちなみに、U.S. News & World ReportのBest College Rankingsによると、U.S. Naval Academyは2025年、2026年と2年連続で全米公立大学第1位に選ばれています!
We probably should have asked for the itinerary earlier! Koh and Susan found out the day before parents weekend that they should be there by 11:45am to join Ty for lunch at a very rare chance to eat inside King’s Hall, which is the huge dining hall that all the midshipmen at the Naval Academy eat all their meals in. They changed their flights to leave at 6am (meaning they had to get up around 3:45am), arrived in Annapolis, grabbed their rental car (long story), and raced to Annapolis. Miracle of miracles, they found a parking spot, then ran like heck to find Ty, who was in his pre-lunch formation in front of Bancroft Hall. We got to see his new room, a special corner room for 6 people, and a new location in the building since he moved to Company 9. We also got to dine with him and all the other 2/C midshipmen and their parents in Kings Hall. Following lunch, we got to attend one of his classes, electrical engineering, which was impressive and completely over Susan’s head. Haha! The events concluded with a full brigade parade on Worden Field where all 4400+ midshipmen marched on the field. It was so impressive to see the parachuters, Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the Drum and Bugle Corps, and of course the thousands of people marching on field. Saturday, we attended our first Navy football game, watching Navy play Towson, and Sunday we got to spend more precious time with Ty and his friends and their parents. It is such a special honor to be able to see the inside of the Naval Academy and to see the amazing men and women committed to serving our country. Fun fact: The U.S. Naval Academy is the #1 Public School in the United States in 2025 and 2026 according to the U.S. News and World Report’s Best College Rankings!
9月3日と4日の2日間、Houston Association of Realtors(HAR)はヒューストンの高級日本食レストランNobuにて、2夜連続のディナーイベントを開催しました。Global Dinnerは、不動産所有者の権利、固定資産税改革、不動産業界にとって重要な課題を支持する候補者を支援するためのTREPAC資金を集めながら、楽しく交流できるイベントです。今回は日本がテーマ国ということで、スーザンがホスト役を務め、Daikinにも両日ご協力いただきました。8コースの日本食を楽しみながら、日本人とのビジネスの進め方、覚えておきたい日本語、乾杯のマナーなどを参加者の皆さんにご紹介しました。DaikinのDougとKellyからは、100年以上にわたるDaikinの歴史、ヒューストン市場への進出、そして高度なインバーター技術についてお話しいただきました。ディナーが終わる頃には、参加者全員がDaikinのエアコンを欲しくなっていたほどです!今後もDaikinと不動産業界とのさらなる連携に向けて、次のステップを計画していきたいと思います。次はDaikinの施設見学ツアーになりそうな予感です!
Sept 3 and 4, the Houston Association of Realtors hosted back to back dinners at Houston’s upscale Japanese restaurant, Nobu. Global dinners are a fun way to raise TREPAC dollars which are used to support candidates who back private property rights, property tax reform, and issues important to the real estate industry. With Japan being the highlighted country, Susan was tapped to be the hostess and Daikin graciously partnered with us both nights. As we navigated through an 8 course Japanese meal, we taught the audience about doing business with the Japanese, key Japanese words, kampai etiquette. Daikin representatives Doug and Kelly taught us all about Daikin’s 100+ year history, their entry into the Houston market, and their highly advanced inverter technology. By the end of the night, everyone wanted a Daikin air conditioner! We will definitely be planning next steps and more collaboration between Daikin and the realtor community. I feel a facility tour coming next!
Susan and Koh went to Japan for a quick trip. They spent 3 days in Tokyo checking out the area that Joe will be working, meeting his employer, and visiting a couple of real estate companies. The Mori Building in Azabudai Hills is a state of the art building in Roppongi. Baycurrent takes up three floors, 12, 13, 14, with amazing views of Tokyo including a fabulous angle of the Tokyo Tower. We discovered taking the Hibiya Line and getting off at Kamiyacho will be the best way for him to get there. And we also discovered that the subway starts at Nakameguro so maybe that would be a great place to target for his apartment. We were lucky to meet two Annoura Realty Group clients in Tokyo. One was Shimizu san who owns a printing company printing One Piece trading cards, and one was Takahashi san who let us stay at his home in Nakameguro. Following their trip to Tokyo, Susan and Koh went down to Fukuoka to see Koh’s parents. While there, they also met their CPA, attorney, and many old friends. The highlight of the trip was visiting Koh’s dad, even though he was in the hospital, to celebrate his 90th birthday. Wow, NINETY YEARS OLD! Susan came back after 6 days and Koh stayed for another 5 days. They did so many things and saw so many friends, it was a really fun and eventful trip!
In Annoura Family news, Susan and Koh spent the last week in Japan visiting friends, clients, and family. While in Fukuoka, they met up with Shimpei Kubota, the owner of Nokoshima Island Park. He had availability to stay in one of the villas on the island, so Susan, Koh, Koh’s mom, and Koh’s mom’s dog all took the ferry from Meinohama and stayed one night on the island. It was so special to have the park all to ourselves, including a private BBQ and breakfast the next morning. The views were incredible and the Island Park had so many flowers in bloom. It was such a special opportunity for us all to spend precious time together. Special thanks to Mariko and Susan’s parents for watching Zach for us and getting him to all of his extra curricular activities while we were gone. Special news for Joe is that he is GRADUATING from the University of Texas this Thursday! His degree is in Finance with a minor in Sales from the McCombs School of Business. We are super excited for him and will go to Austin this week for the ceremonies! We thought his new job started in July but it actually starts in September so now he has his whole summer free!? Will be interested to see what he plans to do. Meanwhile, Zach has 3 more weeks of school left and so does Ty. Zach is struggling a bit and we hope he makes it to the finish line. Ty has many summer plans and we should see him at the end of May for a family trip to see the Indianpolis 500.