While we near the end of the year, new responsibilities are around the corner and old responsibilities end. For Susan, serving as the President of the Women’s Council of Realtors Houston finished last week! 2022 was an incredibly busy year leading this organization. Monthly meetings, monthly events, planning, budgeting, marketing, traveling. It was very non-stop the entire year. Some of the notable events we hosted for our members included a historical tour of downtown on an open deck bus, an apartment locating class to teach the members how to incorporate this area of real estate into their business, a financial planning class, a Kentucky Derby networking event, an Oktober Fest Networking event, and even a Charcuterie making class. We tried to think of interesting and meaningful events for our members to give them an opportunity to meet each other and to learn something valuable for their business and lives. On December 5, Susan’s President Elect, Lisa Eureste, took over the position of President for 2023. Susan conducted the installation and swore in the new board. We wish Lisa all the best for next year and hope for continued momentum for the Women’s Council of Realtors Houston!
It is officially flu season so people should be careful to get a flu shot and take precautions such as handwashing, mask wearing, and surface cleaning. A popular symptom is heavy coughing and wheezing caused by a respiratory virus called RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). But some of the symptoms of the flu reasonable the symptoms of COVID-19 so the only way to tell is by take a COVID test. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, and some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. The weather has been very strange the past week, sometimes hot and sometimes suddenly cold. People with allergies are also feeling sick. Fight the germs and try to stay healthy with nutritious foods and soups, extra vitamins, and lots of rest. Again, don’t forget to go to CVS or Walgreens or to your local doctor and get a flu shot!
2022年はボランティア活動が充実した年となりました！スーザンはヒューストン女性不動産協会の会長を務め、真理子は秘書を務めました。中間会議のためにワシントン DC 、年次会議のためにフロリダ州オーランドに出席しました。また、フォートワースで開催されたテキサス会議にも出席しました。年間を通じて、資金を調達し、メンバーのためにイベントを計画しました。 1 月の経済予測イベントから始まり、今年最後のイベントである先週のシャルキュトリーの芸術イベントまで沢山の人と関わる機会ができました。 2022年12月5日には2023年会長リサ・ユーレステが就任し、スーザンの管理と責任は終わりを迎えます。女性不動産協会は、女性の不動産業者を支援し、奨励する全国組織です。私の街に貢献できたことを光栄に思います。2022年執行委員会、リサ・ユーレステ、藤田 真理子、メリー・ネッド、ジェーン・バード、ロブ・アーノルドに感謝の意を表したいと思います。皆、本当にありがとう！
2022 was an abundant year for volunteering! Susan served as the Women’s Council of Realtors Houston President and Mariko served as the First Vice President. They traveled to several conferences including the Washington DC for the mid-year meetings and to Orlando, FL for the annual conference. In between, they also attended the Texas Conference in Fort Worth. All throughout the year, the executive board raised money and planned events for the members. Starting in January with an Economic Forecast event until last week’s Art of Charcuterie event, which was our final event of the year. Susan’s administration and responsibilities comes to an end, as our President Elect Lisa Eureste takes over and is installed with her new board on December 5, 2022. The Women’s Council of Realtors is a national organization supporting and encouraging women realtors. It has been an honor to serve my city and I would like to say a special thank you to my super hard working executive board: Lisa Eureste, Mariko Fujita, Mary Ned, Jane Byrd, and Rob Arnold. What an experience that was!
次回のタイガー ボールは 2023年3月3日まで開催されませんが、キックオフ レセプションは先週の木曜日に行われ、ドナ・コールが美しくて有名なアジア ソサエティ テキサス博物館で開催されました。博物館の入り口でゲストを迎えたのは、世界チャンピオンの和太鼓師、加藤拓三率いる和太鼓一家。階段を上っていくと、天井からさまざまな美しい着物がお祭り気分でぶら下がっているのを見ることができました。メイン イベント スペースには、特製カクテルを提供するオープン バーがあり、食事はこの世のものとは思えないほど豪華でした。 グレン•ゴンドーの経営される会社であるSusicから、寿司シェフが新鮮なお寿司を提供し、さまざまな串焼きや鍋焼きを提供するホットバーも用意されていました。タイガー ボールのスポンサーの1人であるゴードン・クアンは、ホステスのドナ・コールと一緒にスピーチを行いました。アジアソサエティ毎年恒例のガラ、タイガーボール 2023: Celebrating the Beauty and Elegance of Japanでは、世界の著名人が集まり、日本文化を通じて理解と友情を築くという長年のヒューストン市民であるキャシーとグレン•ゴンドウを称えるものです。 攻と私を招待してくれたドナに心から感謝します。
The next Tiger Ball is not until next March 3, 2023, but the Kickoff Reception was last Thursday and was hosted by Donna Cole. The event took place at the beautiful Asia Society Texas Museum. Greeting the guests at the entrance of the museum was the Taiko drumming family, led by World Champion Taiko Master Takumi Kato. Journeying up the stairs, one could see various beautiful kimonos hanging festively from the ceiling. The main event space had an open bar serving signature cocktails and the food was something out of this world! Glen Gondo’s company Sushic provided an incredible spread of sushi, made fresh by two sushi chefs, as well as a hot bar serving various skewers and potstickers. Gordon Quan, one of the sponsors of the Tiger Ball, made remarks as did our hostess Donna Cole. Asia Society Texas’ annual gala, Tiger Ball 2023: Celebrating the Beauty and Elegance of Japan will gather global luminaries to honor longtime Houstonians Kathy and Glen Gondo for their commitment to build understanding and friendship through Japanese culture. A special thank you to Donna Cole for inviting Koh and I to this beautiful reception.
While in Japan, Susan squeezed in 60 hours to visit Fukuoka, the place where she lived from 1992-2007. Koh’s parents and their best friend Kuchiishi san picked her up at the Fukuoka Airport and Susan spent the next 48 hours visiting all her old friends and her favorite restaurants and hot spots. In 48 hours, Susan went for a head massage, met her ex beach volleyball partner Miki Inosaka, had donuts at Mister Donuts (one chocolate coconut, one strawberry pon-de-ring- my two favorites!), went shopping at Zara, visited her old workplace (Love FM 76.1), shared some noodle curry from Tsunapaha on Nishi Dori, then stopped by Off Broadway to see friends she has known since 1992- Luis Matos, Tomoko, Bruce Handel. Capping off day 1, Susan went to dinner #1 at Home Spun with Koh’s parents and Kuchiishi san, then headed over to Genpei to visit best friends Ito kun, Maki Shibata, and Koh’s keirin senpai, Nagino san. Day 2 kicked off with a full body physical (blood pressure a little high, need to sleep more and carry less stress according to the doc). Met up with Hitoshi Iwamoto and Ito kun for a tonkatsu first lunch, then sneaked in a second lunch at a hidden gem in Naraya, Japanese curry. Following that, met up with our Naraya neighbor to discuss a land exchange that will happen this week and to review the timeline for the sale of the neighbor’s land. After family discussions among three generations, we decided that the Annouras will keep their family land after the land exchange and build a new family home next year! That’s exciting news! Following this real estate meeting, Hitoshi picked up Susan and they headed to… Nokonoshima Island Park! The cosmos flowers were in full bloom and Susan wanted to see park owner and long time friend Shimpei Kubota so they hopped on a ferry in Meinohama and crossed over the Hakata Bay to Nokonoshima, where Shimpei graciously picked them up and drove them up to the park. The cosmos were breathtaking and the tour was amazing. Shimpei just invested $2M on 10 new modern Japanese homes that visitors can book and stay overnight inside the Island Park. We left the island, ferried back to the mainland, drove by my old house in Odo, then went back to the city for dinner- fresh sashimi and live squid! There is a new Hakata River Cruise for 1000 yen per person so we decided to check that out. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The open air boat was perfect for a cool November night, and took us up the river to see the lights of Nakasu then back down the river to see the Bayside Tower. Got done and hit a yatai for some Tonkotsu Ramen, then walked around the city before heading home to pack. It was the most action packed, super fun 48 hours of Fukuoka experience!
