Guest speaker David Yoshitomi shares his paternal family’s history as guest speaker during the 2025 Ventura County JACL installation luncheon at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. (Photo: George Toshio Johnston)
Guest speaker David Yoshitomi carries on a family tradition at the annual luncheon.
By P.C. Staff
If the surname of the guest speaker — David Yoshitomi — for the Ventura County JACL chapter’s 45th chapter installation rings familiar to the Los Angeles County Japanese American community, there’s a good reason. His father, Gerald Yoshitomi, served as executive director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in 1981, a position he held until 1998.
A denizen of Ventura County since 2015, you might say that Los Angeles-born-and-raised David Yoshitomi inherited his father’s commitment to culture.
Just as his old man was the JACCC’s first executive director and would become known for not only presenting more performances and exhibitions by Japanese artists than any other theatre/gallery outside of Japan, he also saw to it that the JACCC made available spaces at the Doizaki Gallery and the Aratani Theatre for such non-Japanese/non-Japanese American artists as El Teatro Campesino, Lula Washington Dance Theatre and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
David Yoshitomi recalled seeing “productions that would range from kabuki to [Chicano comedy and performance troupe] Culture Clash . . . Teatro Campesino, which is a Spanish-language group — it really opened my eyes to the breadth of the arts in general.” It’s little wonder, then, that he was selected in 2022 by the County of Ventura’s Executive Office as its first arts and culture manager.
As the guest speaker for the installation luncheon, held Jan. 26 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., Yoshitomi told of a saga that many in attendance could relate to, namely his paternal family’s journey from Japan to the United States, including evacuation and incarceration during World War II. For Yoshitomi, who describes himself as a “fourth-generation Yonsei Hapa Japanese American,” the speaking engagement was a family affair, with his parents Cindy Yoshitomi — a pastor with the Santa Barbara-based St. Anthony’s Catholic Community — and Gerald Yoshitomi in attendance, as well as his wife, Elena Garcia-Yoshitomi, assistant principal at Ventura High School, and their sons, Eleno Sadataro, 3, and Emilio Shigeru, 1.
Regarding his job with the county, Yoshitomi said, “The question I get is, a lot of times: ‘Oh, you’re the arts and culture manager. Why is the county interested in arts and culture?’ I think the first reason, it’s an economic driver. The creative economy, which includes arts and culture, is a $3.1 billion industry in Ventura County, and that’s without any attention being paid to it by local government. It doesn’t include just artists. It includes film, television, broadcast, publishing, fashion, toy design, entertainment events. So, there’s so much depth to it.”
Yoshitomi noted that the monetary figure was slightly larger than agriculture in Ventura County. “And, we know what an important role the agriculture community plays here. So, it’s a growing industry,” he said. “I think the more important reason is the social impact of arts and culture here in Ventura County.”
The board was installed by Pacific Southwest Gov. Joseph Gu via Zoom. Reprising their roles as co-presidents were Lily Anne Welty Tamai and Megan Gately, with Jessica Wan and Janice McCormick as co-vice presidents, Anne Chilcott as secretary and Ken Nakano as treasurer. Sharing cemetery restoration coordinator duties were Nakano and Chilcott, with Betty Katsura serving as book club moderator.
Ventura County JACL Co-President Megan Gately (center) holds a tablet connected to PSW Gov. Joseph Gu, who administered the oath of office to the chapter’s new board remotely. Also pictured (from left) are JJ Fukumoto, Betty Katsura, Joanne Nakano, Akemi Ketchum, Samantha Wyllis-Quiñonez, Janice McCormick, Jessica Wan, Gately, Ken Nakano, Mark Chilcott, Anne Chilcott and Lily Anne Welty Tamai.
Board members were presented certificates of recognition from Ventura County Board of Supervisors member Janice Parvin, California State Assembly member Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) and Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.). The chapter also presented David Yoshitomi with a certificate of appreciation for serving as the guest speaker.
