BWA Year End Party December 6, 2025
Over 60 BWA members and guests gathered for a joyful BWA Year End Party on Sat., Dec. 6. Earlier that morning, many BWA elves had assembled to transform the social hall into Santa’s land of holiday aloha with Jo desMarets’ beautiful decorations.
Co-MCs, Sharyn Sekine and Wendie Yumori, welcomed all and expressed gratitude to Hawaii Betsuin’s ministers, office staff, and tech team for their dedicated efforts all year. Party attendees enjoyed Teruya’s bentos for lunch and a special BWA holiday cake for dessert.
Starting the entertainment with a bang were our senseis who moved to the groove of Eight Steps to Harmony, a cool song about the Eightfold Path created by Dave Atcheson using ChatGPT and Songer, an AI music creation tool. You rock, Kihara Sensei, Hasebe Sensei, Furusawa Sensei, and Barbara Brennan Sensei!
Then it was on to the Let it Snow, Let it Snow! game. Table volunteers were divided into two teams. The teams raced each other to see how efficiently each team could dress its members in coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. What a great demonstration of interdependence and harmony!
The lights dimmed for a cabaret ambience and Sanae Nakai offered a heartfelt Hibari Misora medley that brought back memories of long ago. For a glowing finish, Sanae sang an expressive Mahalo nui loa. Warmest mahalo to you, Sanae.
Thanks to the creativity and crafting skills of Dawn Nabeshima, each attendee received a handmade holiday necklace and each table was graced with a festive red Christmas stocking centerpiece. Dawn explained how to win the table centerpiece -- the attendees at each table were to play jan ken po with each other and the overall jan ken po winner won the centerpiece. Such spirited rock, paper, scissors play! Inside the Christmas stocking was a lovely package of Minamoto Kitchoan shoyu senbei and a gift card.
Prize Committee Chair, Liane Wong, noted that the value of the gift cards and cash donated as prizes for the BWA Year End Party exceeded $1,000! Assisting Liane with the prize drawings were Dennis Sekine and Diane Marshall. There were three prize drawings during the program and every attendee won a prize, either a gift card or an item on the prize table. With a tabletop drumroll, the Grand Prize winner of a $100 bill was announced – Penny Atcheson!
President Gayle Hirohata-Goto thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the BWA Year End Party 2025. She also expressed great appreciation for wonderful BWA support throughout the year.
