ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS March - April

M/M J. T.Murakami $100.00

M/M George Kato $100.00

M/M Richard Hanki $100.00 M/M Fred Matsumoto $1,000.00 In memory Of Minoru Matsumoto

M/M Laurence Butt $25.00

M/M Moon Jew $50.00

Ms Betty Yumori $50.00

Ms Nancy Wong $50.00

M/M Sho Kitayama $100.00 M/M Tye Masaki $5,000.00 In memory Of Tom And Bin Masaki

M/M Haruto Miyataki $100.00

Mr. Tom Sato $50.00 Mrs. Betty Oshiro $100.00 In Memory Of Larry

Thank you for your kind generosity and continuing support.

友

達

Southeast

Carnival is just around the corner (July 25th and 26th). For those who would like to

Tomodachi

Tomodachi

P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S A G E

Volume 19, Issue 3 May 2014 Newslet ter

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

14615 S. Gridley Rd. Norwalk CA 90650

Website: www.sejscc.org 562-863-5996

Hi Everyone! The 2014 Recognition and Awards Dinner was held on Sunday, April 13th. At about 4:30 p.m. the Dignitaries, Honorees, and honored guests started to arrive. Kimie Matsumoto started the program off by thanking everybody for attending, then asked MC Toshi Teramoto to start the program. When the guests were having dinner I was getting great compliments that the dinner was “ONO”. Some said that they felt like they were in Hawaii enjoying their plate lunch. The theme for the Appreciation Dinner this year was “Island Style”. Preparations for the “Ono” dishes started on Saturday. The Kalua Pork was prepared by several board members. The Potato Mac Salad was prepared by Judo. Potatoes and other items were donated by Calvin Chang. The Miso Green Beans was prepared by Carrie Na-katani; the Island Style Chicken and Kalbi Ribs were from by the Loft; the Haupia was prepared by Linda Kusuda; the Chinese Chicken sal-ad was prepared by Rascals in Gardena. Kendo ladies prepared the Inari Sushi and the pineapple and strawberries for the center piece. The center is very grateful to have the various organizations Judo, NYS, Ikebana, Wednesday night Basketball, Japanese School and especially the Kendo ladies who went above and beyond to make this dinner all possible. Thank you all. I would like to congratulate all the recipients that received awards: Outstanding Service Awards: Kirk Iwami and Long Sheng Chang (Johnson Sensei); Nerio Scholarship Awards: Summer Fujii and Kaelyn Kawamoto; Norwalk Youth Sports Scholarship Awards: Sum-mer Fujii, Kaelyn Kawamoto and Noelle Mathes; Special Recognition: Diane Kawata Watanabe, Morihei Henmi and the Blue Angels: Malayna Domingo, Kelli and Lindsay Hanashiro, Allyson Hayakawa, Angelina Jacobe, Erin O’ Crowley, Madison Tanaka, Kristin Tsujimoto, Alyssa Umemoto, Coach Ben Jacobe and Coach Glenn Umemoto; Ju-do Special Recognition: Long Sheng Chang (Johnson Sensei). Again, congratulations to all. The entertainment was provided by Hikari Taiko, Ayame Kai, Na Wahi-ne “O Kawena and the singing from Kelsey Kwong. Kamaki Keawe and Vic Ligot entertained by singing Hawaiian melodies. Thank you all for a great performance. The annual Center clean-up was held last month. On Friday March 14 Robert Murata came to the center at 7 am with 9 landscape crew members. They did a great job trimming all the Junipers on the east and north side of the center. We appreciate all their hard work each year. Thanks also to everyone who came out on Friday evening, Satur-

Richard Shinomoto

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message p. 1 Norwalk Youth Sports p. 2 Japanese School p. 3 Recognition Dinner p. 4 Norwalk Dance Club p. 6 Norwalk Kendo p. 7 Calendar p. 7 Norwalk Judo p. 8

Cont. p. 2

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N O R W A L K Y O U T H S P O R T S

Hot Shots 8th grade girls took 1st Place in Wan-jettes Upper Junior Division. They then traveled to San Jose and came in 2nd at the San Jose Ninja Tournament. In addition to basketball Coach Kirk wanted the girls to practice their dance moves. For the past few years he has always wanted to do a flash mob. This year, Hot Shot girls and Ninja girls along with their families surprised everyone with a flash mob dance to "Happy". They had a great time and will always remember that day!

By Kandi Kawakami

Blue Angels ~ “More Than Just Basketball” The Blue Angels, an 8th grade girls team led by Coaches Glenn Umemoto and Ben Jacobe, have been volunteer-ing together as a team since they formed in 2nd grade. Coach Glenn grew up at the Center, playing basketball for Norwalk Youth Sports, and he wanted his children to play here as well. Each year, this team looks for special “Blue Angels Give Back” projects that they can do together. The first year, the girls collected used clothing and jackets and donat-ed them at Mother’s Day along with gift baskets of goodies to single moms in Long Beach. The next two years, the girls went out shopping for gifts to donate to CHOC and Long Beach Memorial. The girls as a team dropped off the gifts at the hospitals and the parents arranged for a representative from both hospitals to speak to the girls and their siblings (volunteering is al-ways a family event) about the impact their donations have on the lives of the children. Two years ago, Suzi Umemoto and her daughter Alyssa organized two projects for the team. One project en-tailed the girls filling socks with toiletries that were dis-tributed to the homeless. For the other project, the team adopted a family at Thanksgiving. To teach the girls the importance of giving their time, the parents had the girls make the grocery list, do the shopping, pack-age the food and then deliver it. Recently, they held two Bake Sale fundraisers during SEYO games to help Madeline Jacobe’s friend’s mother who has cancer. The girls also collected clothing to donate to St. Luke’s Shower & Clean Clothes Program, which distributes clothes and provides showers and meals to the home-less in Long Beach. Finally, this past holiday season, the girls “adopted” 8 teenagers and fulfilled their Christmas Wish Lists by giving a variety of gift cards to them. The girls learned that younger children are “adopted” first, so they want-ed to ensure that kids their own age were able to have gifts to open on Christmas Day too. The thank you cards the girls received really had a positive impact on them and reinforced that they were doing the right thing. This team’s parents have taught their children to give back to the community and to those in need. The first few projects were planned by the parents but in the past two years, they have encouraged the girls to come up with their own ideas, and determine and vote on what they want to do to give back. The Blue Angels are truly a great group of girls with wonderful families who have supported each other through a variety of things that life has thrown their way. Southeast Japanese School and Community Center honored them at this year’s Recognition and Awards Dinner.

day afternoon and Sunday morning to help clean the center. The center could not function if it were-n’t for all the volunteers who generously donate their time. The annual General Meeting will be held June 1st at 12:00 pm with a Bento lunch. The Board of Di-rectors will be announcing their new Board for the coming year along with the financial report. All members are welcome to attend. Groups are en-couraged to give their year-end report. Please con-tact Toshi Teramoto by May 23 if you would like to attend. The Annual Cultural Festival will be held on Satur-day July 26th at 3:00 pm and Sunday July 27th at 2 pm. There will be plenty of food, games, and demonstrations by Kendo, Judo, and Karate. En-tertainment will include Na Wahine ‘O Kawena Hawaiian Hula, Kamaki’s Maika’i Jammers, and Bingo will start at 5:00 in the gym on Saturday & Sunday. Appearing on the outdoor stage will be Taiko drummers. Festival is a good time to meet with old friends and enjoy delicious food. Ondo practice is scheduled on Mondays and Thursdays, starting on July 7th at 7:30 to 8:30 pm at the cen-ter. Everybody is welcome to join in the fun and learn the dances. Mark your calendars and come join us. Parking is a problem at the center during the festi-val. On Saturday when all the workers are setting up, please park outside on the street and use Har-vest Street entrance. We would like to have plenty of parking for the handicapped and the elderly so they don’t have to walk as far. Last year some of the elderly left because they could not park in the lot.

Cont. from p. 1

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“Hanami”, the cherry blossom viewing ritual in Japan was celebrated on April 5th. Students learned about the Japanese tradition and also enjoyed making their own “sakura mochi”. The sakura leaves are pickled the year before when young leaves first appear. This was the last of the leaves pick by Minoru Matsumoto sensei who donated the leaves each year. Gakuen students will observe Children’s Day on May 3rd. Students will enjoy the display of Koi Nobori and Musha Ningyo along with the annual Jan Ken Pon con-test. The Annual Speech Program will be held on May 17th at 5:00 PM. Students and teachers are working very hard every Saturday for this performance. Students will receive trophies for their efforts. The students will use slides to enhance their presentations.

J A PA N E S E S C H O O L New student registration will be conducted June 7th and 14th at the school between 9:00 and 1:00. Kindergarten class (for 5 year olds) usually fills up fast. Our beginner class is for 6 year olds and above. Please tell your friends who might be interested in enrolling their children. A trip to Japan is scheduled for June 19th to July 2nd for 7 Gakuen students. This trip consists of one week of sightsee-ing and one week of homestay. The trip will give the students first-hand experience using the knowledge acquired at South-east Japanese School. 5 high school students and 2 adult class students will be participating this year. The PTA has been conducting a number of fundraising activities for the students. Thank you to everyone who supported the fundrais-ing events.

Kindergarten class enjoy Children’s Day

Students make Sakura mochi

SoutheastJapaneseSchoolandCommunityCenter

http://www.sejscc.org/school/main.htm14615S.GridleyRoad·Norwalk,CA90650

NewStudentRegistrationJune7and14th,2014(9am–1pm)

FALLSEMESTERSTARTSSEPT.6TH

LearnJapanesevocabulariesandphrasesthroughGames&Songs.

LearnandexperienceJapaneseCulture.

Tuition$65.00permonthplusregistrationfee

Thisprogramisopentoeveryoneregardlessofrace,religion.

Students enjoy making Sakura mochi

Elementary A Class show off their Sakura mochi.

Jan Ken Pon Winner

2014 Recognition and Awards Dinner

The annual Recognition and Awards Dinner was held on Sunday April 13th. All the clubs contributed to our “island style” dinner and the culmination was truly a group effort. We sold a record 300 tickets and it was nice to see so many old and new friends of the Center come out to support our Fundraiser. Kirk Iwami and Long Sheng Chang (Johnson Sensei) were presented with Outstanding Service Awards by President Richard Shinomoto. In addition, Norwalk Mayor Marcel Rodarte Norwalk Community Spotlight Awards and Norwalk Councilmember Cheri Kelley presented the State Assembly Certificates of Recog-nition from the 58th District on behalf of Assembly-woman Cristina Garcia. A longtime friend of the Cen-ter, former Norwalk Mayor Gordon Stefenhagen and his wife were also in attendance.

Congratulations to all our high school senior scholar-ship award recipients: Koichi and Toyo Nerio Schol-arship Awards recipients Summer Fujii and Kaelyn

Kawamoto; Norwalk Youth Sports Scholarship Awards recipients Summer Fujii, Kaelyn Kawamoto, and No-elle Mathes. This year, the Community Center pre-sented Special Recognition awards to Diane Kawata Watanabe, Esq., Morihei Henmi Sensei, and the Blue Angels: (Malayna Domingo, Kelli Hanashiro, Lindsay Hanashiro, Allyson Hayakawa, Angelina Jacobe, Erin O’ Crowley, Madison Tanaka, Kristin Tsujimoto, Alyssa Umemoto, Coach Ben Jacobe, and Coach Glenn Umemoto)

Many thanks to the Master of Ceremony Toshi Tera-moto and all the performers. The talented Kamaki and Vic opened up the program and we then enjoyed performances by Hikari Taiko, Na Wahine ‘O Kawena, Hawaiian Hula, Ayame Kai Classical Dance Club, and Kelsey Kwong. We look forward to seeing you all next year!

Henmi Sensei and Diane Kawata Watanabe, Esq. President Richard Shinomoto (standing)

Nerio Scholarship Recipients with the Nerio Family NYS Scholarship Recipients with the NYS Board

Kirk Iwami and Long Sheng Chang (Johnson Sensei)

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S E J S C C

B O A R D M E M B E R S If you wish to contact any of the board members, please call the Center and leave a message. Jim Niiro

Calvin Chang

Lynn Chang

Linda Kusuda

Kimie Matsumoto

Fred Matsumoto

Mas Onoda

Richard Shinomoto

Tosh Teramoto

Bob Yamada

Carrie Nakatani

Ted Yoshimura

“Tomodachi”, 14615 Gridley Rd.,

Norwalk CA 90650.

Tel: 562-863-5996. Published 6 times annually by the Southeast Japanese School and Community Center. A

no charge newsletter informing all participants of activ-

ities on a one per household basis. Bulk Mail Postage

Paid at Norwalk, CA. Editor: SEJSCC Staff; Advertis-

ing & Mailing: SEJSCC Staff, Mas Onoda, Gakuen

PTA and Norwalk Nikkei Seniors.

Kirk Iwami and his sister Diane

Special Recognition Award: Blue Angels

“Johnson Sensei and family”

Fujii Family NYS Scholarship winners Norwalk Mayor and City Council member

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Connie Ciranna

NDC “March Spring Fling” Dance 2014 Helen Hikiji did it again! The hungry group en-joyed the ham or turkey croissants, green salad, chips, & jello dessert. It was a delicious snack with coffee or tea! Other drinks were available with a cost. All 77 NDC, GVNC, Langley, & friends thank you, Helen, & your kitchen helpers, Sonita Seng, Jean Ikemoto, Enid Leung, & George Ishikawa. We also want to thank Aki Watanabe for donating his Sushi rolls. Now it was time to get back to dancing! Edna Kurihara led the energetic dancers to two line danc-es, “Black Velvet” & “Old Time Rock & Roll”. The rest of the evening was dancing & practicing all the danc-es Glenn Yata has taught, with a Mixer in between. Thank you Mr. DJ, Yuso!

N O R W A L K D A N C E C L U B

NDC April Western Nite Social – April 26, 2014 Sheriff Yuso Kurihara did it again, by ordering all 76 dancers to get out there & dance! Well, just about everyone did as they were told except those in the kitchen who were preparing our snack. The kitchen helpers were Harriet Yamada, Jim Noe, Jean Ikemoto, Aileen Muraki, George Ishikawa, Helen Hikiji. Edna Ku-rihara provided the tasty bean dish. Harriet provided the Cauliflower & Broccoli salad as well as the Pulled Pork sandwiches. Helen topped off the plate with sliced watermelon. Tea was given by Mas Sawataki, & the beer by Yuso. Edna then taught the “West Coast Shuffle”, along with the “Circle Waltz”. NDC thanks all those who helped & at-

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CALENDAR

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center Activities List If you are interested in any of the activities at the Center, please contact the person listed below

Southeast Gakuen: Kimie Matsumoto 562 863-5996 Hikari Taiko: Mary Jane Mayeda 562 924.1454

Ikebana (Flower Arrgmt): Ogawa Sensei 714 893.1245 Norwalk Nikkei Seniors: Toby Fusato 562 .860.7368

Japanese Classical Dance: Akemi Jensen 562 691.2764 Guitar Class: Yuji Hata 562 695.1908 Norwalk Youth Sports: Rich Tamaki rytamaki@yahoo.com Na Wahine ‘O Kawena: Karen Toyoshiba 562 863-5996

Judo: Bill Matsubara 562 483 9374 Hawaiian Karaoke Club: Stan Shimomura 562-865-9672

Kendo: Brian Yoon email: yoonbr ian@hotmail.com Ukulele Class: Kamaki Keawe 714-928-7157

Karate: Brock Nishimura 714 826.9128 Norwalk Dance Club: Edna Kur ihara 714 847.1173

N O R W A L K K E N D O D O J O

Reminder... June 7 Host: Judo Serving Chili and rice July 12 Host: Hula Class Serving Kalua Pork and cabbage Macaroni/potato salad

Tsukemono,Rice,and Fruits BINGO Dinner served at 6 pm

6:30 pm First Saturday Of the month

Come join us!

The news for Norwalk Kendo Dojo for this issue is short, but sweet-- we gained one more sensei! Con-gratulations to Amano Shotaro for passing his 4 dan examination at the SCKF spring shinsa on April 19th in Covina. Also, thank you to everyone who came out to help with Center clean up in March, and for recognition dinner toban duties in April. We look forward to your continued support at the cultural festival in July! Other upcoming events include the North-South Taikai in May, and the U.S. Kendo Championships in June. Norwalk Kendo Dojo practices Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and Fridays from 7:30 to 10:00 pm. We also practice iaido from 9 to 10:30 pm on Mondays. New members are welcome; beginners are accept-ed at the start of each odd month. Please see our website at http://www.eanet.com/norwalk for infor-mation about Norwalk Kendo Dojo, including up-coming and past events as well as how to join, or send email to norwalkkendo@gmail.com.

Advisory Committee Mtg-1st Wed Monthly 7pm Center Bd Mtg-2nd Wed Monthly 7 pm

May 3 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm 17 Gakuen Speech Program 5:00 pm 24 Gakuen Holiday 24 Monthly Dance 7:00 pm Jun 1 SEJSCC General Meeting 12:00 pm 7 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm 7 & 14 Gakuen New student Registration 20 Camp Hanabi Registration deadline 28 Monthly Dance 7:00 pm July 5 Gakuen Holiday 12 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm 7-11 Camp Hanabi 7 & 10 Ondo practice 7:30 pm 14 & 17 Ondo Practice 7:30 pm 26 & 27 Cultural Festival

Page 7

Norwalk Kendo Dojo young sensei (left to right): Nguyen Emil, Chang Jeffrey, Amano Shotaro, Hamamura Yu, and Kariya Yoshijiro.

By June Uyekawa N O R W A L K J U D O D O J O

Page 8 Tomodachi

The value of life lies in what you do, not in what you look like. The image you project does not have any value at all.

Congratulations to Johnson Sensei on your recognition from the Community Center. Your hard work and dedication to our dojo and other organizations has been greatly appreciated. You are rich in life and full of love.

The results from tournaments from these past months have been a mix of veteran and new judoka members. It is our pleasure to announce the following participants and winners:

March 2nd, the Mojica Spring Judo Tournament in Baldwin Park was held. The following judoka competed and five came home with accolades to share with the dojo.

Ariana Lemus and Conor Uyekawa 1st place

Steven Romero and Billy Matsubara 2nd place

Kay Sugahara 3rd place Other participants include: Juliana Lemus, Weston Uyekawa, Joseph Chavez

Next tournament was hosted by Taishi on March 16th. We had a total of 15 competitors at the 4th Annual Taishi Tourna-ment at Northview High School. The following judoka participat-ed/placed;

Ariana Lemus and Conor Uyekawa 1st place

Kyle Morishima, Tiahna Arellano, Tim Jun 2nd place

Tanner Sonoda, Andre Lee, Josh Nam 3rd place Other participants include: Weston Uyekawa, Joseph Chavez, Elena Barrios, Susan Agama, Billy Matsubara, Albert Lee, David Agama.

What a pleasure to see some new faces at this tournament.

Before you could blink an eye, we had a total of nine competitors at the Industry Sheriff Judo Tournament at La Puente High School on April 6th. Nine competitors placed-Congratulations to all !

Ariana Lemus, Steven Romero, Brennen Wells 1st place

Conor Uyekawa, Kay Sugahara 1st place

Joseph Chavez 2nd place

Carter Cortes, Aidan Vigil, Weston Uyekawa 3rd place

The following weekend, we had 16 competitors at the Nanka Senior/Junior/Novice Spring Tournament held at Westminster High School. We brought home a total of 14 medals….we’re on a roll…

Yonen

Ariana Lemus and Conor Uyekawa 1st place

Weston Uyekawa, Joseph Chavez, 3rd place

Vincent Chavez(first tourney !), Tanner Sonoda 3rd place

Shonen

Josh Nam 1st place

Albert Lee 2nd place

Trevor Sonoda and Kay Sugahara 3rd place

Kyle Morishima

Novice

Tiahna Arellano and Elena Barrios 1st place

Susan Agama 3rd place

Seinen

Godwin Obele 2nd place

Desmond Wong

We conclude our tournament results with the 85th Anniversary San Gabriel Tournament held at Rosemead High School on April 27th. We had a good turnout of 16 competitors and we brought home seven trophies. Congratulations to all competitors for fighting hard.

Carter Cortes, Brenden Dy, Conor Uyekawa 1st place

Kay Sugahara, Tiahna Arellano 1st place

Tanner Sonoda, Josh Nam 2nd place Participants: Susana Agama, Owen Lee, Walter Lee, Juliana Lemus, Ariana Lemus, Trenton Dy, Weston Uyekawa, Joseph Chavez, Trevor Sonoda.

May proves to be a busy month with an inter club shiai with West Covina slated for May 16th Friday, the Nanka Awards Ban-quet on the 17th and ending with the West Coast Invitational Judo Tournament on Sunday, May 18th.

We look forward to hearing how competitive we are and to share more medal winners with you. Look for some great stories after the Ryoku Judo Invitational Tournament on May 25th in Las Vegas. In this case, whatever happens in Vegas will be shared with all…just a heads up.

I leave you with another Chinese proverb (thank you Mrs. Lee for providing them) To be able to give love is a blessing, and to be able to do away with worries is wisdom.

Norwalk Youth Sports

CHAR SIU BAO Pre-Order Form Norwalk Youth Sports is now taking pre-orders for baked and/or steamed Char Siu Bao by the dozen for pick-up at the

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center Cultural Festival on July 26th-27th, 2014. SPECIAL PRE-ORDER PRICE: $16.00 per Dozen (A limited number of Char Siu Bao will be for sale at the Cultural

Festival. AT FESTIVAL: $19.00 per Dozen ($1.75 Each) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Deadline for Orders Fri. July 11) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

--

I would like to order (at $16 per dozen): _____Dozen STEAMED Buns ____Dozen BAKED Buns

For pick-up on: ____ Sat., July 26th (3pm - 7pm) ____ Sun., July 27th (2pm – 6pm) Name: _____________________________ Please make check payable to: Southeast Japanese School Mobile: (____)_______________________ (memo line: NYS Char Siu Bao) email: ____________________________ Mail to: Norwalk Youth Sports c/o Debbie Ito 14615 Gridley Rd. Total Amount Enclosed: ________ Check Number: ________ Norwalk, CA 90650

SoutheastJapaneseSchoolandCommunityCenter

http://www.sejscc.org14615S.GridleyRoad·Norwalk,CA90650

Camp Hanabi July7th–July11th,2014(9am–3pm)

Forages5‐10

Spaceislimited,Registrationformsonlineat

www.sejscc.org

Language(conversation&songs)Culture(dances,taiko,foodtasting,storytime) Crafts(origami,calligraphy) Sports(basketball,kendo,judo).

All‐inclusivesummercampisonly$175(includes

Materialsandsnack).Earlybirdregistration($150)endsJune10th.

Thisprogramisopentoeveryoneregardlessofrace,religionorphysicalabilities.

Coming Soon ….. our SEJSCC’s

51st Annual Cultural Festival and Ondo

JULY 26 – 27 Sat. and Sun.

*Cultural Arts Displays *Raffle Prizes *Martial Arts Demonstrations *Boutique *Great Foods *Plant Sale *Games *Ondo *Entertainment Indoor Stage & Outdoor Stage

Ondo Dance Practice begins July 7th 7:30 pm

Although our Festival is in July, we are sending our raffle tickets early. We hope you will again support our big event. Write your name, address and phone number on each ticket stub and mail it back with your check payable to Southeast Japanese School in the envelope provided. Thank You!

Tomodachi Page 8

David B. Akiyoshi, D.D.S. Family Dentistry

1133 W. Gardena Blvd. Gardena, California 90247 Senior Discounts (310) 327-7165

Sat. & Eve. Appts.

Tomodachi Page 11

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Norwalk CA 90650

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

“Tomodachi” A Bimonthly Newsletter

May 2014

Norwalk CA 90650

Cerritos Center Office 18616 South Gridley Road

Artesia, CA 90701

Tel. (562) 865-7917

maha.rayan@unionbank.com

Maha Rayan Branch Manager Vice President