Japanese American Citizens League Annual Gala (JACL)

Join the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) for its annual Gala at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, September 29, 2011. Executive Director Floyd Mori is a supporter of the Utah State Society and a Utah native, and he has asked that all USS members be invited to attend.  Two of the honorees will be Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa, who graduated from BYU and has a home in Orem, and Wat Misaka, who was born and raised in Ogden and now lives in Bountiful, Utah.  Wat was a star basketball player at the U of U in the 1940’s and was the first person of color to be drafted into what is now the NBA.

Click here more details!

 

 

 

 

Announcing New 2011 Sponsor – Marcus G. Faust

We previously failed to announce that in Q2 Marcus G. Faust again signed up as a Pioneer Level sponsor of the Utah State Society. This is Mr. Faust and company’s second year as a sponsor. We appreciate his support which has been critical to us planning quality events and continuing to grow our membership. 

To become a sponsor of the Utah State Society, please email Brady Smallwood at brady.smallwood@gmail.com.

Thanks!

 

Real Salt Lake vs DC United on Sep. 24th

It will be Utah State Society Night at RFK Stadium on Sep. 24th as Real Salt Lake battles DC United. There will be a block of seats reserved for the Utah State Society at the price of $24 per person. Also, bring your favorite food and drinks to our designated tailgate area and meet your Utah friends before the game begins.  Game starts at 7:30 pm.

Click here for info on buying tickets.

Hope you had fun!

We had a great group at Fort Scott Park yesterday for the Pioneer Day BBQ! It was hot and humid, but everyone still came out to eat some great Cafe Rio food and hang out with their Utah friends. We had almost 200  new people sign up for this event in addition to our other Utah State Society faithful members.

Events like this are wholly made possible by our sponsors. These are companies, organizations, and individuals who are great friends of Utah and are anxious to help Utahns who have made their way out here to D.C. If you haven’t made it out to one of our events yet, please join us for one of our events coming up later this year. At the event yesterday we had finance professionals, consultants, lobbyists, congressional staffers and lawyers in attendance just to name a few.

Just click the Join The Group button at the top of this page to hear about our next event.

Pioneer Day BBQ only 2 weeks away

We are getting excited about our upcoming Pioneer Day celebration on July 23rd! It will be at Fort Scott Park in Arlington from 12-2 pm. We have teamed up with    some great partners to shake things up a little bit. The pressure is on…Black or Pinto. That’s right, our Utah friend Cafe Rio will be providing the catering. Visiting with your Utah friends, playing some fun pioneer games, and eating Cafe Rio food, you might just forget that you’re not in Utah, until you remember how humid it is outside.
   
Every attendee will also receive a raffle ticket with chances to win free meals from Cafe Rio, tickets to the DC United vs. Real Salt Lake Game @ RFK Stadium, and some DC United swag. We will have live music and games going on the whole time. This is intended to be a kid friendly event, so please bring the family. Also, important to note, this is a BYOB picnic- Bring Your Own Blanket! There are only so many park benches and tree stumps to go around, so bring a blanket for you and your family to sit on.

If you have not registered for the event yet, please reserve your spot by clicking here ASAP!! Remember, it’s free.

Rio Tinto

Big thanks to Raga Elim at Rio Tinto for supporting us and becoming a sponsor of the Utah State Society. Rio Tinto has a large presence in Utah and is now personally invested in helping the progression of Utahns who are residing in the DC area. Sponsors such as Rio Tinto provide all of the funds necessary to plan high quality social events, lectures, and other activities that help us to build our network and progress as a group.

Don’t forget our next activity is the Pioneer Day BBQ coming up on July 23rd!

Click here for a list of all of our sponsors!

Pioneer Day BBQ

We are excited to announce our 2nd annual Pioneer Day BBQ. This year is going to be bigger and badder (and hopefully the temperature a little cooler). We are also going to have more activities for kids to participate in this year. Please view the event page here to see more details and to register to attend. There is no charge to attend the event.

Key Info

Date: July 23rd, 2011

Time: 12 – 2 pm

Location: Fort Scott Park, Arlington, VA

Utah State Society Crowns Utah’s Princess for the National Cherry Blossom Festival

(March 31, 2011) — In preparation for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., the Utah State Society has crowned Kourtney Coomans as Utah’s 2011 Cherry Blossom Princess. A graduate of East High in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kourtney is enrolled at the University of Utah and is currently interning in Washington, D.C. for Congressman Jason Chaffetz.

Each year, during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the National Conference of State Societies (NCSS) sponsors the Cherry Blossom Princess programs. Approximately 60 women participate in the program from states and territories from across America.

“We are pleased to have Kourtney represent the state of Utah in our Nation’s Capitol.” Dain Hansen, President of the D.C. area for the Utah State Society, states. “This will be a great opportunity for Kourtney to meet federal officials, international leaders and princesses from across the country, all while exemplifying the great state of Utah.”

The National Cherry Blossom Program in not a beauty pageant, but rather a program where the various princesses will represent their respective states before members of congress, ambassadors and international leaders. In the past, the princesses have met with the First Lady of the United States and Supreme Court Justices. The culminating event is the Grand Ball, which takes place on April 8th, and is where the 2011 National Cherry Blossom Queen is crowned. The theme of this year’s Grand Ball is “Stand With Japan.”

“It is such a great honor to represent the state of Utah at the National Cherry Blossom Festival.” Kourtney Coomans said. “I look forward to this opportunity and hope our efforts throughout the week will provide as much aid as possible to Japan.”

Being that Japan is a close partner with the U.S. through the history of the Cherry Blossom Festival, all events, silent auctions and fundraisers this year are geared toward supporting and assisting Japan in the wake of the disasters.

 

2011 Sponsors

We are happy to announce our 2011 sponsors. Please see our sponsors page to see a current list of sponsors as they are added throughout the year.

• American Capitol Group
• Caplin & Drysdale
• CHG & Associates
• Policy Impact
• R&R Partners
• UTA
• Spencer Stokes
• Holland and Hart

2011 Events

We’re looking forward to another great year at the Utah State Society. Here are some of the events that are in the works.

• Cherry Blossom Festival Events – (Late March/Early April)
• Pioneer/Utah Day BBQ – (July 23rd)
• Fall Congressional Reception – (September)
• Utah Holiday Party – (Late December/Early January)

Past Events 2010:

• Utah State Society Kick-Off Reception (Feb. 19th) 
• “Cherries and Jazz” Cherry Blossoms Festival Events (March 27th)
• Pioneer/Utah Day BBQ (July 24th)
• Congressional Recess Welcome Back Reception (September 15th)  
• Utah State Society Honoring Senator Bob Bennett (November 17, 2010)