Board members for 2023-2025
Mitzi Yau, President
Ming-Li Wu, 1st VP
Midori Chikira, Assistant to 1st VP
Tina Hsueh, 2nd VP (Membership)
Sherry Xie, Assistant to 2nd VP
Carol Legros, Treasurer
Karen Lo, Correspondence and Recording Secretary
Danny Zeng, Recording Assistant to Secretary
Cecilia Li, Correspondence Assistant to Secretary
Lunar New Year's Greetings for 2025
Happy New Year!
I hope you all have enjoyed a wonderful time during the holiday season!
Last year, besides the usual workshops and members' participation at other ikebana organizations' flower shows and activities, we celebrated our milestone 50th Anniversary in June.
Held at Toronto Botanical Garden, the event featured Associate Professor Ms. Hozuki Oyamada from Council of Ohara Professors, Japan.
As our visiting Master, she presented a wonderful demonstration and held workshops that were well received by the participants.
We are also pleased to have received congratulatory messages from Headmaster Hiroki Ohara, and the Governor General of Canada, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Premier of Ontario, and the Mayor of Toronto for promoting the Art of Ikebana - a contribution to Ontario’s rich cultural diversity.
The Members' Exhibition area was set up differently from our previous year’s floor plan. Instead, we emphasized an educational way to introduce what Ohararyu Ikebana is, with an expanded display area.
On November 26th, 2024 the Consul-General of Japan in Toronto, Matsunaga Takeshi and his wife Matsunaga Miho invited board members of Ikenobo, Ohara , Sogetsu schools, and Ikebana International to a special reception to recognize the decades of contributions supporting and promoting ikebana and Japanese culture.
Among the current Presidents of these recipients, I was delighted to receive this special commendation on behalf of our chapter. We were happy that our chapter was noted as a vital force in cultural contributions by the Consul-General of Japan in Toronto.
Our nomination process for the election is underway. Keep posted for updates on the process of renewal. In the Year of the Snake, we too, hope for renewal.
Best wishes to all this 2025,
Mitzi Yau
President
