Asian Pacific American luncheon held

The event kicked off with Veneditte Acoba singing the national anthem, followed by Multi-Cultural Committee Vice President IT2 Sherri Hill's opening remarks. "Every May, we honor our citizens whose families have come from all over the world - including Korea, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, China, Japan, the Philippines and many other countries. We respect all that they have done through the American way to enhance diversity, leadership and harmony."

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast commanding officer Capt. Timothy Matthews introduced guest speaker Ralph Kaneshiro, a Hawaiian born Japanese-American, who provided the audience with insight on how some of his Asian Pacific cultural heritage has found its way into his American lifestyle.

Nicole Wilhelm performs a Hawiian dance to the song "My Yellow Ginger Lei" for the attendees of the Asian Pacific Ameican Luncheon.

"We are all captives of our experience, so we see our surroundings through the prisms of our past," said Kaneshiro. "I see Jacksonville and NAVFAC Southeast through my Hawaiian prism."

Kaneshiro explained how the Hawaiian terms ohana and calabash could be applied to our workplaces. Ohana is a Hawaiian term for "extended family." Calabash is a term whose literal translation comes from a family who eats together out of the same wooden bowl but also refers to those non-blood relatives who are considered

just as close as family. Kaneshiro said these terms are, "Often applied in the workplace because when we work for a common employer, we are, in a sense, eating from the same calabash. So, we are all ohana."

Kaneshiro emphasized that, "Regardless of our backgrounds, we are all Americans who bring abundant life experiences, talents, and perspectives. It is the aggregation of these talents and perspectives that make our Navy so successful."

Guest Speaker Ralph Kaneshiro addresses the crowd about how diversity has affected him and his family and how important it is to know about diversity and its effects on others.

Guests were treated to a buffet of traditional Asian Pacific cuisine and entertainment that included a Hawaiian dance performed by Kaneshiro's daughter, Nicole Wilhelm, to the song "My Yellow Ginger Lei."

Yiching, another performer, also played the Pipa, a plucked-string instrument that has been played in China for more then 2,000 years.