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Dear CHI Friends,
Tom and I wish to take this opportunity to officially say good bye to our Sacramento Academic Program Administrator, Cathy Johnson. As many of you know, she has been involved with CHI for 32 years, first as a host family, then as a Group Homestay Teacher/Coordinator and later as an assistant APA/AA to Joan King. When Joan became the Academic Programs Director in the Main office, Cathy was ready to seamlessly slip into her administrative position. As a Teacher/Coordinator, Cathy’s job was to recruit and orient host families, teach English to the Japanese students, organize tours and parties and, in general, handle problems. By the time Cathy became the Sacramento Administrator, her experience was vast and deep. We quickly noticed that she never just did the minimum her job required. She put her heart and soul into the work and made it fun, encouraging, and inspirational.
To be an Administrator requires a special talent, maturity and sensitivity. While on one hand you cannot push people around, on the other you have to be strict so they come through on their commitments. Cathy found the perfect balance for this position. She had such a wonderful relationship with her Teacher/Coordinators that they would do anything to find her the families we all needed. Cathy enjoyed entertaining the Accompanying Teachers with dinners at her own home, building long-lasting relationships with our Japanese partners. As an APA, she worked tirelessly to open the 10-month high school program and found many host families who volunteered to host teenagers from around the world for 2 semesters. This is a very challenging program and again, her light spirit guided her Academic Coordinators through the exciting as well as rough times.
When Tom and I started CHI in 1980 in Japan, knowing the fickle nature of the Japanese marketplace, we gave our two programs (Group Homestay and AYP) perhaps 5 years. During the 1985 CHI Conference we were approached by somewhat agitated Area Administrators. They told us they saw CHI as a “real” employer and they insisted they wanted to retire at CHI. We were surprised, but also delighted. (What? They want to still be here 25 years from now? Were we even going to last that long? The whole notion was surreal…)
And now Cathy is actually retiring from CHI. Yes, that surreal notion is now real. The wonderful news is that Cathy’s spirit will stay on in the new Area Administrator, Susan Campbell, who has been groomed by her over the past few years. No wonder Susan slipped seamlessly into her new position just as Cathy did before her, so many years ago. Cathy’s own inimitable style inspired so many of us at CHI! I have been reading greetings on Facebook from her fellows and they all appreciated her humor and inclusiveness. She helped and inspired many along the way. She changed countless lives – of overseas students and American host families. How can we say “goodbye?” Well, we can’t. She is going to help us put together our next AYP Conference in New Orleans. We know we will see you again and again, dear Cathy. Soon.
With love and respect,
Lilka and Tom Areton |
