nakatomipr.com Blog

After Joanna and I attended the “Ethnic Community Roundup” event hosted by the Asian American Journalist Association of Los Angeles (AAJA-LA) in September, I decided to ask Joanna a few questions about the event to better understand the symbiotic relationship between PR and Journalism.

Q: Why did you decide to attend this event?

A: This event seemed particularly interesting because it involved key people in the ethnic media, leaders from the Asian American community, and Korean BBQ!  One of my favorite parts about the event was enjoying a good conversation with other journalists and members of the community, including Joz Wang, blogger and Co-Editor of 8Asians.com.

Q: As a PR professional, I always hear about the value of building relations with journalists. Why do you think this is important?

A: I believe it’s important for journalists and public relations professionals to be in conversation because we better understand the issues, each other, and how to better inform our readers and community members.  It’s exciting to see communications professionals working together to provide the most accurate information available so that we can catalyze and move the community in the right direction. Since we are PR professionals and they’re the journalists, it’s important to understand what kinds of stories interest reporters, what their topics are, who their audience is and learn how to build relations with ethnic media outlets.

Q: There were different journalists from different ethnicities/backgrounds, what did you learn from their responses? What do you think was their message?

A: The Asian community is wide and varied.  We heard from journalists representing different ethnic outlets, and it was great to hear their different perspectives and how dedicated they are to serving their community by providing information that is in-language and culturally aware.

Liv Arnesen and Debra Nakatomi

Inspirations: “Person of the day”

At Nakatomi, we are inspired by people who strive to be the best and overcome adversity.  On Debra’s recent trip to Edinburgh, Scotland where she attended the 34^th annual world conference of The World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), she met with female leaders and inspirational women from around the globe. One woman who stood out in particular was “Liv Arnesen,” a Norwegian cross-country skier, who became the first woman in the world to ski solo to the South Pole – a 50 day expedition of 745 miles. She has been on numerous expeditions that include Greenland, Antarctica and the South Pole. Liv has accomplished much throughout her life and continues to do so with her exciting new project; an expedition with a team of 6 women, from 6 continents, to walk on the 7th, Antarctica.  What amazes us about liv is her courage, strength, and perseverance. She gives women hope that no matter what age, we can all strive to accomplish our goals and dreams.

When she’s not exploring, she devotes her time as an educator and motivational speaker. Arnesen founded her own company, “Liv Arnesen AS” which provides motivational lectures and team-building programs to kids and adults. Liv’s inspirational story is shared with audiences around the globe through multi-media presentations, short films, workshops, curricula and lectures as a way to motivate other women and girls to reach for their own dreams.  She is truly an inspiration to all of us!

Nelly Peng, first place winner in the print category being interviewed by World Journal, ETTV America, ZW-TV, TVB-USA, Sky Link TV and many more.

Nakatomi & Associates worked with the South Coast AQMD to host an award ceremony for their first-ever “”A World We Can Change” ad contest.  Students submitted entries in Chinese as part of the AQMD’s Chinese-American advertising and outreach initiative. We engaged students across the Southland through this contest, challenging young people to share ideas on how they would inspire change to help clean the air we breathe.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich announced the winners and presented scholarships.  One of the most exciting parts of the day was the media response! World Journal, ETTV America, ZW-TV, TVB-USA, and Sky Link TV interviewed our superstar students.

Thanks to our partners who helped spread the word about the contest, and we hope the students in southern California will be the next generation of leaders who help clean the air we breathe.

(From left to right: actress Tamlyn Tomita and Allen Okamoto, AREAA Education Foundation Chair)

As we all know, the devastating aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami still resonates with many of us. On June 17,  Nakatomi & Associates attended a fundraiser event held by the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) in support of the foundation’s ongoing efforts to help raise money for the Japan Rebuild Fund. The event took place at the Japanese American National Museum in Downtown Little Tokyo.  The event’s main focus was on recovery and rebuilding homes, which is a big part of the monumental recovery task. Special guests who attended the event included Allen Okamoto, AREAA Educational Foundation Chair and actress Tamlyn Tomita serving as Master of Ceremonies (pictured).

The event was a success and filled with much positivity, hope and humanity.

Nakatomi & Associates has worked closely with AREAA since 2006 to promote sustainable homeownership opportunities for Asian American communities. AREAA Education Foundation is an independent non-profit organization affiliated with the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). For more info, please visit www.AREAAFoundation.org to donate to the continuing rebuilding effort today.

We’d like to thank AREAA Foundation for hosting this wonderful event!

(From left to right: Katherine Schwarzenegger, Jan Perry, Leeza Gibbons, Pamela Skaist-Levy, Linda Meadow, Lisa Ling, Shondrella Avery)

Nakatomi & Associates had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate GirlPower with an awards luncheon held at The Beverly Hills Hotel on May 19. The event was hosted by our client A Place Called Home (APCH),  to honor five special women who’ve proven to be inspirational not only through their personal and professional success, but also as role models for self-empowerment.

The event attracted more than 275 supporters to the Beverly Hills Hotel! This year’s recipients were, Pamela Skaist-Levy, Juicy Couture co-founder; Laura Ling, Journalist & E! Investigates host; Linda Meadow, Author and owner of gurumommy.com; and Katherine Schwarzenegger, Author & youth activist. Additionally, Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry received the 2011 Legacy Award.

The highlight of the event for us was when APCH introduced its 2011 “GirlPower” girls – a group of 13 teenage girls who are part of the foundation’s special empowerment program for young women at the youth center. One by one, each girl on stage  introduced themselves to audience members and expressed  their future goals and aspirations. It was inspiring to see these young girls have such a  positive outlook with big dreams despite the adversity they’ve faced.

We would like to thank APCH for hosting the event and promoting  GirlPower!

(From Left to Right: Betty Chinn, Joni Byun, Jinah Kim, Joanna Wu)

Nakatomi & Associates Joined Southern California Edison (SCE) to celebrate its sixth annual Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month event on May 6 at  SCE’s Energy Education Center in Irwindale, CA. With the theme, “125 Years…Powering Innovation and Diversity,” SCE highlighted the diversity of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and the company’s commitment to helping its business and residential customers to conserve energy, money, and the environment.

The event had an amazing turnout with more than 300 people in attendance, including community members, business leaders, elected officials and SCE employees and executives.

One of the most awe inspiring and special guest speaker from the event was Betty chin, founder of Betty’s Blue Angel.  For the past 25 years, Betty has made it a lifelong commitment to serving the poor and needy. Twice a day, seven days a week and nearly 365 days a year, Betty serves a meal and hot cup of coffee to up to 200 people in Humboldt County. Betty’s commitment to helping the homeless has led her to receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Barack Obama and a Minerva Award for her work. Her passion for humanity, kindness, and genuine concern for others is exemplary to all of us.

All in all, we would like to thank all those in attendance and SCE’s dedication to partnering with Asian-American community organizations in order to better serve the needs of this diverse group.

Mayor Villaraigosa, Police Chief Beck, Patti Giggans and others at LA City Hall announcing the elimination of a backlog of 6,132 untested sexual assault evidence kits.

For the past five years, Nakatomi & Associates has worked to promote Peace Over Violence and Denim Day activities throughout Los Angeles.  We are proud of the tremendous outpouring of support and participation for Denim Day and happy to announce that we’ve had over a million participants! What started as a protest has become a full-fledged national day of education. Furthermore, Denim Day has expanded globally in countries such as Ghana, Turkey, England, and in many more places to come!

Denim Day rallies, assemblies, and informational events took place at schools, government buildings and worksites throughout the Los Angeles area.