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One second. That’s all it took to know we were in the presence of an extraordinary person. In that second, we saw his huge smile and felt his energy, enthusiasm and positivity that was so contagious it made us smile, too. That was Alan Sugiyama.
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A one-of-a-kind guy, a selfless leader, a community legend, and our EDI hero. Since 2013, Al’s impact on our participants, alumni and entire EDI community has been tremendous. We honor and celebrate Al in this special edition newsletter through our stories, photos and videos. We express our sincerest condolences to Al’s daughters, Mari and Alysa, and all of his family and friends.
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MEMORIAL SERVICE
Sunday, January 29, 2017
• 2:00PM
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FAVORITE STAFF MEMORIES OF AL
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Marci Nakano, Executive Director:
Secretly, I knew he was thinking I was bringing down the evaluation scores, not him, and Portland was his chance to prove it. It’s OK because I thought the same thing...
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Brittany Ryerson, Events Manager:
Later, I discovered that Al was a distant relative of mine. Honestly, it started as a joke...
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Vivian Huang, Marketing & Communication Coordinator:
They wondered what Al saw in me. But after getting to know Al these past few years, I’ve learned that he’s a go-getter, trust-your-gut, see-the-potential-in-everyone kind of guy...
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Colleen Yamaguchi, Program Director:
When I finally met Al, his passion, determination, optimism, vision and energy all dedicated to helping people, especially underdogs, overcome obstacles and achieve success, was immediately obvious...
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Chan Lo, former Office Assistant:
He was my boss, but we were also close friends and I think we look like brothers...
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MESSAGES FROM THE EDI COMMUNITY
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It is very sad, but I choose to remember Al the way he was, always optimistic, a visionary leader and a gentleman. May he rest in peace.
– Marisa Rivera, facilitator
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Al was an energetic, positive person, who gave! He was always more interested in each of us as a person and not for what we could or couldn’t do for him.
– Char Grinolds, Class of 1996,
Board Co-President
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Such a loss for EDI and our community. What a great spirit he had and he was such a leader.
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Thank you Al for inspiring a generation of current and future leaders. Your impact will live on.
– Dennis Mai, Class of 2011
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