The Southeast Japanese School and Community Center will host their an­nual Recognition Dinner and Awards Night on Saturday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m., 14615 Gridley Rd., in Norwalk. The Center will be honoring Marvin Kobayashi and Mary Jane Mayeda for their contributions and service, and will present scholarships to several high school seniors.

The Koichi and Toyo Nerio Schol­arship award will be presented to four outstanding seniors based on their academic, athletic, cultural, and com­munity achievements. The recipients are: Erin Hayashida, Cerritos High; Ashley Honma, Los Alamitos High; Michael Lu, Cerritos High; and Kariann Yamashita, Gahr High.

The recipients of the Norwalk Youth Sports (NYS) scholarship are selected on academic achievement, athletic and community involvement. The awardees are: Ashley Honma, Los Alamitos High; Michael Lu, Cerritos High; Kariann Yamashita, Gahr High; and Jamie Yonai, Los Alamitos High.

The following are brief profiles of the Center’s Recognition award recipi­ents, Marvin Kobayashi and Mary Jane Mayeda.

Marvin Kobayashi along with Jerry Matsushita and Dean Wada organized the Rascals in 1997. This program was specifically geared to introduce basket­ball to five to seven year old boys and girls. Marvin ran the Rascals program, set up the format for the clinic, devised drills for the children, and standardized the basic fundamentals for the coaches to introduce. He also taught the coaches how to work with the 5 year olds. He has also incorporated teenagers who have participated with NYS to help coach and assist the Rascals.

Marvin has shared his passion for basketball by coaching, teaching, and refereeing youth groups. But more importantly, he has inspired others to continue his mission reaching the next generation of children.

Janice Igarashi shared her recollec­tions of Mary Jane Mayeda.

When Tak Murata introduced taiko at the Center in 1978, Mary Jane Mayeda was one of the first students. By the 1980’s, Mary Jane and other taiko members began performing around Southern California and Las Vegas. This continued for 12 years.

In 1990, due to “noise” complaints during practice sessions, the taiko group disbanded for six years, until the completion of the new classroom build­ing, which had a soundproof practice room. Under the urging of several taiko enthusiasts, Mary Jane was persuaded to revive taiko. Under her leadership, taiko expanded to include three levels of classes as well as a calendar filled with performances at schools and many other venues. Mary Jane’s gift is her ability to communicate her love of taiko to her students and to her audience.

Please join the SEJSCC on Sat­urday, April 21, as we recognize the accomplishments of our outstanding volunteers and our aspiring scholarship winners. Hikari Taiko will be perform­ing along with Japanese Classical Dance group, and singers from the Karaoke Clubs. Tickets for the Prime Rib or Chicken Cordon Bleu dinners are: $20 adults, $10 students, $5 children under 12. For information please call Hy Shishino (562) 926-8159.