Anaheim resident Patti Hirahara was honored with a proclamation from the Anaheim City Council on June 12 for her continuing work to help preserve the history of the Japanese Americans in Anaheim as well as her receiving the Washington State University Alumni Association’s Honorary Alumna Award, the most prestigious award given to non-alumni of WSU. She is the first Japanese American to receive the WSU award in 52 years. Since 1999, Hirahara has been working with the city to create a pictorial legacy about Japanese American pioneers in Anaheim and has continued to support related projects.
Pictured from left are City Councilmembers Kris Murray and Lucille Kring, Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Jose Moreno, Anaheim Unified School District student intern Tien Le from Magnolia High School, Hirahara, and Councilmembers Denise Barnes, James Vanderbilt and Stephen Faessel. Tien was part of the “Anaheim’s Innovative Mentoring Experience” program and worked with the Anaheim Public Library this summer on the city’s Japanese American Heritage oral history project. She was Hirahara’s special guest during the ceremony.
Photo by Tom Edelblute/Anaheim Public Library