Uchinanchu of the Year 2021

Janice Ohisa

Janice Ohisa

Yomitan Club proudly honors Janice Ohisa as their 2021 Uchinanchu of the Year.

Quietly on the side, Janice has been assisting her sister Roxanne in handling many of the Treasurer's duties at our Shinnen Enkai and picnics for a number of years and is pivotal in their continued volunteering. Janice is the oldest daughter of the late Larry Seikichi Teruya of Honomu and the late Jean Toshiko Oshiro of Pearl City.

Her Yomitan roots go back to March 1905 when her paternal grandfather; one of our club isseis, Kamado Teruya traveled from Okinawa followed by her grandmother Tsuru Gakiya where they settled on the Big Island. For a number of years, Janice volunteered countless hours at the Okinawan Festival in the Country Store and make Andamiso.

During the pandemic, Janice participated in Yomitan Club 2021 UOY drive-by and the video presentations for HUOA events. She fondly remembers taking her Mom to the Okinawan Festivals and the Bon Dance and in the earlier years going to picnics and hanging out with the Gakiya clan.

Congratulations Janice!