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Wedekind honored with Japan-America Sakura Award

For her devotion to furthering the friendship between Tennessee and Japan, Mrs. Betsy Wedekind of Hendersonville was presented the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Award of the Japan-American Society of Tennessee (JAST) by Japan's Consul General from New Orleans Masaru Sakato at the nonprofit organization's sixth annual membership meeting in Nashville.

JAST Awards Program Chairman John Gregory explained that this award recognizes exceptional volunteer efforts toward the improvement and/or expansion of the relationship between the peoples of Japan and Tennessee.

From church-sponsored mission trips in the late 70s and early 80s, Mrs. Wedekind developed a great appreciation for the Japanese people and their culture, resulting in deep friendships with some of the people that she met during her brief stays in Japan. In 1983 a sister city alliance was forged between Hendersonville and Tsuru, Japan. Mrs. Wedekind's dedication to the relationship between the two cities led to the formation of the Tsuru-Hendersonville Friendship Committee, the non-profit organization that oversees the sister city affiliation.

For more than twenty years, Mrs. Wedekind has given selflessly of her time and energies to this sister city program; she has expanded her activities to include leading six tours to Tsuru, hosting workshops to promote the Japanese culture, volunteering at the Japan Center, teaching conversational English to Japanese residents, and mentoring the high school exchange program in which teachers and students travel between the two cities of Hendersonville and Tsuru.

Seeking no recognition for her dedicated efforts to promote an understanding and an appreciation of all things Japanese, Mrs. Wedekind continues to work tirelessly to further the relationship between her community and that of her sister city, Tsuru. It has been a labor of love for a woman who found inspiration and fascination in a country so far from home.

Mrs. Wedekind was nominated for this honor by Forward Sumner and selected by a volunteer panel of judges representing statewide and regional educational, civic and community development organizations.