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Conferment Ceremony of the Foreign Minister’s Commendation for Mr. Richard Clark and Mr. Kerry Hada (August 17, Friday)
Mr. Richard Clark, Senior Partner of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLC
Mr. Kerry Hada, Denver County Court Judge
Deputy Mayor of Denver, Cary Kennedy
A toast offerd by Mr. Robert Sakata, a former president of the Japan America Society of Colorado
On August 17, a conferment ceremony was held at the Official Residence of the Consul General, to honor and confer the Foreign Minister's Commendation upon recipients Mr. Richard Clark, Senior Partner of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLC, and Mr. Kerry Hada, Denver County Court Judge. The ceremony was attended by many distinguished guests.
To begin the ceremony, Consul-General Ono introduced the outstanding achievements, then presented each of them with official Certificates of Commendation along with commemorative gifts.
Afterward, Mr. Clark expressed deep appreciation to his Japanese friends, business partners, people in the governments of the State of Colorado and the City of Denver, and credited his family for supporting him over the years to help make this award possible.
Judge Hada explained that his private travel to Japan in 2002, and his later experience in visiting Japan as a participant in the Japanese American Leadership Delegation Program hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, greatly affected his involvement and activity. He also noted that he was pleased to accept this honor not only for himself but also for all of the people in the Japanese-American community working with him toward promoting Japanese-American friendship.
Deputy Mayor of Denver Cary Kennedy was in attendance to offer congratulations from the City of Denver to the recipients, stating that their contributions to strengthen the relationship with Japan also contributes toward the city’s policy of promoting its globalization. And also stated that, relationship between Japan and Denver have been developed further with efforts from lots of people including Mr. Clark and Mr. Hada.
The ceremony was concluded and the reception started with a toast offered by Mr. Robert Sakata, a former president of the Japan America Society of Colorado and also a recipient of Japanese government’s imperial award ‘The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon’ in 2000. The guests enjoyed the conversation in the friendly atmosphere and their commemorative pictures taken.