Today’s article marks a minor shift in format where, rather than just presenting a larger general essay from our special guest, I thought it may be more informative for the reader to see and follow each of the topics and sections more explicitly. To that end, I have decided to present this edition’s guest, Michael Mielke, through an interview format.
Michael Phillips, Editor, JALT Focus: Welcome to the column Mike and thank you for agreeing to “star” in this edition of JALT Focus. One of the main reasons I had in mind when lobbying for the broadening of this column was to hear some of JALT’s hidden voices, so to speak, and people who I have met throughout my various JALT careers—the everyday teachers investing their own time and energy by helping JALT out in every way imaginable—folks just like you! Maybe we could start off by learning a little bit of your background prior to coming to Japan?
Mike Mielke, Director of Treasury (DoT): Before coming to Japan, I had graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BA in International Relations with an eye toward entering law school after a one-year break from school to travel a little and work to save some money. I graduated in 1990, and at that time in Vancouver, the economy was not great, and I was having trouble saving money while living there. The bubble economy was still running hot in Japan at that time.
So what triggered your move to Japan? And what things were you doing here prior to getting interested in JALT?
Many of my friends had made the trek across the Pacific to make some money teaching English combined with doing a little traveling, so I decided to scratch two itches with one stone and applied to a job advertisement for working for the now-defunct eikaiwa company GEOS. I worked for GEOS from June 1991 for 7 years, first as a teacher at a 150–200-student school in Akita then at Sapporo GEOS, which at its peak had over 600 students.
It was after I moved to Sapporo that I started attending JALT events as a local JALT member, but I was not so active. Kita Nihon GEOS, at that time, provided an excellent teacher development training program, which slowly made me more and more interested in pursuing a career in teaching. From 1995, I became a GEOS teacher trainer and in that capacity, was able to travel all over Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, training teachers and organizing teacher development conferences in Sapporo.
After I left GEOS in June 1998, I started working with some friends who had started their own school. It was then that I got more involved in JALT because I saw JALT as an excellent path for teacher development and community building. I had also started working part-time at a couple of universities to supplement my income to support my growing family. JALT was very useful as a source of information and as a support for teaching university classes.
OK, so, like most of us who are here in JALT for a long time, we tend to have a rich JALT history. Could you tell us more about the JALT things you did prior to becoming a director?
As a GEOS head office staff, I had a lot of experience organizing events, large and small, so I realized I could make a difference by helping to organize JALT Hokkaido monthly meetings and their annual conference. I also worked as their treasurer because I felt I could best contribute this way, and it also saved a lot of hassle when organizing our conferences.
I became even more interested in working as a treasurer when former DoTs (the extraordinary Oana Cusen, the wonderful Kevin Cleary, the kind Kevin Ryan, and the wise and steady Robert Chartrand) and the staff at the JALT Central Office (JCO) completely revamped the whole treasury review system. The effect was to make it much more systematic and easier for JALT Chapters and SIGs to more carefully manage and reconcile their finances each month. Further, I really liked the support system that was set up to help new and incoming treasurers.
One day at an Executive Board Meeting (EBM) in 2016, somebody recommended me to become the next Chapter Treasurer Liaison (CTL) and so I did that from 2016-2020. After serving as CTL, the Financial Steering Committee (FSC) needed a new chair, and I put my name forward to take it on, which kind of started a logical progression from treasurer to CTL to FSC Chair to deciding to run for DoT. Fortunately, my immediate predecessor, Robert Chartrand, was staying on as Vice-President and later Auditor, so I knew I could count on his wisdom and guidance if needed.
You were elected to be the DoT back in June 2020. Can you tell us more about your tenure and some of the shifts you have noticed over that time?
COVID-19 has pretty much overshadowed everything that happened during my tenure so far. The focus in the first term was adjusting to “the new normal” we were seeing at that time: online events, meetings, and conferences, how to best organize money online, as well as working together with the Board of Directors (BoD) and JCO to keep a feeling of normalcy during such a disruptive time. I was amazed and very proud of the BoD and the general membership of JALT for stepping up and working together to adapt and help each other through those unprecedented times.
The loss of revenue from the reduction in members and reduced conference attendance forced us to scale back considerably on the grants to Chapters and SIGs. But now, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, as we have been able to streamline costs considerably for JCO and will be holding our International Conferences at more traditionally profitable venues, which should enable JALT to build up their reserve fund and increase the grants to the Chapters and SIGs.
Another shift that has come about is the increased success in attendance and profitability of SIG conferences such as Pan-SIG, the CALL and CUE conferences, and chapter regional conferences. The recent discussions from the June EBM regarding the distribution of grant money and the organization of the JALT Chapter and SIG system could lead to even bigger changes in the future. Exciting times! The DoT elect, Anton Potgieter, is just the person to guide the BoD in getting JALT’s finances back in the black.
OK, well I guess you are transitioning out of the BoD at the end of this year but not out of JALT completely? No one ever really leaves JALT, right?
Yes, that is so true. I intend to focus on JALT Hokkaido at the regional level again and learn more about other parts of JALT at the national level that I have not had so much experience with. There are so many great people to learn from in JALT. I also wish the incoming BoD and especially the new DoT all the best!
OK, great. Thanks for your time, Mike. Do you have any other general/final comments to inspire our TLT readers with?
There is a lot to gain from volunteering at any level in JALT—not only for your resume and career in teaching or research but also for the pure satisfaction of being part of something bigger than yourself and working with others to create unique and special memories.
