在ヒューストン日本国総領事館

Good Evening. Thank you all for attending our gathering this evening. I am delighted to have you here tonight as we honor the hard work and effort of everyone involved in this year’s monumental 20th annual Texas State Japanese Language Speech Contest.

First I’d like to thank all the organizations responsible for today’s event: the JASH, JAGH, JTAT, and JBA: thanks to everyone for this year’s competition, today’s event was wonderful. The consulate-general often works with these groups and it is a joy to work together. As always, thank you for your dedication and effort.

Let us also thank the volunteers who helped today’s contest run smoothly. These individuals came today out of the goodness of their heart. Without them this event would never have been possible.

Next I’d like to thank the students: congratulations for all your hard work. Your recitations and speeches prove that you are passionate for Japanese culture. Your dedication to the language is inspiring. I hope that this experience will prove to be a positive step in your goal of achieving both fluency and cultural understanding. Please use this opportunity tonight to practice your Japanese amongst the guests here tonight.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the Japanese teachers: without you this event would not exist! Thank you for being teachers! Japanese popular culture artifacts often receive the glory for inspiring students to study Japanese, but students gain true knowledge and learn to appreciate the skills taught by their teachers. Thank you for coming here tonight to celebrate alongside of your students.

To everyone, I would like to offer you my warmest welcome, please enjoy our refreshments, talk with the others and enjoy yourselves. The hard work is over, now let us relax and have fun!