2025 Grand Marshalls
Yasushi Takase
50th Class Reunion Brings Back Japanese Exchange Student
Yasushi Takase, from Yokohama City, Japan just outside of Tokyo, spent his senior year attending Ilion High School. Hosted by the George H. Getman family of Ilion, Yash had one younger brother back home. He was quite surprised to learn in his new home in Ilion, he had nine Getman siblings.
Yash, as he liked to be called, participated in the American Field Services (AFS) exchange program from August 1974 to June 1975, graduating with the Ilion High School Class of 1975. Yash chose to come to the United States of America ' with the hopes of making new friends and learning more about one of the world's major powers and its people. '
The AFS exchange experience, rooted in the values of peace, understanding, and global citizenship served Yash well. Upon his return to Japan, he finished school and followed through with his plan to use his experiences representing the AFS Program ' as a stepping stone to becoming a diplomat. '
The Class of 1975s Prophecy section predicted Yash would be an Ambassador to the United States and though the United States was not his destination, he did fulfill his dreams of becoming a diplomat and served as Japan's Ambassador to Mexico.
Two other classmates of Yash's, Mary Cunningham and Mary Jane Doty will also be attending the 50th reunion and look forward to meeting up with Yash as they were also AFS exchange students in the summer of 1974. Mary went to Cyprus and Mary Jane to Denmark.
As expressed by the President and CEO of AFS-USA, Tara Boyce-Hoffmann, ' We are grateful for Yash's enduring contributions to building bridges between nations and cultures. ' And, noted that Yash was an inspiration to future generations of AFS students around the world.
Yasushi is married with two children and recently retired from the diplomatic corps. He is currently undergoing training to teach foreigners Japanese.
On July 18th, Yash will be honored as one of the Grand Marshall's in the Ilion Days Doo Dah Parade and on July 19th, over 70 of Yash's classmates will gather to reminiscence, catch up, and enjoy making new memories together.
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