MR. KIYOSHI DEMBO APPOINTED AS SPECIAL OFFICER AND CONSULTANT TO JSS

By David Ikeda
Japanese Social Services is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kiyoshi Dembo to the position of Special Officer and Consultant to the organization.
Previously Mr. Dembo was vice-president and chair of JSS’s Program Committee.  The new position was created to honour Mr. Dembo’s long and distinguished tenure at JSS and will allow him to continue to serve our organization in a high level consultative capacity.
According to provincial and municipal guidelines, social service organizations cannot refer clients to professionals who also serve on the board of directors.  This is unfortunate for small communities like the Japanese-speaking one here in the GTA.
Mr. Dembo is the only Japanese-speaking registered Speech-Language Pathologist in the area currently.  Even though we have no one else to refer clients to, the rules state that we cannot do this so long as Mr. Dembo remains on the board.  It is viewed as a conflict of interest and there can be no exception.
Given that the City of Toronto is responsible for our sole government funding the JSS board of directors felt it had no choice but to comply. However, because of his undeniable value to our organization, the board has created the special position, and thankfully Mr. Dembo has accepted.
JSS is grateful to Mr. Dembo for his hard work, dedication and leadership.  We all look forward to his continued service.