I served on the Board of Directors for about ten years of the late 80’s into the 90’s; primarily keeping an eye on marketing, publications and institutional branding.

Together, the Board decided to focus on Wright’s passion for music as a way of attracting more interest and visitation to Unity Temple. Among the many musical events presented was an extremely rare performance entitled Shomyo and Bugaku Hoe-e. A group of Tendai Buddhist High priests, who serve the Emperor of Japan exclusively, performed music, chants and dance at Unity Temple as one of 6 exclusive US performances. This was an extremely rare event and we were honored to have them.

After the performances the Board hosted a buffet reception. The monks were giddy – as they rarely leave the palace temple. They gathered around the buffet where they were puzzling over something they apparently had never seen before – artichoke petals. I noticed they were completely baffled by what they were and how to eat them. So I demonstrated how we eat them – slowly drawing them across our teeth scraping the artichoke flesh from the outer petal.

They were delighted. Then I showed them the miracles of seasoned, melted butter and a creamy dipping sauce; an unforgettable moment.

And they seemed to love the building, too.

Nick Sinadinos is a former board member of UTRF and owner of Nicholas Associates, a brand communications design firm.