SCI: Annual Conference - Washington DC 2006

SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES ANNUAL AWARDS PROGRAM WINNERS
Outstanding Sister City Programs Recognized for Excellence in Building Partnerships Globally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2006

Washington, D.C.- Sister Cities International will honor fourteen communities for their outstanding sister city programs during its 50th Anniversary Conference this summer. Top honors recognized programs throughout the U.S.

The diversity of programs recognized through the awards competition is indicative of the sister city movement, said organizers. "Our programs would be non-existent without the commitment of volunteers working diligently with local government and fostering ties between local and partner communities," said Tim Honey, executive director of Sister Cities International. "Innovation and adaptation are the hallmarks of our network, and we are delighted to recognize these outstanding member communities for their achievements in citizen diplomacy."

Best Overall Program Awards will go to: Scottsbluff, Nebraska (Population Less than 25,000, Local contact: David Boeckner 308.635.0812, davidb@allophone.com); Coral Gables, Florida (Population 25,000 to 50,000, Local contact: Lourdes M. Cuzan 305.460.5310, lcuzan@coralgables.com); Kent, Washington (Population 50,000 to 100,000, Local contact: Joanne Schaut 206.242.4998, jschaut@aol.com); Maui County, Hawaii (Population 100,000 to 300,000, Local contact: Lynn A.S. Araki-Regan 808.270.7710, lynn.araki-regan@co.maui,hi.us); Tulsa, Oklahoma (Population 300,000 to 500,000, Local contact: Karen Schafer 918.591.4750, kschafer@tulsaglobalalliance.org); and San Antonio, Texas (Population Greater than 500,000, Local contact: James S. Henderson 210.207.8100, jhenderson@sanantonio.gov).

The Innovation Award for Arts & Culture: Population Less than 100,000 will go to Fishers, Indiana for the "Fishers RenFaire," an event celebrating the culture of its sister city, Billericay, England. They engaged the residents of Fishers in the life styles and culture of the Renaissance period in England through activities like jousting, story telling, sword fighting, and juggling. Local contact: Diane Eaton 317.557.5765, FishersRenFaire@aol.com.

The Innovation Award for Arts & Culture: Population Greater than 100,000 will go to Omaha, Nebraska for its friendship gate built to honor the Omaha-Shizuoka, Japan sister city relationship's 40th anniversary. The gate, built in the Omaha Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, is aÂ one-third scaleÂ replica of the Shizuoka Sunpu Gate originally built in 1600. The anniversary celebration banquet was attended by over 400 people and was the culminating event of the friendship gate project. Local contact: Lawrence F. Uebner 402.493.2535, BankOmaha@aol.com.

The Innovation Award for Humanitarian Assistance: Population Less than 100,000 will go to Asheville, North Carolina for initiating several humanitarian programs to assist sister cities San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico; Valladolid, Mexico; and Vladikavkaz, Russia. These assistance programs included a midwife project to reduce infant and mother mortality rate, and a sustainable water project to provide safe drinking water for residents of San Cristobal. Asheville also raised $12,000 to assist victims of terror attacks in Beslan, Russia, a community just fifteen miles from sister city Vladikavkaz. Local contact: Richard Hall 828.681.0581, rtravis@alum.mit.edu.

The Innovation Award for Humanitarian Assistance: Population Greater than 100,000 will go to Denver, Colorado for raising more than $70,000 in donations to help the victims of the 2004 tsunami. A fundraiser was held with the help of a radio station, TV stations and the Denver Press Club. Funds were donated to "My Helping Hands," a nonprofit organization based in sister city Chennai, India to build homes for tsunami victims. Local contact: Rocilla Dilger 303.832.1336, info@denversistercities.org.

The Innovation Award for Sustainable Development: Population Less than 100,000 will go to Amesbury, Massachusetts for its partnership with Esabalu, Kenya. They opened the Bailey/Whaley Health Center at Mukhalakhala, Kenya; the Ebusakami Water Supply, Ltd.; the Ebudssamba Primary School Library; and started the Gifted Souls Youth Theatre Group. These projects are all part of an initiative to achieve food self-sufficiency, education, AIDS awareness, women's leadership, art exchange, and youth development. Local contact: Dr. Mark Bean 978.388.0933, mark.bean@verizon.net.

The Innovation Award for Sustainable Development: Population Greater than 100,000 will go to Louisville, Kentucky for creating a six-month intensive exchange program for public officials with its newest sister city, Jiujiang, China. The exchange program included formal training courses in public administration, internships with municipal agencies, field trips, roundtable discussions, and social activities. Local contact: Paige Pearman 502.574.3397, paige@sclou.org.

The Innovation Award for Youth & Education: Population Less than 100,000 will go to Columbia, Maryland for the High School Summer Exchange Program between sister cities Cergy-Pontoise, France and Tres Cantos, Spain. The program, where students from Columbia and their French and Spanish counterparts, spend two weeks in each others' countries exploring and learning about other cultures, allows students to improve their foreign language skills and prepare to be citizens of the world. Local contact: Meredith T. Jaffe 410.715.3162, sistercities@columbiaassociation.com.

The Innovation Award for Youth & Education: Population Greater than 100,000 will go to New York, New York for its Internet-based Educational Exchange Program (IEEP). The program fosters global understanding and communication among the students of New York City and students from New York City?s ten sister cities through web-based exchanges. This program was developed in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation's Computer Resource Centers. Local contact: Maley Ong 212.319.9300 ext. 207, mong@cityhall.nyc.gov.

The Volunteer of the Year Award will go to Elaine Yamagata from Fort Worth, Texas. For twenty years, she has worked tirelessly to spread the sister city vision of peace through people. The success of more than 400 exchanges for programs in sports, culture and education can be attributed to her leadership. She has helped bring Japanese culture to Fort Worth (sister city to Nagaoka, Japan), and taken U.S. culture to Japan. She is helping define the Japanese-American experience as an integral part of our nation's heritage.

This year, Sister Cities International will also award the 50th Anniversary Award to communities demonstrating a long-term commitment to building sustainable sister city programs. Awardees conducted numerous sister city program, involved local government officials and volunteers and built outstanding partnerships with communities abroad. Twenty communities will be honored with this prestigious award. Awardees are:

Mesa, Arizona (Local Contact: Milt Laflen 480.981.1306, miltlaflen@cox.net)
Tempe, Arizona (Local Contact: Richard G. Neuheisel 480.838.0437, richard@neuheisel.com)
Homer, Alaska (Local Contact: Rachel Livingstone 907.235.8121, rlivingston@ci.homer.ak.us)
Palm Desert, California (Local Contact: Mark Talboys 760.346.4867, amtalboys@mindspring.com)
Riverside, California (Local Contact: Diane Elton 951.683.6029, diane.elton@ucr.edu)
San Francisco, California (Local Contact: Stephanie Pellegrine 415.321.5882, spellegrine@asianweek.com)
Clearwater, Florida (Local Contact: Margo Walbolt 727.562.4809, margo.walbolt@myclearwater.com)
Jacksonville, Florida (Local Contact: Jane Wood 904.366.6663l, janewoodfla@comcast.net)
Fort Wayne, Indiana (Local Contact: Robert Anweiler 260.749.2170, rdanweiler.afm@verizon.net)
Baltimore, Maryland (Local Contact: Elizabeth Weiblen 410.396.9130, Elizabeth.weiblen@baltimorecity.gov)
Kansas City, Missouri (Local Contact: Joanna Edgerton 816.513.3524, Joanna_edgerton@kcmo.org)
Omaha, Nebraska (Local Contact: Lawrence F. Uebneck 402.493.2535, bankomaha@aol.com)
Tewksbury, New Jersey (Local Contact: Dianne Clark-Kudless 908.832.9189, dc-k@att.net)
Cary, North Carolina (Local Contact: Lisa Englert 919.467.4352, lenglert@ipass.net)
Cincinnati, Ohio (Local Contact: Elizabeth Tu 513.561.1010, btutu@aol.com)
Cleveland, Ohio (Local Contact: Dr. Edward Keshock 216.687.2494, e.keshockj@csuohio.edu)
Corvallis, Oregon (Local Contact: Ray D. William 541.737.5441, williamr@hort.oregonstate.edu)
Fort Worth, Texas (Local Contact: Mae Ferguson 817.392.2654, mae@fwsistercities.org)
Houston, Texas (Local Contact: Alma D. Maldonado 713.227.3395, amaldonado@ghcub.org)
Rice Lake, Wisconsin (Local Contact: Karen Anderson 715.234.7101, kanders@chibardun.net)

Each program will receive a Sister Cities International commendation during the Lou Wozar Annual Awards Ceremony at the Sister Cities International 50th Anniversary Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 15, 2006 at the Warner Theatre. The Annual Awards Program was established in 1962 to recognize outstanding sister city programs. These programs demonstrate to other communities how to incorporate innovative ideas and exchanges into their own sister city program. Winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges for achievements in 2005.

Media Contacts
Communications Director, 202.347.8630, communications@sister-cities.org

About Sister Cities International
Representing more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs.