FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             August 12, 2004

WASHINGTON - Sister Cities International is pleased to announce the election of six new members and four returning members to its Board of Directors. The election occurred during the "Partners & Peace" 2004 Annual Conference for the organization in Fort Worth, Texas last month.

Elected to their first three-year term on the twenty-five member Board of Directors are: Mimi Barker, Saïda Moussadaq Callahan, Michael Hyatt and William Stafford. Carly Keller was elected to her first one-year term as the board's youth representative.

Mimi Barker of New York, N.Y. is director of communications at Standard & Poor's. She currently serves on the board of directors of James Lenox House and Carnegie East, senior citizen housing nonprofit organizations. She said, "The sister city movement is a force to be recognized throughout the world for bringing about greater peace and understanding through citizen-to-citizen diplomacy."

Steve Beinke of Danville, Calif. is the past president and current director of the Wheelchair Foundation. He is also the President of the Blackhawk Corporation and serves on the board of the Behring Educational Institute. He said, "I believe that Sister Cities International's "people-to-people" mission is particularly valuable in these troubled times. The Wheelchairs for Peace project can be an important vehicle to extend the sister city movement's impact worldwide."

Saïda Moussadaq Callahan of Chicago, Ill. is a Moroccan-American who has been active with sister city programs for fourteen years. She organized education, business, cultural and youth exchange programs, including founding a five-year medical exchange program between the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago and the Med V University in Casablanca, Morocco. She said, "Relationships and interactions with other countries and cultures open doors to greater understanding for world peace."

Michael Hyatt of Fort Worth, Texas is a senior vice president at UBS Financial Services, Inc. and has worked in financial management for more than thirty years. He served as the President of Fort Worth Sister Cities International and in numerous other positions. He believes it is important for Sister Cities International to develop new contacts and exposure in a global corporate environment saying, "We must gain the confidences of those global businesses and make them understand the desire for peace and cultural understanding will assist in globalization."

William Stafford of Seattle, Wash. is the president of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, which is affiliated with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He chairs the sister city coordinating committee and strongly feels that citizens need to understand the world saying, "Globalization has made it imperative that we broaden international education and sister cities are one vehicle."

Carly Keller of Tempe, Ariz. was elected to the youth representative position for a one-year term. She has been active with sister city projects for three years, serving as a student exchange delegate to Regensburg, Germany and in leadership roles within the Tempe Sister City Corporation. She organized an Adopt a Street program for the city of Tempe. She says that traveling abroad changed her outlook on the world, "It broadened my commitment to do all I could as an individual and as a member of the community to promote peace and understanding."

Kathleen Roche-Tansey of Solana Beach, Calif. and Jean Van Buskirk of Baltimore, Md. retained their seats on the board and will serve their second and final three-year terms.

Bob Bensing of Ephrata, Pa. was re-elected as state coordinator representative. Paige Pearman of Louisville, Ky. was re-elected as Ambassador Association representative. Both positions serve one-year terms.

Officers for the Board of Directors for 2004-2005 are: President - Sherman Banks of Little Rock, Ark. ; First Vice President - Randy Avon of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ; Second Vice President - Mae Ferguson of Fort Worth, Texas; Secretary - Pat Fallin of Basalt, Colo. ; Treasurer - Robert Heuermann, Jr. of St. Louis, Mo. ; Executive committee-open seat - Jane Wood of Mandarin, Fla. ; Executive Committee - Open Seat - Brian Propp of Washington, DC and Ethics Officer - Martha Fujita of Lansing, Mich.

Additional board members are: Frank Britt of Lynchburg, Va. ; Pat Buchanan of Fountain Hills, Ariz. ; Alan Chambers of Bangor in Northern Ireland; JoAnna Edgerton of Kansas City, Mo. ; Nancy Huppert of Rochester, N.Y. ; Georgiana McLeod of Huntington Beach, Calif. and Georgianne Thomas of Atlanta, Ga.

** Individual photos available for Sherman Banks, Mimi Barker, Steve Beinke, Carly Keller, Michael Hyatt, Paige Pearman, Kathleen Roche-Tansey, Bill Stafford and Jean Van Buskirk, Group photo available showing newly elected board members. Group photo available showing officers (Randy Avon, Sherman Banks, Pat Fallin, Robert Heuermann, Jr., Mae Ferguson, Brian Propp and Jane Wood).

Photos can be requested by e-mail to amiller@sister-cities.org or by calling 202.347.8630 ext. 4876. Please specify format and deadline.

About Sister Cities International Representing more than 2,500 communities in 126 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.