Item 3A2Southlake Sister Cities
501(c)(3) non-profit corporation
Incorporated April 11, 1991
Member of Sister Cities International
Mission
Foster education and multicultural exchange
Enable the City of Southlake and citizens of similar cities in other nations to develop a consciousness and understanding of one another as individuals, as members of their community,
and as citizens of their country
Partners
Tome City, Japan (since 1991)
El Fuerte, Mexico (since 1997)
Wuzhong District, Suzhou, China (since 2009)
Toyoma the beginning of a relationship
Initiated by Sarah Gish-Johnson, a Houston native and former English teacher in Toyama, and Kiko Ekstrom of Southlake
July 22, 1990 – Seiko Sasaki, representative of Toyama Mayor Nakazawa, visited Southlake
May 1991 – Brad Bradley, founding member of Southlake Sister Cities, visited Toyama
Town of Toyoma
July 21, 1991 – Toyoma delegation visited Southlake
September 14, 1991 – Southlake delegation visited Toyama
September 15, 1991 – Southlake and Toyama signed friendship agreement
Tome City, Japan
April 1, 2005 – Toyoma and 7 other towns formed Tome City
July 2, 2006 – Mayor Fuse led Tome delegation to attend Southlake’s 50th Anniversary celebration
July 3, 2006 – New friendship agreement signed by Southlake and Tome
Tome Students in Southlake
Southlake Students to Tome
Adult Trips
1991
1995
2004
1999
2004
Adult Trips
2002
2006
2007
2009
2010 Youth Trip to Tome
July 20 – July 27
Accepting application now
Contact Community Service or SSC website www.southlakesistercities.org
Future Programs ?
Exchange teachers
Exchange students
Japan Exchange Teaching (JET)
El Fuerte, Mexico
“Gateway to Mexico’s Copper Canyon”
Population: 30,000
Most important commercial center of northwest Mexico between 17th and 19th centuries
Capital of Western State (which included part of Arizona) in the 19th century
El Fuerte, Mexico
Established relationship with Southlake in 1997
Suzhou City, China
“City of Gardens”
Population: 2.3 million
“Venice of the East” by Marco Polo (1276 AD)
September 2009 – Mayor Terrell and Mayor Yan of Suzhou exchanged letters, initiating friendship exchange program
Wuzhong District, Suzhou
Population: 600,000
Capital of Wu Kingdom (527 BC) and cradle of ancient Wu Culture
60 miles west of Shanghai, 80 miles from Shanghai International Airport
Wuzhong – a perfect balance
Garner more citizen participation
Work with Carroll ISD, Chamber of Commerce, business leaders and other organizations to broaden our programs
Continue exploring other friendship opportunities
Looking Ahead
Southlake Sister Cities
Continuous support from city council
Information display area in Town Hall
A permanent location to keep documents and gifts from our sister cities
“ Working on behalf of the City , for the benefit of its citizens”
Bringing people together,
one city at a time !
Southlake Sister Cities