Following is the annual Sister City Commission report given to the City Council by Lawrence Cretin, commission chairman.
The 12 member Edmonds Sister City Commission has been providing the kind of cultural exchange opportunities that foster understanding and friendship between Edmonds and Hekinan, Japan for 14 years. Historically, the commission’s focus has been arranging annual homestay opportunities between students and adults in Hekinan and in the Edmonds area and creating cultural exchanges of art, education and professional development. During this association there have been many other activities and projects, some described below, to broaden community awareness on both sides of the Pacific. The commission expresses its gratitude to the many families providing homestay opportunities and activities that help make these programs successful.
Student Delegation to Hekinan
In January, chaperone teachers Greg Phillips and Brenda Leider were selected to lead the 15 student group traveling to Hekinan in July. Once again these young ambassadors and their chaperones were treated to the best of Japanese hospitality touring the considerable highlights of Hekinan and surrounding areas and being honored at a City Hall banquet hosted by Mayor Nagashima. After two weeks the students returned exhausted but enlightened.
Painting and Textiles
In addition to the permanent display of artifacts and art on the third floor at Edmonds City Hall, the Sister City Commission with the assistance of the Edmonds Arts Commission sponsored a Japanese painting and textiles exhibit at City Hall that began February 13 and ran approximately six weeks.
Edmonds Exhibit: Hekinan Maritime Science Museum
After several data and informational visits to Hekinan many maritime and historical sites in Edmonds have been recreated into a popular educational exhibit in Hekinan. The exhibit opened July 4 to mark the 20th anniversary of the aquarium/museum complex and will continue through this spring.
Student Delegation from Hekinan
The commission arranged homestays for 15 students and 2 chaperones from Hekinan from August 2-14. Activities during the visit included tours of Edmonds, Stevens Hospital, Edmonds High School, the Olympic Peninsula, downtown Seattle and the Flight Museum, ferry rides, Mariners game, Camp Day, and welcome and sayonara parties.
Adult Delegation
An adult delegation of 10 visited Edmonds from October 30 to November 6 and enjoyed participating in an Edmonds kind of Halloween, a volunteer opportunity at World Concern, welcome dinner, school visit and luncheon at Meadowdale High School and Edmonds and Seattle tours.
Physicians Visit
For the mont of October officials and physicians of Hekinan Municipal Hospital were again hosted by staff and physicians at Stevens Healthcare. Idea sharing in procedures and administrative processes were once again the focus.
Street Signs
With the valuable assistance of the Edmonds street department, a street sign was made and printed in English and Japanese to be mounted at the Centennial Plaza. A second was made as a gift for the Edmonds student delegation to take to Hekinan. The sign posted in Edmonds has been installed and will be dedicated when the Hekinan students visit in the summer of 2003.
Quilt Project
The commission enlisted the sewing skills of some of the residents at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe to take on a Japanese style quilt project. This beautiful quilt is now complete and will be part of a fundraising raffle to be completed in 2003.
Assistant English Teachers
The two assistant English teachers that were interviewed and selected by the commission to take an English assignment in Hekinan in 2001 were asked to extend their contracts. Based on a new agreement with the Hekinan Board of Education, Caryn Fisher’s contract will end in August 2004 and Eric Andersen’s will end in August 2005. These two full-time teachers provide a valuable ongoing link and serve as our representatives as well as teachers in Hekinan.
The Commission extends its appreciation to Mayor Haakenson, the Edmonds City Council and all city departments for their support of our program activities. We are all looking forward to another successful year in 2003.
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