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Members of Sister City,
The Board of Tracy’s Sister
City is pleased to offer our 5th annual Newsletter. We look forward to sharing
past and upcoming activities, as well as important information for our
members!
We are so pleased to share
that another successful youth exchange with our Sister City in Memruo took
place March 24th-March 29th. Ten students and two chaperones had a great time
and all the activities went smoothly. They arrived home safely with many
wonderful memories! With tears in our
eyes, we said goodbye to a wonderful group of Japanese students who traveled
around the world to visit our town.
It is what makes this program so valuable to the families and children
in our community and the reason we continue to stay involved in this
worthwhile organization. Thank you to all the host families
Thank you for your support of
Tracy’s Sister City Association, a group that truly demonstrates just how
small the world really is!
Enjoy…. Sister City Board of Directors |
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Student Educational
Exchange to Memuro, Japan This year’s Student Ambassadors
represent five schools in Tracy; Freiler, Jefferson, Kelly, Williams and
Hawkins. We are delighted to have chaperones Patricia Hand, a BTSA
Coordinator in Tracy Unified and Anne Rore-Martin, a teacher at Williams
Middle School travel with the students. Congratulations to the
2006 Ambassadors! Melissa Brohard Natasha Dias Macy Eaton Chelsea Garcia Julia Hand Danny Mercer Heather Salmond Once again, students have
started “bonding” as they meet on a bimonthly basis with Board Members, Lois
Neishi and Cyndi Sandford. We are so
grateful that Lois and Cyndi volunteer their time as they share experiences
and information about traveling to Memuro.
We feel it is critical that students learn some of the basic
etiquette, Japanese cultures and traditions before traveling to Japan and
staying with host families. Students learn that the exchange is different for
each of them, depending on the host families and the events the city plans
for the students. Tracy
‘s Sister City
Website Each year the website gets better and
better! New pictures and bits of info
give members and visitors some insight into our organization and activities. Check it out and let us know what you
think! www.tracysistercity.org
We need your support ! All non-profit
groups are experiencing an increase in costs in order to stay alive and
Sister City is no exception. Your
membership dues help fund the events and materials needed to coordinate our
exchange programs. Please help us
continue to offer these valuable opportunities for Tracy’s students. We
appreciate your assistance and support! Individual $10.00 Family $20.00 Business $20.00 Make checks payable to Sister City Association of Tracy, P.O. Box 428 Tracy, CA, 95378 Contact Lois Neishi for more
information 836-1231 Tracy’s
Sister City Youth Exchange Tracy’s Sister City makes
applications available to all 8th grade students living in the
Tracy Unified High School District boundaries. Students are selected through an
in-depth application process that includes an essay, letter of recommendation
from two teachers, and a formal interview. For the Memuro exchange we begin
the process of sending flyers and applications to schools in October, hold
interviews and select Tracy Ambassadors in December. Help us spread the word to upcoming 8th
graders in 2006! Tracy Bean Festival…. Look
for the Sister City Booth at the Bean Festival, September 9th and
10th, 2006. Thanks
to the city officials in Memuro, we have wonderful Japanese items to sell
each year. Memuro is so
generous! Take advantage of this
special opportunity to purchase chopsticks, fans, decorative items,
handkerchiefs, wooden toys and much, much more! Also
on display are memorabilia from chaperones and students that tell the stories
of their wonderful opportunities and experiences in Japan and the Azores. Always
a favorite is the popular Portuguese Sweet Bread sold each year at the booth. All
sales benefit the Exchange Program. If you’d like to volunteer some time to
work at the booth, please contact Diane Carnahan 835-8482. |
Barbara Farley.. Retired from the Board This
past year Barbara Farley not only retired from her position with Tracy
Unified, but from the Sister City Board of Directors. As the Liaison Coordinator for the Memuro
Youth Exchange program, Barbara was instrumental in establishing an effective
and efficient relationship with Memuro that has allowed this program to
flourish. Our program is successful
today because of her tireless efforts making arrangements, setting schedules,
communicating with Memuro officials and thinking of all the little
details. She always made it look so
easy! Much
luck to Barbara as she spends more time with her family and enjoys some days
off! We
welcome Dana Mizuno as the new Liaison Coordinator. Thanks to Barbara for helping Dana in this first year of
transition. Barbara’s shoes were hard to fill, but Dana did a great job with
our recent Memuro exchange.
Sister City Board of Directors President: Diane
Carnahan Vice-President:
Carol Minner Secretary:
Judy Mizuno Treasurer:
Lois Neishi Liaison
for Memuro: Dana
Mizuno Liaisons
for Velas: Maria Matos & Gene Birk Deanne
Andrade Jim Bridges Bob
Elliott
Debbie Elliott Patricia
Hand Clyde
Higaki Noemia
Oliveira Cyndi
Sandford Anna
Serrato Dick
Spence Carl
Yamada Sid
Yamada Ken Yasui Associate
Board Members Dan
Bilbrey Barbara
Farley Dolores Gomes
Frances Mizuno Cindy
Schack Debbie Wingo Interested in joining the Board? ConTact Diane Carnahan, 835-8482 SISTER
CITY ASSOCIATION OF TRACY ANNUAL MEETING
Important
Notice: The annual
meeting of the members of the Sister City Association of Tracy, Inc. will be held
on May 1st, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at the Jefferson Elementary School Library,
7500 West Linne Road. The annual meeting of the members is for the purpose of
the election of directors and the transaction of such other business as may
come before the meeting. The
Association's regular monthly Board of Directors meeting will follow the
annual meeting. Adult Exchange Delegation….
Last
June, Board member and travel agent Gene Birk, helped Tracyites Ron and Trudy
Leachman and two young adult grandchildren of Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert
take the trip of lifetime! They
visited Tokyo, Sapporo, and of course, our Sister City, Memuro. LaTonya Bowens and Todd Carter stayed with
host families who showed them the sights and customs of the Japanese culture.
They will remember this trip the rest of their lives! September
2006 we hope to be hosting an adult delegation from Memuro who are looking
forward to visiting Tracy during the Bean Festival. Plans for this trip are still being discussed with Memuro
officials. We would like to help them save money and place them with host families in Tracy. Let us know if this is something you’d like to help out with and we’ll keep you informed of the upcoming plans! |
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Thanks
to all the families who hosted students for this year’s youth exchange. We would not have a program without the
willingness of Tracy families to open their homes and care for these
students, feed them, entertain them, and teach them about the American way of
life! Host Families
Dennis
and Sydney Alegre, Antheney and Patrick Tiger
and Kendra Azama, Andrew, Kobe, Asher and Jacob Al and
Diane Carnahan, Brooke and Lindsay Robert
and Fiona Coulson, Jonathan, Kevin and Daniel Jeff
and Leigh Anne Durant, Tyler, Matthew, Caitlyn and Conner Barry
and Patricia Hand, and Julia Ken and
Jennifer Emery, Nolan, Alison, and Bridgette Russell
and Kelly Kagehiro, Mia, Tia and William Michael
and Leslie Garcia, Chelsea, Clayton, Kimberlee and Alyssa Keith
and Dana Mizuno, Brent and Kaitlin |
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