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A BRIEF HISTORY OF
THE SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION OF TRACY
In 1989, Mayor Richard Hastie, attended a
Mayor’s meeting in another city. The keynote speaker for the meeting
represented the City’s sister city organization. Mayor Hastie was impressed with the message presented and
upon his return to Tracy suggested to the City Council that perhaps it
would be worthwhile for Tracy to investigate finding our own sister city.
With the council’s approval, Mayor Hastie
contacted Ken Yasui, a dry bean broker in Tracy. Mr. Yasui was asked if he thought he might be able to find
a city in Japan who would be
interested in becoming a sister city with Tracy.
With extensive contacts in Japan, Mr. Yasui began his investigation and proposed the City of Memuro on the island of Hokkaido as a possibility.
After several months of negotiations, Mayor Suzuki and a delegation from Memuro came to Tracy during Bean Festival in August, 1989 to officially sign the Sister City Pact
between Memuro and Tracy. A copy of the signed
document can be seen in the historical Sister City display case
located in the foyer of City Hall.
In 1990, the Sister City Association of Tracy was
established as a non-profit organization no longer under the City of
Tracy’s direction.
The
Sister City of Association currently has two Sister Cities, Memuro, Japan and in 1995
we welcomed Velas, Sao Jorge, in the Azores.
Memuro was chosen because of the
commonalities between our cities, primarily the agricultural
connections. Memuro’s
Mayor Suzuki came to Tracy during the Bean Festival in
August 1989 to sign a City Pact between Memuro
and Tracy.
Our
Sister City in Velas
was developed because of Tracy’s growing Portuguese
population and the desire to share this culture with Tracy’s youth.
The
primary activities of the Sister City Association of Tracy are to promote
and organize youth and adult exchange programs. The Youth Exchange program
has been providing unique cultural opportunities for Tracy’s eighth grade students
for over 10 years. All eighth grade
students within the Tracy Unified School District boundaries (including the
rural schools, e.g. Banta, Jefferson, Lammersville,
etc.) are eligible to apply.
We
have sent 19 Tracy Youth Ambassadors to Velas
twice over the past five years.
We
have sent more than 100 students over the past 11 years to Memuro, along with two chaperones each year, as well as
hosted 10 students and two chaperones from Memuro
each March.
Adult
exchanges have led to baseball games between visiting Sister Cities, tours
of Tracy hospitals, city and school offices, farming and
agricultural areas. This program
contributes to the enhancement of strong public relations and presentation
of a positive image for the Tracy community. In the Fall of 2006
we hosted five adults from Memuro who had the
opportunity to view Tracy’s local sites, including
the Bean Festival, where we sell Japanese items provided by Memuro city officials for use at our booth.
All
expenses for students, chaperones, and adults for the Youth Exchange
programs are paid for through fundraising,
donations, or personal contributions.
The
Sister City Association has organized art and educational exchanges for
both students and teachers. Artwork
from Tracy high school and middle school students is currently
on display in Memuro’s city and school
offices. Student artwork from Memuro has also been shown in
local schools and in the Tracy Unified District Office. We would like to continue these efforts
and hope to exhibit future artwork in Tracy’s new Center for the
Arts.
In
addition, our mission aligns with that of the International Sister City
Association to unite persons of good will from all walks
of life, from all ethnic backgrounds, and from all religious faiths
in an effort to have a beneficial effect on the images and stereotypes that
are commonly held of the people of other sections of the world. We realize how important it is to
encourage mutual respect, understanding and cooperation with our students
as they learn about the customs and traditions of other countries. Our student ambassadors attend cultural
lessons before traveling abroad to learn about tolerance, traditions and
the quality of life in another country.
The
Board of Directors represents a wide range of community backgrounds and
interests. The twenty-one member
Board volunteer their time and efforts to further our exchange
programs. Board members are active
in all activities that require participation, such as,
Þ
attend monthly Board meetings
Þ
work at the booth for the Bean Festival, MultiCultural
Fair, and July 4th events,
Þ
attend youth exchange parent orientation and/or informational
meetings
Þ
host exchange students in their homes
Þ
meet bi-monthly with selected youth ambassadors for cultural
lessons
Þ
coordinate all aspects of the youth and adult exchange programs
The
primary source of financial support for Sister City comes from membership
donations, $10 for individuals, $20 for families and businesses. We have not raised these dues from the
onset of the program in order to maintain a reasonable fee structure for
participation. We also sell items at
the city events (Bean Festival, etc.).
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