Office of Intergovernmental Relations |
2008 Annual Reception The purpose of the reception is to thank Seattle’s 21 sister city associations for their dedication and hard work, and to raises funds for sister city projects, grants and gifts. The reception is one of the highlights of the year for participants in sister city programs. Seattle’s sister city program is one of the largest and most successful in the United States. Several of our 21 sister city associations have won national awards and many have served as models for sister city programs in other cities. In addition to honoring the sister city associations for their outstanding achievements, the annual reception is also the primary fund-raising activity for the sister city program. The success of the event was reflected in the vibrant atmosphere, colorful performances, number of people attending and the amount of funds raised, all thanks to the dedication and hard work from your sister city association volunteers, generous support of sponsors, and the Greater Seattle community. Entertainment organized by the four focus sister cities featured lively music and graceful dancers of the Filipiniana Dance Company (Cebu), martial arts performance from Viet Nam (Haiphong), a selection from an Italian opera (Perugia) and traditional Uzbek dancing and singing (Tashkent) The Reception raised around $12,000 net. Largest bid on an Auction item was $1,800 for roundtrip tickets to Beijing. There were more than 20 volunteers helping during the event. The attendance count was about 300 people. Awards One of the highlights of the sister cities reception each year is the presentation of awards for “Best Overall Program” and “Best Single Project.” All the entrants were terrific and, according to the judges, the selection was very difficult. The award includes a $500 check for each winner. This year the “Best Overall Program” award went to the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association for its remarkably successful 50th Anniversary celebration. The Seattle program included the “Japan Envisions the West” exhibit at SAM, tree-planting ceremonies, a giant kimono, a Kobe Choir Concert at City Hall and the Kobe Jazz Queen performance at Jazz Alley, not to mention an outstanding week-long celebration in Kobe earlier in the year. The “Best Single Project” award this year went to the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association for its Seattle Perugia Calendar. The calendar, which pairs cityscape photos of Seattle and Perugia for each month of the year, was a popular product that we hope will become an annual project for Seattle-Perugia association. This year’s two honorable mention certificates were awarded to: The Seattle-Gdynia Sister City Association for their Overall Program that included an annual Polish Film Festival, activities to support the Polish Ambassador’s visit to Seattle and a high school exchange program. The Seattle Nantes Sister City Association for their Honorable Mention Best Project, a “Seattle-Nantes Dollars for Scholars” fundraising project that helps local students learn French. The sister city association has established a $10,000 endowment which will fund a $1,000 scholarship biannually, in addition to scholarships funded by current donations.
|
|