Held an exhibition of photographs from Russian youth from Nizhny Tagil and Chattanooga high schoolers at City Hall and had a reception for the artists, their families, and the public
Began a Sister City Book and Movie group
Sent letters to outgoing and incoming mayors of Wuxi, Wolfsburg, and Tono and incoming mayor of Hamm
Hosted several luncheons and dinners
Arranged for a mayor's proclamation of Paul and Lisl Jackson Day and hosted Paul in a Walden Club dinner prior to his move to Texas, as a thank you for his and Lisl's work for and gifts to Sister Cities
Continued efforts with Tono brewers for collaborative beer-making projects; added Hamm to the discussions and are currently working on beer projects with Hamm and among Hamm, Tono, and Chattanooga
Began virtual friends visits using WhatsApp where Chattanoogans were matched with folks from Hamm for regular contact; there are more people in Hamm wanting to participate who are awaiting Chattanooga partners
Partnered with Barking Legs Theatre/Ann Law to create “Cultural Cross Ties”, a planned seven-year project through which Chattanooga artists are matched with artists in our sister cities to create art together and get to know one another via zoom
Givatayim was the first city with whom we partnered, and a documentary is being produced that will be shown perpetually at the Chattanooga Airport and other locations throughout the Scenic City; The next segment of the project will be with Hamm and Wolfsburg
Contacted former Mayor Andy Berke to set up a meeting time to honor him with a gift sent from Tono
Had several meetings with Mayor Kelly and his staff to advocate for an SCA office in City Hall and a budget for our expenses
Website updated by Evan Bissonette
Sent letters and videotaped messages from Mayor Andy Berke and SCA president Karen Claypool to Tono in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; Tono played a significant role in the rescue & recovery efforts following the disaster
Organized three candidate forums via Zoom for local mayoral candidates
SCA and Wuxi provided several opportunities for teens from both cities to communicate virtually using a big screen; Jenny Li, our VP for Wuxi, served as translator
Facilitated a program on sustainability of cities led by Michael Walton of Chattanooga GreenSpaces, which included interviews with government leaders from Hamm, Wolfsburg and Tono; The interviews were shown on local TV in Tono, Japan
Louisa Mesich, SCA board member, was recognized with an award from the Japanese government, presented by the Japanese consul in Atlanta for her work promoting international peace