REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION 1996

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Owensboro Sister Cities, Inc. encourages global understanding between our community and other world communities. The Owensboro Sister Cities Program will assist government entities with the proper reception of foreign visitors and dignitaries by serving as the community's office of protocol; pursue an ongoing mission to inform and educate our community concerning our area's international cultural and business ties and their effects on our community; initiate exchange programs in education, business, professional groups, and the arts; assist government and its agencies in promoting our community's cultural heritage through our Sister City(ies) relationship; encourage development and expansion of international trade relationships and assist with foreign trade missions; assist community organizations in direct relationships with similar organizations in our Sister City(ies) and elsewhere in the world, where possible.

Summary

Owensboro Sister Cities has continued its active role as a promoter of our city on the world scene this past calendar year. Our relationship with Olomouc has had opportunity to broaden and deepen this past year. We have continued our public education role through the local public media, the press in Moravia and worldwide through the Internet.

The highlight this year was the official Mayoral Visit of Olomouc Mayor, Ivan Kosatik to Owensboro. For all four of those constituting the Mayor's group, this was the first visit to the United States. It is a rather thought provoking event when our foreign visitors only real contact with our country is made through a visit to our community. This was also the case with the Olomouc Bluegrass Band, Hermanek, which came to participate in this year's IBMA Fanfest. In all, some seventeen citizens of Olomouc or Owensboro exchanged visits this past year.

There is much work to do in establishing ongoing exchanges between the various institutions and organizations, as you will read, several initiatives are already underway. We hope that Owensboro Sister Cities will continue to be recognized as an outstanding program to provide community leadership in promoting our area and educating our citizens as they are increasingly influenced by living in the global community.

Activities involving our Sister Cities Program in 1996:

1. Several local organizations were addressed concerning our program and our Sister Cities visits to Owensboro. Our Czech visitors addressed both the Breakfast and Noon Rotary Clubs during the Mayoral Exchange Visit. News media articles were generated in the Messenger-Inquirer, on local and Evansville radio and television stations and the Czech regional press in Moravia. The Czech press articles were written both to report on our Rotary President's visit to Olomouc and articles written as a result of the visits to Owensboro by our Czech friends.

Alma Randolph arranged to have a community spotlight TV program (8/8/96) focusing on Owensboro Sister Cities, this TV presentation will be rerun from time to time to educate the community about the aims and benefits of the program.

2. Owensboro Sister Cities was able to produce its first Newsletter this year (Spring 96) using volunteer help from students at Owensboro Community College. Students Chris Boling and Carla Lemmons helped write and put together this first issue. We intend to send out a Newsletter quarterly to update the community on our increasing contacts and solicit support from other community wide organizations.

3. Owensboro Community College has allowed the Owensboro Sister Cities program to maintain a Wide World Web Homepage on their computer. The Owensboro Homepage has supplied a graphical link to the page from the Community Profile area on the city's Homepage (http://www.owensboro.com). What this allows is for anyone looking at Owensboro's Homepage to see we have an Sister City International relationship. Through the work of Owensboro Community College student Ryan Curtis and with the assistance of Ms. Sally Lake and Cindy Houston, anyone can immediately access the Olomouc, Czech Republic Homepage.

There is more work to be done on the Sister City homepage but the links provided to Owensboro by having our community listed on other Sister Cities Homepages should not be overlooked in its potential for community promotion.

4. In January Owensboro Sister Cities in coordination with the Owensboro - Daviess County Tourism Commission made a presentation to the four area tourism agencies. Materials sent from Olomouc City Tourism Bureau were given to the agencies to educate the agencies on the area of our Sister City. Materials concerning Owensboro have been sent to Olomouc as well.

5. During March the culminating exhibit of the Owensboro Sister Cities Young Artist Program was held at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts. The winning local artist was Kevin Koller from Daviess County High School.

The Museum of Fine Arts has agreed to oversee and promote this local art competition in our secondary schools and colleges. Students eligible to participate are aged 13 - 18 and each of our four area high schools are encouraged to participate in this competition. The local winner's picture is submitted for Sister Cities International competition. Owensboro had winning international entries in both 1993 and 1994. The result of having a winner is not only the recognition and $300.00 prize for the artist but also that the following year's competition announcement carries the name and hometown of the previous year's winner to over 2000 communities worldwide.

Office of the Mayor City Hall, Owensboro, Kentucky 42303-1899 USA Tel. 502-686-4575 FAX 502-686-4568 6. Olomouc Summer Institute for Youth Leadership - Under the direction of Mr. Nick Brake, Owensboro again attempted to find students to join with their Czech counterparts and participate in this U.S.I.A. sponsored program at Palacky University. Unfortunately, after visiting each of the area high schools we were unable to find enough students interested in participating. There was no participation by Olomouc's American partner although the program continued with over eighty gifted and talented Czech students.

7. The most important visit of the year took place July 29 - Aug. 4 when Olomouc Mayor Dr. Ivan Kosatik paid an official visit to Olomouc's American Sister City. this was the second official visit by our Sister City since the formalizing of the relationship in 1994. Along with Mayor Kosatik was: Deputy Mayor Marta Vlacilova, Mr. Frank Kastyl, Director of the Agency for Economic Development in Central Moravia and Mrs. Sona Horka, Director of International Relations for the City of Olomouc.

Highlights of the visit included:

Our guests were introduced from the podium during dinner at the meeting of the Western Kentucky Corporation in Bowling Green with Governor Patton in attendance. Our guests were introduced to Lt. Governor Steve Henry and Mr. David Adkisson after the dinner.

Personally introduced to Governor Paul Patton during his visit to RiverPark Center in Owensboro.

Various meetings with community government leaders, touring cultural institutions and meeting with several local and regional businesses concerning potential trade. This report addresses these meetings in greater detail when looking at the results and potentials coming after these meetings.

Presentation to the City of Olomouc of a statue for their City Hall representing the tie to Owensboro and Kentucky. Mayor Kosatik was also made a Kentucky Colonel at the request of Owensboro to Governor Patton's office.

8. During the summer three Owensboro couples in the midst of their European travel made their way to Prague where Owensboro Sister Cities arranged for them to be met by Mr. Ivan Rycovsky from Olomouc who showed them around Prague and spoke to them about our two Sister City communities.

9. As a result of the Olomouc Mayoral Visit in July, the Owensboro Rotary Clubs were extended an invitation by the Olomouc Rotary Club to attend the chartering ceremony of the new first Rotary Club in Olomouc. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Brubaker (President of Noon Rotary) made the trip to Olomouc to represent the Owensboro Rotary Clubs in September. The Rotary International Chartering Ceremony took place in Buzhov Castle.

10. In coordination with Louisville and Lexington, Owensboro's Sister City representative met with other Kentucky League of Cities member cities requesting information about forming Sister Cities relationship. New cities seeing the potential and interested in looking for Sister Cities included: Hazard, Anchorage, Morehead and Bellview. A 1996 Directory of all United States officially recognized Sister cities, including the fifteen active Kentucky Sister Cities, is available in the Mayor's Office.

Office of the Mayor City Hall, Owensboro, Kentucky 42303-1899 USA Tel. 502-686-4575 FAX 502-686-4568 11. Owensboro Sister Cities made arrangements for the Bluegrass Band Hermanek from Olomouc to participate in this year's International Bluegrass Music Association Fanfest during September. Dr. and Mrs. Terry Tyler graciously hosted the five band members during their week long stay in Owensboro. Hermanek presented a free public performance at Brescia College as part of the IBMA sponsored events.

12. In November, Owensboro Sister Cities in coordination with Louisville Sister Cities and under joint sponsorship of Brescia College, Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Community College brought Mr. Terry Pazmino to Owensboro. Mr. Pazmino is a world class classical guitarist and his free public performance highlighted the musical tradition of his homeland of Ecuador.

13. In October the Owensboro Sister Cities Board of Directors was reconstituted as a result of our losing some of our directors since the founding of the program. The Directors are: Mayor Waymond Morris (Honorary Chair, each Sister City Mayor serves in this position), Mr. Jiten Shah (President), Mr. Jim White (Vice President), Ms. Cyndi Sturgeon (Treasurer), Ms. Lynda Bebrowski (Secretary), Mr. Burley Phelan, Mr. Larry Mayfield, Dr. Mike Conkright, Dr. Dan Bradshaw, Mr. Jesse Mountjoy, Ms. Tammy Rice, Ms. Ondra Edds, Mr. William R. West (Executive Director).

PLANS NOW IN PROGRESS:

As a result of the summer Mayoral Exchange Visit and our ongoing relationship with Olomouc, the following initiatives have been taken or are in process planning.

Owensboro - Daviess County Public Library - In a meeting with librarian, Ms. Debbie Mesplay an invitation was extended to have an ongoing program which would provide the Olomouc Public Library with books about Owensboro, our area and Kentucky for use by their citizens. The initial Owensboro books were a two volume photo set about the history of Owensboro. The Olomouc Library would be responsible to provide books about Olomouc, Moravia (their region) and the Czech Republic. In this manner both peoples can learn about the two cultures.

Music at Maple Mount - An invitation has been extended to have a Czech student musician attend the Music At Maple Mount program during summer 1997. A Czech student has been contacted by Mr. Jim White, Director of Music at Maple Mount and has shown interest in coming to Owensboro.

Kentucky Wesleyan College - An invitation has been extended to have a Czech student soccer player come to attend four years of study at KWC under a soccer scholarship with partial financial support through a Sister Cities International Eisenhower Scholarship. Owensboro Sister Cities has confirmed their support for the scholarship application and a student in Olomouc has been contacted, negotiations are ongoing.

Owensboro Symphony - Both communities support an orchestra and there is interest in exchanges of conductors and guest musicians. At present the Owensboro Symphony is in search of a Conductor and thus progress along this line is on a back burner.

Boy Scouts - Introductions have been made between the Olomouc Scouting organization and the Shawnee Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America. More work will have to be done to encourage the potential internationalizing of the local programs.

Palacky University Summer Study - Dr. Bruce Beck, Owensboro Community College will lead the effort to begin a community wide college study program at Palacky University in Olomouc during summer 1997. At present there are eight students at Owensboro Community College or Kentucky Wesleyan College who have shown interest in this initial study opportunity. Attempts are being made to join with an already established program offered by Miami University of Ohio.

Messenger-Inquirer - The concept of a journalist exchange has been discussed in a meeting with the local editor. An Olomouc newspaper has already expressed interest in support for such an exchange. It was pointed out to the Messenger - Inquirer representatives that the papers owner also owns a Dallas, Texas newspaper and that Dallas has the Czech Republic city of Brno (40 miles from Olomouc) as one of its Sister Cities. The corporation could thus feed two of its newspapers from this one journalist exchange. Discussions will continue.

Office of the Mayor City Hall, Owensboro, Kentucky 42303-1899 USA Tel. 502-686-4575 FAX 502-686-4568 Trade - As a result of contacts made with area business during the Olomouc Mayoral Visit we have received news that one Kentucky company has shipped samples to the Czech Republic. An Evansville company has sent a representative to Olomouc, is maintaining contacts and negotiating for hosting a medical exchange in anticipation of trade in the medical supply field. An Owensboro business has put together a proposal and is waiting news back from the Czech company. Two other Kentucky businesses having made initial contacts have not reported as to their relationship after we arranged the initial introductions.

One of the reasons that Owensboro and Olomouc entered into a relationship was due to the trade relation potential benefit for both communities. While we have people in both communities promoting this trade link this opportunity has not been taken advantage of to any extent. Owensboro Sister Cities stands ready to aid any interested business by utilizing our Sister City contacts in government, the Import - Export Bank or the U.S. Embassy if we can be of assistance.

While not exhaustive, this ends the report 1996 Owensboro Sister Cities Report to the Mayor and City Commission. If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at my office at Owensboro Community College.

Respectfully Submitted,

William R. West
Executive Director