Sister Cities group spawns international travel

When some Springfield-area residents head to Mexico or Japan, they’re doing more than soaking up international sights and sounds. They’re also at work building goodwill and relationships for the city of Springfield as ambassadors for Springfield Sister Cities Association.

SSCA began in 1986 with a relationship with Isesaki, Japan, a city located northwest of Tokyo that has a population of more than 200,000. In 2003, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, became a sister city of Springfield; both were chosen based on several factors, including culture and climate. SSCA orchestrates study tours, student exchanges and citizen tours for delegations to and from all three cities.

Heading south

SSCA will lead its fourth citizens’ tour in Tlaquepaque Sept. 19–25. The trip, open to all age groups, is limited to 20 participants. The trip costs $1,550 per person for double occupancy and $1,850 for single occupancy, which includes air and ground transportation, six nights at a bed and breakfast, special tours and the chance to meet Tlaquepaque residents.

“It’s an opportunity to see the real Mexico,” said Yolanda Lorge, Tlaquepaque planning committee member and Mexico native. “These relationships are a chance to learn (about) each other personally, a chance to experience the real Mexican culture.”

Lorge, with Grupo Latinoamericano, was instrumental in identifying Tlaquepaque, with its population of nearly 500,000, as Springfield’s second sister city, after SSCA members tapped her for the task.

Linda Patterson decided to go to Tlaquepaque in September because she wants the opportunity to learn about the culture, and to see how the Mexican people live and interact with each other.

“I’m glad Sister Cities is doing this type of thing,” said Patterson, a retired city of Springfield employee who heard about the trip through work bulletins and a flier she received in the mail. “I’m glad it’s something that when you go somewhere there are people to meet and that we’re not (just) the tourist. I think Sister Cities is a nice thing to have.”

Trip expenses also cover a one-year SSCA membership. Future trips to Tlaquepaque are in the planning stages.

City-to-city relationships

“I think it’s very important to have this personal interaction and building personal relationships between people,” said John Price, secretary of the SSCA Board of Directors, and an attorney with Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown PC. “It’s just an experience that you don’t get to have as a tourist.”

Price has visited Tlaquepaque twice, once on a citizens’ tour and again on a planning trip.

“We gain an appreciation and just a really deep love of the culture and of the people we meet down there,” he said. “I think it’s important for Springfield to know people from other countries, to know people in other countries, and for them to know us. I think it’s very important for us to know more than the people living next door.”

To date, there have been three citizen tours to Isesaki, some of them linked to special events, such as the 20th anniversary of the SSCA relationship, and softball team trips.

SSCA is planning a citizens’ tour to Isesaki in October 2008, according to Cindy Jobe, chairwoman of the organization’s Isesaki committee. That trip, she said, will include at least a three-day home-stay experience, and several days for visitors to tour other parts of Japan.

SSCA’s student tours, open to high school students, have taken place since the 1980s, and the next one will be in summer 2008.

The trips, however, aren’t the only means to encourage relationships between residents of Springfield and their counterparts in Mexico and Japan.

SSCA will present the Japanese Fall Festival Sept. 7–9 at the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden in Nathanael Greene Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., and will welcome a delegation of Isesaki residents Nov. 7–12.

As a result of the sister cities relationship, Isesaki citizens sent a check for nearly $17,000 to the SSCA to fund repairs at the stroll garden, which sustained heavy damage from the January ice storms.

The funds are providing specialty plants and trees, and much of the restoration will be done this fall. Isesaki’s donation will be recognized during a special ceremony during the fall festival.

“Through that donation, it is a way for the citizens of this community to know what the relationship with Isesaki means,” Jobe told Springfield Business Journal in April.

Getting involved with Springfield Sister Cities Association

Annual SSCA memberships are available at three levels:

• Individual – $25

• Family – $50

• Businesses and organizations – $250

Information about the group and upcoming travel opportunities is available at www.springfieldmogov.org/sistercities/index.html. Interested parties also can call the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization at (417) 864-1191 to be added to a mailing list and receive information about upcoming activities.