On Thursday afternoon Commissioner Ed Olson participated in an international exchange a group of junior high students from sister city Tamura,Japan. The group of 26 students met with the commissioner at his courthouse office to take a tour of the building and to learn about county government.
Sister Cities International is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to fostering peace and prosperity through cultural, educational, humanitarian and economic development exchanges.
With diplomacy as a goal, Sister Cities motivates and empowers private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to facilitate long term mutually beneficial relationships on a city, county or state level.
“It’s a good idea, a great experience for these students. It gives them an idea of what Mansfield looks like and what it’s about,”said Olson.
The students were chaperoned by five supervising adults which included a translator, a Tamura City Board of Education official Tadao Tomitsuka and Sister Cities Treasurer Ann Brown.
“The whole point is philanthropic: To make the students feel good about the world we live in, feel good about themselves and to learn about the world. To bring the world closer together and to appreciate other cultures,”said Brown.
Brown shared points of the students’ itinerary that started about a week ago with their first stop in Washington D.C. and a tour of the capital. The main destination of Thursday’s tour was the Richland Carrousel Park in downtown Mansfield. Commissioner Olson gave the students a brief tour of the courthouse that included visiting the Recorders office and the Tax office. The students were given a brief summary of the duties of each office and how they relate to the residents of Mansfield.
Prior to the tour in Olson’s office the students along with their lead supervisor Tomitsuka, the group presented Olson with a gift expressing their appreciation for the hospitality shown them by Olson and the City of Mansfield. Olson accepted the gift, a silkscreen print of Cherry Blossoms. Richly symbolic throughout Japanese art and culture, cherry blossoms depict the natural cycle of life and are symbolically tied to Japanese samurai. Through the translator, Olson thanked the group for their generosity and noted the students’ exemplary behavior.
The students and their chaperones took a brief walk through downtown to the Carrousel Park where the students could experience the sights and sounds of a carrousel ride.
Founded in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sister Cities is a 501 C-3 non-profit that works to unite tens of thousands of volunteers that includes members of the private sector, diplomats and business leaders in programs in 140 countries on six continents. Theirs is a combined mission with a focus on bringing peace and understanding country by country, city to city, through people-to-people relationships.
For more information on Sister Cities or interest in becoming a member and volunteer visit www.sister-cities.org.
“The whole point is philanthropic: To make the students feel good about the world we live in, feel good about themselves and to learn about the world. To bring the world closer together and to appreciate other cultures,”said Sister Cities’ treasurer Ann Brown.
