Local Highland Park Program Awarded Top Honor
Back in the 1950s when the Sister City movement was launched, it was doubtful that anyone could have imagined the growth and contributions the program would eventually attain nearly sixty years later. The same can be said when the local Highland Park Sister City chapter was formed in 1989 by former Mayor Daniel Pierce. Now 26 years later, the chapter has been awarded the 2015 Best Overall Program award in their size category from Sister Cities International.
Local Highland Park residents Carol Wolfe and her husband Rick have spent over a decade supporting this movement which was originally launched by President Dwight Eisenhower. Wolfe has served as president of the chapter since 2002, while her husband Rick currently holds the position of vice president for the chapter’s connection in Puerto Vallarta. The Sister City movement has allowed towns like here in Highland Park to connect with far away cities and countries for educational and athletic exchanges. Currently the Highland Park chapter has three sister cities: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Modena, Italy; and most recently, Yerucham, Israel.
This organization has done some amazing things over the years including sponsoring events like a 2014 Jazz Festival in Puerto Vallarta, coordinating a regional meetup at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, and locally sponsored a soccer tournament here in Highland Park featuring a group of 12 year old players from Puerto Vallarta. “Were it not for the Sister Cities relationship, the (Yerucham teens) would never be traveling from a small… town across the world to compete in the robotics tournament and meet others with the same interests in the U.S.,” said Joe Adler, who was born in Israel and serves and the foundation’s vice president for the Yerucham connection. Adler added “These are life-changing events, especially for the kids.”
Here at Lexus of Highland Park we are amazed at the wonderful efforts of our community and the people in it. We would like to congratulate the Highland Park Chapter of Sister City, and wish them luck as they accept their award at the Sister Cities International 59th annual conference in Minneapolis.
