THE HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION

The Sister City Proclamation was signed by Mayor Saito of Yotsukaido and Mayor Helen Tirsell of Livermore in April of 1977 when Mayor Saito and several others came as a delegation to Livermore. Livermore sent its first delegation to Japan in 1979. Since then, the two cities have continued to send delegations on alternate years.

THE PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION

The Sister City idea was spawned during the Eisenhower administration. It had its roots in Eisenhower's People to People Program. President Eisenhower maintained that people don't go to war, countries do. He therefore urged that people of the USA should establish ongoing contact with people from other countries in order to develop a better understanding and foster better relationships with those people and those countries.

The purpose of the Livermore Yotsukaido Sister City Organization is to establish a peaceful interchange with the people of Yotsukaido, Japan, and gain a better understanding of them and of their culture. This is accomplished through the exchange of delegates on a regular basis and through the exchange of students. The Livermore delegates are members of the Sister City Organization who wish to visit Yotsukaido and participate in the activities planned by the Yotsukaido Sister City Organization. Delegates stay in the homes of Sister City members.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Our organization presents community concerts on a semi-annual basis. These concerts emphasize traditional Japanese art forms and are either offered free or at nominal charge as a way of thanking the community for its contribution. In addition, our fund-raising efforts are typically centered around the sale of Japanese food items, thereby offering the community a small sampling of the form of culture while raising funds to continue our efforts. Yotsukaido presented fifty Japanese cherry trees to the City of Livermore for the tenth anniversary of our Sister City Organizations. These trees adorn the land in front of the City Hall. Yotsukaido also presented Livermore with a traditional stone lantern, which can be seen in the garden on the south side of the Library. In addition, many artifacts of Japanese art and culture are on display at City Hall. We hope to arrange additional exchanges, such as our respective symphony orchestras.

MEETING TIMES

The Sister City Organization meets once a month on the third Thursday of the month (with some exceptions) at 7:30 PM. The meetings are held in the homes of members.