GFLSCI NEWS
Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International Monthly Newsletter
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Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International, Your Passport to the World!
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November 2008 Edition
Don't Miss the Annual Boat Parade Celebration on December 13!
For more information, go to our Upcoming Events section below
Top Stories
GFLSCI Chairman Emeritus Receives The International Businesswoman of the Year Award from The Organization of Women in International Trade
On November 6th, Sister Cities Chairman Emeritus, Ms. Nuccia McCormick was one of the recipients of the prestigious International Businesswoman of the Year Award presented by The South Florida Chapter of The Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) at their 7th Annual Businesswoman of the Year Luncheon and Awards Ceremony held at the Bankers Club in Miami. This special Award recognized Ms. Nuccia McCormick along with two other honorees: Ms. Jo Moskowitz from Citrix Systems, Inc. and Ms. Olga Ramudo from Express Travel, for the role they played in enhancing international business and trade in South Florida through their professional and community activities and for their mentoring of other women in the community. The Keynote speaker at this event was Marcy Grossman, Consul General of Canada in Miami, who delivered a moving speech that inspired us all.
Ms. Nuccia McCormick was specifically recognized for her involvement in the Service Sector, notably her work with Sister Cities International but not withstanding her involvement in other non-profit organizations in the community. In 1986, Ms. Nuccia McCormick revitalized the Sister Cities Program for the City of Fort Lauderdale at the request of Mayor Cox in 1986. As President and later Chairman, she was instrumental in producing and maintaining 14 Sister City relationships, and is currently involved with negotiating 9 other Sister Cities around the world. Ms. McCormick proudly dedicates this award to all the board members, volunteers and members who have brought Greater Fort Lauderdale Lauderdale Sister Cities International to where it is today.
OWIT Organization Presents Awards to Olga Ramudo (second from left) and Nuccia McCormick (second from right). Consul Marcy Grossman (center), Consul General for Canada was the Keynote Speaker and Recipient of the Ambassador Award.
OWIT is a non-profit professional organization designed to promote women doing business in international trade by providing networking and educational opportunities. OWIT South Florida was established in 1993 and represents one of their 40 chapters.
Congratulations to all the honorees for their valuable contribution to our community and thanks to OWIT for organizing such a wonderful event.
The Dinner on the River Event: An International Gathering Under the Stars!
On November 2nd, Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International celebrated the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show with its delegations and maritime alliances from around the world at our Dinner on the River event held at Nuccia McCormick�s Residence, Chairman Emeritus. This special event included international dining and live music under the stars and presented a great opportunity for Sister Cities members to meet our delegation from our first Asian Sister City, Kaohsiung County in Taiwan, the delegation from Quepos in Costa Rica and our maritime alliances from Gold Coast, Australia. Some of the special guests who took part in this international gathering included The Honorable Jim Naugle, Mayor for the City of Fort Lauderdale, The Honorable Oscar Monge, the Mayor for the Town of Quepos in Costa Rica, Mr. Iguel Tsao, Consul General of Taiwan, Mr. Klaus Ranner, Consul General of Germany and dignitaries from Malaysia and other countries around the world who all enjoyed the festivities.
From Left: Klaus Ranner, Consul General of Germany, Oscar Monge, Mayor of Quepos, Nuccia McCormick, Chairman Emeritus of Sister Cities and Jim Naugle, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale
During the evening, Mayor Jim Naugle presented The City of Fort Lauderdale�s Official Flag to the Mayor of Quepos to thank him and his delegation for their visit. In addition, Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International presented an Award Plate to our former Gold Coast, Australia Chair, Nabeel Youakim, Vice-President of Asia Pacific for Citrix Systems, Inc., to recognize him for all his dedication and hard word in fortifying the relationship with our Sister City in Australia.
Mayor Jim Naugle Presenting The Official City of Fort Lauderdale Flag to Quepos Mayor, Oscar Monge
Sister Cities Board of Directors and Mayor Jim Naugle Presenting Award Plate to Nabeel Youakim, former Australia Chair and VP of Asia Pacific for Citrix Systems, Inc.
Along with the board members and volunteers who helped organized this event, Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International would like to express its gratitude to the following sponsors who truly made this event memorable:
  
Chima Brazilian Steakhouse
Greek Express  Croissant Time
It�s That Time of the Year Again! Join Us at our Annual GFLSCI General Assembly!
It has already been 22 years since Greater Fort Lauderdale Sisters Cities International has dedicated itself to creating and strengthening partnerships between Fort Lauderdale and cities around the world in an effort to increase global cooperation on many levels and promote cultural understanding, humanitarian programs and stimulate economic development.
Join us on January 12, 2009 at 5:30pm as we celebrate another great year filled with constructive and rewarding activities, great events and cultural, humanitarian and educational programs that make a difference for our local community and for our sister cities� communities throughout the world.
This event is very important for us, as it is the time for our members to voice their decision as they participate in the annual elections to decide on next year�s leadership.
So whether you would like to renew your membership, become a new member, participate as a current member or find out about how to become a volunteer, come mingle and network with fellow members and international dignitaries at this annual gathering.
GFLSCI is currently seeking to fill some vacant positions on their board. Interested candidates, should email their bio to Marianne Winfield, Vice-President of Economic Development and Chair of the Nominating Committee at mariannewinfield@aol.com.
More details regarding our General Assembly, including the location, will be posted shortly on our website. We hope to see you all there!
Meet the Board!
Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International will feature one or two board members every month so that you can learn more about who we are and what we have in store for you.
Marianne L. Winfield � Vice-President of Economic Development
Meet Marianne L Winfield, Vice-President of Economic Development and Chair of the Nominating Committee for Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International. Marianne has been involved with Sister Cities for over 6 years and she is currently involved in developing international economic development opportunities through partnerships with Enterprise Florida, The Florida Trade Association, The US Commerce Department, The International Business Council of Florida, OWIT, The Bi National Chambers and other organizations interested in developing closer ties with our 16 sister cities.
Ms. Winfield is a Certified International Property Specialist and has been a proud Member of The Greater Fort Lauderdale Board of Realtors since 1977. Since 1986, Marianne has opened four Century 21 branches in Florida, which were ranked in the top 5% best Century 21 franchises. She is currently the owner of Brickell Bay Realty Group, LLC, a corporation which locates sites for developers, collaborates with owners and city officials to develop multi use sites, develop industrial sites and partakes in land sales and sites redevelopment. In addition, she is the President of Marine and Waterways Solutions, LLC, a corporation that partners with a team of global professionals to locate and remediate marine and heavy metal contaminated waterways sites worldwide. Last but not least, Marianne also owns a company called Cenmark Realty. In 2005, Marianne received the title of Top Women in Commercial Real Estate by the Florida Real Estate Journal.
Outside her professional realm, Marianne is on the board of many local non-profit organizations such as Broward Alliance where she serves presently on the board. In addition, she was Membership Chair for the International Business Council of Florida between 2004 and 2006. In 2004, Marianne participated and became highly involved in the Tower Club Diplomat�s Real Estate Forum. Since 2005, she is a board member of Smart Growth Partnership, an organization which strives to make our communities sustainable, more livable and better planned. In 2008, she was elected to be on the board of Bayview Center, one of the largest Mental Health facilities in Dade and Broward counties, providing help through mental health and substance abuse services for the community.
Marianne joined Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International in 2002 as Chair for Community Partnerships until 2006, when she was elected Nominating Committee Chair in 2007. Presently, Marianne serves on our board as Vice-President of Economic Development, helping Sister Cities in developing a strong and committed board of directors. We are very proud to have such a dedicated and devoted individual as herself on our team.
GFLSCI Country Chairs News
Fort Lauderdale � Town of Quepos, Costa Rica
Committee Report for November 2008
Contributed by Felipe Correa, Country Chair for Quepos, Costa Rica
Our Costa Rica delegation, including the Honorable Oscar Monge, Mayor for the Town of Quepos, flew to Fort Lauderdale this month for a second visit to our city and to participate in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. During their stay, our Country Chair for Costa Rica, Felipe Correa hosted them and organized a wide array of activities to welcome, enlighten, and educate the Quepos Delegation. Special activities included:
- Waterways tour of the Boat Show courtesy of Captain Hancock of the FLPD
- Welcome dinner at the Mai Kai Restaurant
- Pez Vela's Marina Press Reception Event, where the whole delegation and GFLSCI presence was acknowledged, and where they had the opportunity to answer questions from various marine industry publications
- Private tour of the Lauderdale Marine Center where all the upper management staff, including the owner of the LMC, Mr. Morio Mito was present.
- Private tour of the Florida Redlands
- Follow up dinner with Mr. Morio Mito, owner of the Lauderdale Marine Center
The Delegation also had the opportunity to meet with the Honorable Jim Naugle, Mayor for the City of Fort Lauderdale and with the City of Fort Lauderdale�s Fire Department and the Mounted Police Department where they toured the facilities, learned about the necessary duties handled by the department and the advantages of having a mounted police force. Donations and proceeds from our Quepos Fundraiser held in October were handed to the delegation. We will keep you posted on their progress in strengthening the Town of Quepos� Ocean and Fire Rescue departments.
It was a very busy five days when the group maintained deep focus on their exploratory mission, and was able to return home with valuable new knowledge acquired, new meaningful relationships established, and a deeper focus and commitment to maximize all the help GFLSCI has been able to provide.
At the Dinner on the River Event, the Mayor of Quepos received the Official Flag from the City of Fort Lauderdale and the delegation enjoyed networking and making great contacts including Mr. Iguel Tsao, Consul General for Taiwan in Miami as well as other notable dignitaries from Germany, Malaysia and Australia.
Recently, our Sister Cities� President, Devin Avery, went for a visit to Quepos in Costa Rica. Devin was welcomed by our delegation and community leaders and got to witness first-hand the progress of all the projects set forth by Mr. Harry Bodaan, our Sister Cities correspondent in Costa Rica. Devin was also briefed on the status and progress of Quepos' Ocean Rescue training programs, structural improvements to their police headquarters, the successful institution of a mounted police force, in addition to other various continuing projects in the city.
The visit from the Costa Rica delegation was very fruitful as it allowed the sharing of knowledge between their town and our city and strengthened the SCI program we established with Costa Rica. Along the same line, Sister Cities visit to Quepos demonstrated the high level of dedication, focus, and effort our organization put into positively affecting this beautiful town in Costa Rica.
GFLSCI Upcoming Events
GFLSCI and The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Presents An Italian Evening at Cinema Paradiso with Italian Director, Antonio Baiocco
When : December 3rd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Where : Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, one block east of
Broward County Courthouse on South Bank of New River
Cost : $9 General Admission, $7 Students, $5 FLIFF & Sister Cities Members
Italian Director Antonio Baiocco will be traveling from Rome to South Florida to host a one-time screening of "Il mercante di stoffe" (The Cloth Merchant). The film starts at 7pm, and will be proceeded by a complimentary reception for attendees with movie admission tickets, featuring wine and Italian food in our courtyard.
For more information and to buy ticket, click here to go the FLIFF website.
The 2008 Boat Parade Celebration to benefit the Thomas W. McCormick Scholarship Fund of Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International
When : December 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Where : Ms. Nuccia McCormick Residence, Fort Lauderdale
Note: Limited Seating
Please join us in admiring the world renowned Fort Lauderdale Winterfest Boat Parade in a special evening celebration to benefit the Thomas W. McCormick Scholarship Fund. This special event will take place at the residence of Nuccia McCormick, Chairman Emeritus of GFLSCI, in Harborage Isle, Fort Lauderdale on December 13th starting at 5:30pm. Enjoy cocktails, dinner and dancing under the stars with a magnificent front view of this memorable show. All proceeds from this celebration will benefit honor students from Broward County in financial need to attain international education with the Thomas W. McCormick Scholarship Fund under Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International. Seating is limited.
To RSVP for this event, please click here to go to our website.
Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International 2009 General Assembly
When : January 12th, 2009 at 5:30pm
Where : To be announced very soon � Keep Posted!
Join us at our Annual General Assembly as we celebrate another great year filled with constructive and rewarding activities, great events and cultural, humanitarian and educational programs that make a difference for our local community and for our Sister Cities� communities throughout the world. This is also your chance, as a member, to voice your decision during our annual elections. So whether you would like to renew your membership, become a new member, participate as a current member or find out more on how to become a volunteer, come mingle and network with fellow members and international dignitaries at this annual gathering. More details regarding our General Assembly, including the location, will be posted shortly on our website. We hope to see you all there!
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