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Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International Newsletter

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2009 End of Summer Edition

Editor: Paola Isaac Baraya
           Marketing & PR Chair

Top Stories

GFLSCI sends Youth Ambassadors for an experience of a lifetime in Taiwan and Italy 

The Thomas McCormick Scholarship Fund and Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International provided four students the opportunity to be a part of the GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors Exchange Program this year. The Youth Ambassadors Scholarship Program provides high-school students in Broward County with outstanding academic achievements a unique opportunity to broaden their perception of the world by participating in a language and cultural program in one of our Sister Cities around the world.

This year, for the first time in GFL Sister Cities' history, the program introduced Kaohsiung County, Taiwan as a new destination for these students. The Thomas McCormick Scholarship Fund and Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International in collaboration with the Municipality of Rimini, Italy and the Kaohsiung County Government in Taiwan organized a successful summer student exchange program. Charles Ethan Dalbey (19) and Juan Romero (17) traveled on June 14 to Kaohsiung County, Taiwan to participate in Chinese language, culture, science, music and Kung Fu classes at Ren Wu High School, while Taylor Blews (17) and Brooks Reed (16), flew on June 18 to Rimini, Italy to gain knowledge of the Italian language, history and culture at the Tiberius International School for one month. 

Prior to their departure to Taiwan, Ethan and Juan received an invitation from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami to attend a special reception. The students met some international dignitaries including Director General Miguel Tsao and Mr. and Mrs. Shih-Tza Wu, Chairman and President of King of Fans, Inc., who honored the students and their families. 

Ethan Dalbey, GFLSCI 2009 Youth Ambassadors making a presentation for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami

Juan Romero, GFLSCI 2009 Youth Ambassadors making a presentation for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami

The students going to Italy were also invited to a "Buon Viaggio" reception prior to their departure, which was held at the home of our Chairman Emeritus, Ms. Nuccia McCormick. Parents, friends and Sister Cities board members attended to celebrate the beginning of a wonderful experience for our Youth Ambassadors, Taylor and Brooks, and wished them well, on their journey to the Adriatic Riviera.

From left: Angelique Marcelli, 2008 Youth Ambassador, Marianne Winfield, GFLSCI President, Brooks Reed, 2009 Youth Ambassador, Nuccia McCormick, GFLSCI Chairman Emeritus, Taylor Blews, 2009 Youth Ambassador and Rosina Zimmer, GFLSCI Education Chair at the 2009 Buon Viaggio Celebration

During their visit to Taiwan, the GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors met with many important political figures such as the Governor of Kaohsiung County, The Honorable Chiu-Hsing Yang. Juan Romero and Ethan Dalbey instantly became celebrities in Taiwan as they greeted the Governor with a popular American handshake. Their successful and pleasant meeting was broadcasted by the Taiwanese media and appeared on major television stations throughout Taiwan.

The exchange students that went to Italy were truly able to experience Italian culture and history at its best as they took an excursion to visit one of the most important artistic centers in the world, Florence, Italy.
From left: Elena Arlotti, Taylor Blews, Ramona Viglianisi, Brooks Reed 
The 2009 You While presenting the highlights of their trips and what they learned from this program at the Sister Cities July Board Meeting, all Youth Ambassadors agreed that this experience broadened their perception of the world and marked them for the rest of their lives.

The GFLSCI Education Chair, Rosina Zimmer, and the Education Committee, Jorg Hruschka, Marcus Koch, Nuccia McCormick, Rhonda Goodman and President Marianne Winfield would like to extend their gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Shih-Tza Wu, Chairman and President of King of Fans for providing travel for the students going to Taiwan and The Government of Kaohsiung County along with The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami. The committee would also like to thank Ms. Maria Carla Monti and the Mayor of the Municipality of Rimini, The Honorable Alberto Ravaioli, for their many years of dedication to this program. 

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities would like to thank Xtreme Indoor Karting in Fort Lauderdale for giving us the opportunity to organize a Youth Ambassadors recruitment session at this fun and thrilling venue.

GFL Sister Cities hosts Annual Student Exchange Reception to welcome the Youth Ambassadors from Italy and Taiwan

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International hosted The Annual Student Exchange Reception on July 23rd at the Hilton Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale. This special reception was organized to introduce our exchange students from Taiwan and Italy and to present this enriching program to our members and guests.

The Honorable Jack Seiler, Mayor for the City of Fort Lauderdale presented a warm welcome to our students. Also present, was The Deputy Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami, The Honorable Ken Hu, who graciously underlined the value of this annual student exchange program. The Youth Ambassadors gave a memorable presentation about their experience and the program. GFLSCI members who RSVP'd for this event, received a complimentary glass of champagne or wine and some exquisite hors-d'oeuvres prepared by Ilios, the restaurant at the Hilton Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale.

Mayor Jack Seiler presenting at the 2009 GFLSCI Annual Student Exchange Welcome Reception

The 2009 GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors with the Honorable Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale,  Miss Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk, Tara Szczepanski and GFLSCI Chairman Emeritus, Nuccia McCormick

The 2009 Annual Student Exchange Welcome Reception

From left: Mr. Shih-Tza "Start" Wu, CEO of King of Fans, Mrs. Tsai Hui Wu, GFLSCI Country Chair for Kaohsiung County, Taiwan, The Honorable Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Nuccia McCormick, GFLSCI Chairman Emeritus

Lu Hung-Chun (15) and Lin Jinzhong (18) arrived in South Florida on July 15th and received a warm welcome at the airport by Ms. Lee-ling Lai of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, GFLSCI VP & Economic Development Chair, Marcus Koch and GFLSCI President, Marianne Winfield along with their host family. The exchange students from Italy, Ramona Viglianisi (17) and Elena Arlotti (17) arrived on July 17th and were welcomed by our Marketing and PR Chair, Paola Isaac and their host families.

From Left: Taylor Blews, Elana Arlotti, Brooks Reed and Ramona Viglianisi return from their experience in Italy

During their one-month program in Fort Lauderdale, the exchange students from Taiwan and Italy took part in English language courses sponsored by the Language Academy and had a wide array of activities planned for them to experience our city and the State of Florida at its best.

Sponsored activities included:

• Tour of Nova Southeastern University (NSU) courtesy of Anthony J. DeNapoli, Dean of International Affairs and Dr. Larry A. Calderon, Vice President of Community and Government Affairs & GFLSCI Board Member at Large
• Tour of The Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Station 2 hosted by our Country Chair for Argentina, Gabriel Zahora with the support of Chief Eddy
• Tours of Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Key West courtesy of Felipe Correa  CEO of Tours to You and GFLSCI Special Events Chair
• Water Taxi ride courtesy of Captain Steve, Kim Naimoli and Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi
• Tickets to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts courtesy of Jan Goodheart, GFLSCI Cultural Chair
• Snorkel excursion and trip to Orlando Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Shih-Tza Wu, Chairman and President of King of Fans, Inc., Ms. Michelle Fee, CEO of Cruise Planners, Russell Weaver, NAI Commercial Real Estate; and including a stay at the beautiful Lake Buena Vista Resort.
• Visit of NASA with the support of Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas and Kathy DeVault, International Affairs Coordinator at the City of Orlando
• Tickets for the Marlins baseball game courtesy of Jason England, Account Manager at the Dolphin Stadium
• And many more wonderful activities organized by the GFLSCI board members and the host families

Tour of Nova Southeastern University with 2009 GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors and Board Members

2009 GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors from Taiwan on Water Taxi Tour 

"The goal of the GFLSCI Youth Ambassadors Student Exchange Program for the exchange students visiting from abroad is to provide an enriching and educational experience of the American language and culture and to gain knowledge of the City of Fort Lauderdale which they will take with them and share with their respective city" says Rosina Zimmer, GFSLCI Education Chair.

These program activities would not have been possible without the contribution of all the program sponsors and Jorg Hruschka, our Youth Ambassadors Mentor along with Marcus Koch, our VP & Economic Development Chair who volunteered to coordinate the calendar of activities and all the other dedicated education committee members and board members who invested their time and effort in making this program so successful.

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International would specifically like to thank Marco Pinna and The wonderful staff of The Language Academy who have been providing our exchange students with quality English language courses for many years and this year, generously sponsored the entire program for our four students. We would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Wu for their generosity and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami for their tremendous support.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the following sponsors of the Annual Student Exchange Reception: The Hilton Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, the Event Chairs, Felipe Correa and Marcus Koch and all the volunteers who made this event so delightful including Susan Marcelli, Maria Hechavaria, Shawna Morgan, Morgan Pritchett, Hiromi Tanis, Katrina Hruschka, Angelique Marcelli and Tara Szczepanski (Miss Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk). For more information on the Education Program sponsors, click here.

GFLSCI organizes Fund Raiser for La Romana, Dominican Republic 

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International hosted a fundraiser to benefit La Romana, Dominican Republic on June 1st at the Blue Martini in Fort Lauderdale.  Thanks to the support of our attendees, donors and sponsors, this special event raised more than $1000 in funds necessary to procure medical supplies, first aid kits, school books & supplies to children in need. GFLSCI also received 25 language books donated by TALK International School of Languages in Fort Lauderdale.

The event also included a silent auction, which featured remarkable items including a beautiful handcrafted hardwood humidor that holds 200 cigars, compliments of Altadis USA and a gift certificate for a 1-hour language class offered by TALK International School of Languages. The silent auction also included one of a kind handcrafted art from Haiti and the Dominican Republic and great gift baskets.

GFLSCI would especially like to thank the Blue Martini in the Galleria Mall, Fort Lauderdale for sponsoring this special event along with all the donors for the silent auction. We would like to also thank our VP of Membership, Kim Naimoli, Steven Naimoli, Treasurer, Jeanel Jerome, Country Chair for Dominican Republic along with his committee for making this event so memorable and all our dedicated volunteers including Maria Hechevaria, Daniele Grimal, Wendy Diaz, Evelyn Torres-Dunn and Peter and Tara Szczepanski (Miss Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk). To view more photos from this event, click here.

Sister Cities Board Members at the Fund raiser for La Romana, Dominican Republic

Honey Project Students Visit our Sister City Agogo, Ghana and meet with the President of the Republic of Ghana

This year, in collaboration with Greater Fort Lauderdale's Sister City, Agogo, Ghana, the Honey Project students embarked on a productive trip to Ghana and under the leadership of the Honorable Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Paramount Chief of the Agogo Traditional Area, Ashanti, Ghana, they had the unique opportunity to meet the Honorable John Atta Mills, President of The Republic of Ghana.  The 6 students (Independent Partner Agents) traveled with Nathan Burrell, Executive Director of the Honey Project, Becky Wright, Honey Project Director & GFLSCI Country Co-Chair for Agogo, Ghana,  Jo Moskowitz,GFLSCI Country Chair for Agogo, Ghana and Dan Warren, GFLSCI Environmental Chair and President of One Village Planet.

The Honey Project, One Village Planet and Citrix Systems collectively worked together to assist with the Nana Sarpong Rural Development Initiative. The Honey Project has successfully facilitated the formation of the Agogo Farmer's Cooperative and has assisted in the development of a new micro-enterprise; honey production and processing, which will directly benefit sustenance farmers of Agogo and other surrounding villages.

The Honey Project is an international economic development project that produces young social entrepreneurs ages 15-24 working together to alleviate poverty. The Honey Project seeks to work cooperatively with the global community to address social issues such as youth empowerment, poverty alleviation, sustainable development and the preservation of our environment.

Since its conception in 2006, The Honey Project has evolved from a simple youth training program into a comprehensive global project engaging young people throughout the United States and the world. Over 150 students in Florida and Kentucky have graduated from the Honey Project Academy. Four of these participants have established and incorporated individual businesses in the State of Florida. Globally, the Honey Project has now been introduced to young people in Ghana, Taiwan and Italy. To find out more about the Honey Project, please click here to go to their website.

From left: The Honorable Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Paramount Chief of Agogo, Ghana 
with Honey Project Students 

Tele-Med Program Provides Remote Medical Assistance to our Sister Cities

The GFLSCI Medical Committee chaired by Dr. Basil Mangra and the GFLSCI Technology Committee chaired by Dr. Shobha Gupta held a conference call on August 17th with the Agogo, Ghana Committee chaired by Jo Moskowitz and Becky Wright in reference to a pilot project for setting up a remote medical assistance facility in Ghana.  It is the hope of the committees to eventually extend this project to remote areas for partnering sister cities.

The GFLSCI Tele-Med Program is a medical cyber-outreach project designed to provide medical assistance to sister cities via videoconference technology systems. The project will be led by the GFLSCI Medical and Technology Committees and will be performed in collaboration with the Agogo, Ghana Committee partners such as the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital and the Agogo Nursing College and with the support of Honorable Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Paramount Chief of the Agogo Traditional Area, Ashanti, Ghana.

Tele-Med will host a cyber-clinic for villagers in the Agogo area. The target group will be rural villagers without medical insurance and in need of basic health screenings. TeleMed will enlist the assistance of the farmers in the Agogo Farmers Cooperative to identify families that qualify for the free screening. The first cyber-clinic will be held at the ICT center located in the center of the Village of Agogo.

The Tele-Med Team is looking forward to launching this project.  It will be very beneficial to the communities of our Sister City, Agogo, Ghana.  GFLSCI is looking forward to partnering with our other sister cities to expand this project on a global scale.

If you have any questions about the Tele-Med Project, please click here to send us an email.

Report from our Country Chair for Venice, Italy, Ilaria Serra

Ilaria Serra, GFLSCI Country Chair for Italy, just returned with 22 students from a successful 6-week program in Italy, initiated by the Florida Atlantic University. For these students it was a wonderfully unique experience to visit our beautiful Sister City, Venice.

Our Chairman Emeritus, Nuccia McCormick met the students and the FAU Professors in Venice. Nuccia was able to introduce to Ilaria the Honorable Massimo Cacciari, Mayor of the city of Venice and Assessore Augusto Salvadori, italian Minister of Tourism with his lovely wife Patrizia. They had an exclusive invitation to attend the Festivities of La Sensa, which is the annual marriage of Venice with the sea.

Nuccia commended Ilaria for executing an outstanding FAU student project in Venice. Nuccia and Ilaria studied several opportunities for future exchanges resulting in a strengthening of our sister-city relationship.

From left: Ilaria Serra, GFLSCI Country Chair for Venice, Italy, The Honorable Massimo Cacciari, Mayor of Venice and GFLSCI Chairman Emeritus, Nuccia McCormick 

 Festivities of La Sensa, Annual Marriage of Venice with the Sea

GFLSCI Travels to Ireland for the Sister Cities Annual Conference

Nuccia McCormick, Chairman Emeritus and Rosina Zimmer, Education Chair, represented Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International at The Sister Cities Annual Conference in Belfast, Ireland in July.

The Annual Conference, organized by the Sister Cities Foundation, headquartered in Washington DC, is held once a year in July for the purpose of bringing together hundreds of sister cities organizations, government officials, and sister city leaders from around the globe. It represents an ideal setting to exchange knowledge and ideas on many different levels including economic development, education and the environment, just to name a few. It is also a great way for us to discover what other sister cities organizations throughout the world are doing and to find new affiliations to build a relationship with.

Every year, one lucky destination is chosen to host this wonderful event. In 2007, Fort Lauderdale was the City of choice to host the Annual Conference. More than 600 delegates from over 36 countries around the world attended the conference.

This year was very special as it was the first time in Sister Cities' history that this international conference was hosted outside the United States. This year's theme was "Building Enduring Peace after Conflict", which explored how municipalities and communities can work together in matters of conflict resolution through community and cultural diplomacy. "Engaging elected officials" was among other topics discussed, as there were countless mayors from all over the world. Sister Cities stressed the importance of engaging our elected officials, together with citizen volunteers in order for our programs to succeed. There were also sessions on economic development, youth, cultural diplomacy, as well as many other topics. For more information on the conference and to view the photo gallery, please click here to go to their website.

Nuccia McCormick contributed at the Belfast Sister Cities Annual Conference's Silent Auction by donating a weeklong stay in her residence in Fort Lauderdale for two people. The highest bidder was Mr. Richard G. Neuheisel, Past President of The Sister Cities International, who bid $850 for this item.

Spirit Airlines Inaugural Flight to our First Sister City, Medellin, Colombia and Official Visit from Colombia

On March 1st, 2009, our Country Chair for Medellin, Colombia, Russell Weaver joined Spirit Airlines on their inaugural flight to Fort Lauderdale's first sister city, Medellin, Colombia. This flight took place nearly 50 years after Fort Lauderdale's first ever, sister city delegation took off for Medellin from Miami in 1961. The historic trip started with a water cannon salute given by the Medellin Airport's Fire trucks upon the plane's arrival in Medellin. The welcome to Spirit Air flight #236 was further enhanced by the reception and press conference waiting for the group outside of customs. Officials from Airplan, Medellin's Airport Authority, the Medellin's Mayor's office and the Medellin Convention Bureau were there to greet our delegation.

Canon Salute for Spirit Air Inaugural Flight to Medellin - Photo courtesy of Promenade News

This June, our first official visitor from Medellin, Colombia arrived for a one-week visit to Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Sonya Vasquez is the Director of the Medellin Downtown Development Authority and works directly under the Honorable Alonso Salazar, Mayor of Medellin. During her visit, exchange program opportunities in the fields of arts and education were discussed. Dr. Vasquez was introduced to GFLSCI board members and members at our La Romana Event and met our 2009 Youth Ambassadors including Juan Romero who is originally from Colombia. She also met with The Broward Alliance, Greater Ft Lauderdale Convention Bureau, Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Ft Lauderdale Downtown Development Agency. Her visit was very important for our organization and helped reestablished our sister city relationship with the City of Medellin.

From left: Dr. Sonia Vasquez, Director of Community Development for the City of Medellin, Juan Romero, 2009 Youth Ambassador originally from Colombia, Russell Weaver, GFLSCI Country Chair for Colombia and Marianne Winfield, GFLSCI President

Russell Weaver made a trip to Colombia this month to meet once again with Dr. Sonia Vasquez to follow up on existing programs and to have discussions regarding a project a day care in Medellin to help community redevelopment. Russell also attended Medellin's most important annual event, La Feria de las Flores, an flower festival held from July through August every year. Medellin holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for the largest outdoor flower parade and the largest outdoor horse parade.

Grand Opening and Scholarship Benefit Party at Q Lighting, Fans & Design

Q Lighting, Fans & Design hosted and sponsored a Grand Opening Party last March to benefit Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International's Youth Ambassadors Program. Sister Cities members enjoyed a complimentary reception with sushi hors-d'oeuvres, cocktails and valet service. Q Lighting, Fans & Design revealed their dazzling collection of lighting and design solutions for homes. Guests enjoyed an exclusive media and design presentation of their Safety Quick Light. A raffle was also held to raise funds for the program.

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International would like to thank Rani Kohen, Owner of Q Lighting, Fans & Design and Tom Madden, President of TransMedia Group and their wonderful team for sponsoring and hosting this superb event.  To view the photo gallery for this event, please click here.

GFSLCI raises awareness to save our planet at Disneynature's advance screening of the film "earth"

In collaboration with Disneynature's film, Moroch Entertainment and Muvico Pompano 18, The GFLSCI Environmental Committee was invited to promote the film and the GFLSCI "Dollar a Tree" initiative at the advance screening of the Disneynature film "earth" on April 2nd, at the Muvico Pompano 18. The film, released on Earth Day, April 22nd, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. The movie "earth" combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creatures. The movie was recently released on Blu-Ray(TM) High Def & DVD on September 1st.

The GFLSCI team had an outreach table prior to the screening to give out information about our reforestation programs in Haiti and Ghana and to raise awareness about preserving our precious planet. GFLSCI Members received complimentary advance screening passes to see the movie.

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International would like to thank Moroch Entertainement, Disneynature Films, The Muvico Pompano 18 for giving us the opportunity to participate in this special advance-screening event to raise awareness on saving our planet Earth and Paola Isaac Baraya, GFLSCI Marketing and Public Relations Chair for organizing this outreach event.

From left: Coni Uzelac, Fund Development Chair, Katrina Hruschka, 2008 Youth Ambassador, 
Paola Isaac Baraya, Marketing and PR Chair

Celebrating our Sister City, Sefton, England at The British Chamber of Commerce's Ascot Day Event

The British American Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International organized Ascot Race Day on April 18 at Gulfstream Park.  In the great tradition of Royal Ascot Race day, the focus changes from racing to fashion, as women get the opportunity to wear their most superb hats. Many guests attended wearing extraordinary hats. The day started with a Champagne Reception followed by a luncheon at the Ten Pound Restaurant located inside Gulfstream Park. This event was a great opportunity for Sister Cities members to get together and mingle with British Chamber of Commerce members. A raffle was held which included great prizes such as tours and sporting event tickets. Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International would like to thank Roy Yates, President of The Broward British Chamber of Commerce and the GFLSCI Country Chair for Sefton, England for organizing this wonderful event. Click here to see photos from this event.

GFLSCI Guests attending Ascot Day

Unity School Students Collect $500.00 in Coins to help Save our Planet Earth for GFLSCI "Dollar A Tree" project

During a one-year period, four hundred Unity School students in Delray Beach, from preschool to 8th grade, donated their loose change and raised five hundred dollars which they donated to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities - Cap Haitien, Haiti Sister Cities Program and One Village Planet for our "Dollar a Tree" program.

The "Dollar a Tree" program is a long term reforestation program started in 2004 by the Fort Lauderdale - Cap Haitien, Haiti Sister Cities Program. The funds will allow one tree to be planted in different areas in Haiti for every US dollar donated. The Program has the ambitious goal to reforest Haiti by planting 23 million trees per year.  To find out more about this program and to make a donation, please click here.

The Unity School students were able to raise these funds through a program called "Lessons in Living". The collection was in cooperation with lessons and curriculum concerning deforestation, earth stewardship and being green. Unity School has devoted an entire department for this program with a curriculum to educate, nurture and embrace the students, staff, and families in the vision of love, wisdom and greatness that lies deep within each person. Children are inspired to believe they have their own unique contribution to give and they can be a powerful influence for bringing forth great and needed change in our society and our world. Through this program, Unity School aims to raise global citizens who live in harmony with themselves, others and their world, and who value the importance of serving humanity. The students participating in this program also took part in countless community outreach events and donated solar ovens for Haiti.

Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities would like to extend a very special thanks to all the hard working students of Unity School and their facilitator for the "Lessons in Living" program, Beckie Lloyd-Jones.

 
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