Hays CVB
Hays has won the Sister Cities International 2018 Award for Best Overall Program for a city with a population of 10,000-25,000.
The awards competition, which is open to over 500 sister city programs nationwide, recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding individuals and community sister city programs that are promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation.
In 2017, the Hays Sister City Committee welcomed residents from both its Sister Cities — Santa María de Fe, Misiones, Paraguay and Xinzheng, China — for Hays’ sesquicentennial celebration. A four-person delegation from Paraguay came to celebrate the occasion and the newly rekindled Sister Cities partnership. The committee worked with Fort Hays State University to include visiting students and faculty from Xinzheng, China in the festivities.
The impact of the visits was widely visible in the Hays community, as the city officially introduced guests at many events including a formal celebration and community barbecue.
The visit sparked many conversations with locals. Some conversations were light-hearted, and included teaching the rules of baseball at a local game, chatting about American cars at the car show, or small talk while browsing local vendors at the market and sidewalk sale.
However, there was also much more serious interaction, as people discovered common challenges between the sister cities: fostering business, stimulating growth, and retaining young people in the community after schooling.
“We all stand to learn from these superstar Sister City programs as they impact their communities across a broad range of sectors that include business entrepreneurship, youth leadership, and arts and culture,” said Roger-Mark De Souza, Sister Cities International’s President & CEO.
“These individuals and local organizations inspire us to be better citizens as their work exemplifies President Eisenhower’s vision of engaged international citizen diplomats. They create beneficial connections and lasting relationships which will help their communities today and for years to come.”
Sister Cities International Annual Awards recognize excellence in overall programming and highlight key innovations in arts and culture; business and trade; humanitarian assistance; youth and education; and professional and technical exchange categories. Award winners will be recognized during SCI’s 2018 Annual Conference Aug. 2-4 in Aurora, Colorado.
The conference will bring together hundreds of the most influential citizen diplomats and global leaders in diplomacy, foreign affairs, policy, business, and innovation to discuss, share examples, and network. This year’s theme, “Cities Leading the Way,” will focus on smart and resilient cities, leadership development, and entrepreneurship as key building blocks of President Eisenhower’s vision of creating a more peaceful world through citizen engagement and international cooperation between cities.
Founded as a Presidential Initiative by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International serves as the national membership organization for 500 member communities with over 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries on six continents. The sister city network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers who work tirelessly to promote the organizations’ mission of creating world peace and understanding through programs and projects focusing on arts and culture, youth and education, business and trade, and community development.
The Hays Sister Cities Committee members are Olga Detrixhe, Melissa Dixon, Ann Leiker, Dawne Leiker, Heather Musil, Brandon Nimz, Mehran Shahidi, Brittney Squire, and Corrie Zimmerman. Past committee members that played an important part in 2017 events include Max Maximov, Carol Solko-Olliff, and Helen Ang Robson.
The Hays Sister Cities Committee currently has two open seats available. Interested applicants can submit an application at www.visithays.com/FormCenter/Committee-Application-4/Volunteer-for-a-Committee-35.
For more information about the Hays Sister Cities Committee, contact the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau at 785-628-8202.