Anniversaries and Exploration: 2008 at Fort Worth Sister Cities

It occurred to me as I was packing for Toluca, Mexico yesterday that this is a really big year for us as an organization. Here I am packing for our 10th anniversary celebration with Toluca and in another month, will be sending a delegation to Trier, Germany to celebrate 20 years of sisterhood. It seems like only yesterday we were planning our partnership with Toluca, and I can’t imagine how different Fort Worth Sister Cities must have been when we paired with Trier. Of course change was inevitable because every sister city partnership we have has changed us. They have changed our organization, our city and our members and staff, always for the better. It is humbling to me that many of our members are just as active today as they were in 1985 when we first formed.

Many people are shocked when they discover how busy we are as a non-profit. The truth is that we are growing and expanding as rapidly as the changing world around us. In addition to our city anniversaries, we are currently in the process of searching for our next sister city in China and we are planning our 25th birthday party in 2010.

A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into making us the organization we are today. The support has come from dedicated volunteers, city officials, business officials and our staff. I am very optimistic for our future here, as just this month we recruited over 100 new members.

I’m curious as to what makes all these people who have made this program so successful remain committed. Like many organizations we work to empower kids, we provide humanitarian assistance which makes people feel good and we educate our members about different cultures and people all in an effort to make a more peaceful world.

But why have we been blessed with so many long- term and committed members? What do we provide that is unique?

I think it’s all about the human spirit. We all want to connect, whether it’s with someone down the street or around the world, I think we’ve been able to provide the types of connections that plug people in to their communities, to each other and to the world around them. I hope that we always will create a chance for people to have that experience. It is my wish that the legacy of this organization will be that we have created a worldwide neighborhood.