| Jacksonville City Council to Honor Nancy Olson |
The Jacksonville City Council will consider a resolution on January 26 to honor Nancy Olson, who passed away on September 25, 2009.
Nancy, who gave so much of her time and effort to JSCA, was a long-time city employee and champion of international affairs for the Jacksonville community. The Council resolution recognizes her dedication.
The Council meeting starts at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall. Generally, City Council reads the resolutions early in the meeting before other bills are considered. The meeting is open to the public. |
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WELCOME
NEW MEMBERS!
Elaine Brown
Mike Kuhne
Ellia Pico
Katherine Pogrebriak |
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| EVENT CALENDAR
Masan students January 8 - 21
Return of the Sun
January 24
Student fundraising dinner at JJ's January 25
Soweto Gospel Choir
February 10
Nantes 25th Anniversary Celebration
February 12-14 | |
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Return of the Sun Party set for January 24
 Plan now to attend the Murmansk committee's annual "Return of the Sun" party on Sunday, January 24 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the home of Bill and Julie Buckingham (3019 Grand Ave.; Jacksonville, FL 32210).
The festive event celebrates the sun returning to Russia after approximately two months of winter darkness. Guests will enjoy food, drink and fellowship. For more information, contact Muriel Whelchel at dwhelc3526@gmail.com.
(Also, stay tuned for details coming soon about Murmansk's 35th twinning anniversary celebration.) |
Nantes' 25th anniversary celebration
 The Nantes Committee is finalizing plans for its 25th twinning anniversary with Jacksonville.
Nantes' Mayor Jean-Marc Ayrault and his delegation have been invited to participate in a multi-day celebration from February 11-14, including a driving tour of downtown Jacksonville, a port tour, a visit with Duval County Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, meetings with local French teachers and students, a visit to Kingsley Plantation -- and a February 13 twinning celebration at Fort Caroline.
(Jacksonville actually twinned with Nantes in 1984 but a planned 25th anniversary celebration in 2009 was postponed.)
Stay tuned for more details about this wonderful celebration. |
Support local student exchange programs  Here is another great opportunity to support local students participating in exchange programs with our Sister Cities.
The Duval County Public Schools' Department of World Languages is participating in "Tickets for Charity," a TPC golf tournament planned for October 2010. One hundred percent of ticket sales will support programs for world language students! Joanne Davis plans to sell individual tickets with the goal for proceeds to help fund the student exchanges. Tickets are $25.00 each and include admission for anyone under 18, with five days of return visits and access to an exclusive restaurant.
Separately, another program is aimed at raising money for Duval County Public School students planning to travel this summer to three of our sister cities: Nantes, France; Yingkou, China; and Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
To raise funds, there will be a dinner at JJ's (7643 Gate Parkway, in The Shoppes at Village Walk) on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. The cost is only $35.00 per person. The students will be the waiters and waitresses. JJ's is donating a generous portion of the money to our exchange to France. Wine/food baskets will also be for sale at the fabulous dinner!
For more details about these wonderful programs, please contact Dr. Joanne Davis at phone (904) 390-2510 or email davisj4@duvalschools.org. |
Masan students visiting Jacksonville
 Two groups of students from Masan will soon visit Jacksonville.
Fifteen middle school students and two chaperones will visit from January 8-21, and about 30 college students will visit UNF around the same time.
The middle school students will enjoy a rich immersion into the area, including visits to the Jacksonville Mayor's office, Florida State College, St. Augustine, local malls, Disney World and Kennedy Space Center, and classroom time at Stanton High School, Beauclerc Elementary School, Douglas Anderson High School, Manadarin Elementary School, Rufus Payne Elemetnary School, LaVilla Middle School, Peterson Academy, and James Weldon Middle School. For a complete schedule, visit the Masan page on the JSCA website.
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Ellia Pico Named San Juan Vice President
 Ellia Pico, an employee of CSX Transportation, has been named Vice President of the San Juan Committee -- the first person to serve in this role for JSCA's newest city.
Ellia, a native of Puerto Rico, is very involved with the local Puerto Rican community. She is a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of North Florida, co-chair of the CSX Hispanic Inclusion Group, past member of the Hispanic-American Business Association of North Florida and serves as the CSX representative for the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida.
You may remember Ellia's daughter, Sheylla Millian, who once served as an intern at JSCA.
Congratulations, Ellia -- and a warm welcome to JSCA! |
PE Committee Hosts Africa Night 2009; Announces Leadership Changes
 The Port Elzabeth Committee hosted another successful Africa Night in September at the Clara White Mission.
A special "Thank You" to everyone who made this wonderful annual event possible, as well as to all those who attended.
 In other PE news, the Port Elizabeth Committee has elected Ron Johnson (left) as the committee's new Chairperson. He takes over for Deborah Thompson, whose leadership resulted in outstanding growth in the committee's membership. Great job, Deborah!
At the same time, Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay) has a new mayor, Executive Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile, who replaces the outgoing Nondumiso Maphazi.
We wish both Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile and Ron Johnson all the best as they assume their new roles of leadership. Congratulations! |
PE Committee Seeks Images from 2000
 The Port Elizabeth Committee is seeking photographs and/or video of its original twinning ceremony with Jacksonville in 2000.
The PE Committee is planning its 10th anniversary celebration and would like to use some of the images for the event.
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Ideas for the newsletter?
If you have any comments about the newsletter or would like to see a photo or story in a future edition, please contact Robert Peek at Robert.peek@jaxport.com or phone (904) 357-3047.
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