Sign Honoring San Bernardino Sister Cities Dedicated

San Bernardino residents can now visit a sign in front of City Hall that honors the past, present and the future of San Bernardino’s Sister Cities. Members of the Sister City Selection Program, friends, family, project contractors and City and State leaders joined Wednesday morning, Aug. 14 to dedicate the sign honoring the San Bernardino Sister Cities program sustained for 54 years. The event also honored longtime program supporters Thelma Press and her late husband, Louis Press, for their involvement with and efforts to grow the program during these years. Jeanette Avila is the treasurer for the program and has been directly involved with the Sister Cities program for about 30 years. In 1980, as an incoming senior in high school, Avila visited San Bernardino’s sister city Tachikawa, Japan, for four weeks as part of the program. Since her experience abroad, she has committed herself to the organization that brings the opportunity for overseas study to other incoming high school seniors in the area. Program Coordinator Judy Maculsay, a lifelong San Bernardino resident, said, “In 1976 San Bernardino was named the All American City based on our Sister Cities Program. This [program] helps build our city.” “It was really important to the organization, considering what has been going on in the city over the last year,” said Avila, referencing the city’s bankruptcy last July, “that the city and our program had a wonderful day. A lot of times you hear about the negative stuff happening, but this was really positive, and hopefully everyone who attended felt that.” The sign came to fruition after three years of dreaming and two years of fundraising, said Avila. Maculsay and Avila each year take program students to downtown Los Angeles, where they visit the Los Angeles City Hall. Visible from the building’s top is the Los Angeles Sister Cities Post. “About three years ago we saw that and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely to have something like that in our city?’” said Avila. “We wanted to make sure we had all the funds secured before we started working on the sign, so two years ago we started fundraising.” Set in concrete with decorative tile work, the sign project was headed by Avila’s husband Michael, a general contractor by trade, who volunteered his time on the weekends to erect the sign. Other project donors included the San Bernardino Downtown Business Association, the Jim and Judy Watson Foundation, Timothy and Loretta Martin and the San Bernardino Clergy Association. It was funded completely by community donations, said Avila, an important aspect to the Sister Cities program. Community organizations that contributed to the project included Clean Cutter Tiller Blades, Brennan Electric, CTS Contracting, Monumental Bronze & Granite, Express Printing & Graphics and the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce. The post honors the program and its efforts to highlight cultural education and experiences reciprocally between San Bernardino students and others around the world since it was established in 1959.