Marquette - Higashiomi
History of relationship
The August 1978 Shiga Goodwill Mission included eight citizens of Yokaichi tasked to evaluate Marquette as worthy of becoming their first Sister City. Following their stay with Marquette host families, formal & informal welcomes, and a broad variety of individual experiences, it became clear that they wanted to establish long-term personal and cultural understandings and exchanges. In November the Yokaichi City Assembly approved establishing the relationship, Rotary clubs decided to make a sister club agreement, numerous letters (no fax or e-mail) were exchanged between the Rotarian President of the Yokaichi Committee and the Rotarian volunteer director of the Marquette-Yokaichi sister city program. The August 1979 Michigan Goodwill Mission included eight delegates from Marquette (4 Rotarians, 2 Rotary spouses, 2 teenage sisters) who brought with them letters of greetings, art donated by 21 artists, a collection of historical photos, a major slide show, an annual scholarship for a student for Yokaichi to attend Northern Michigan University (NMU), Rotary gifts, and miscellaneous gifts from several local businesses. They stayed with host families. On August 12, 1979 the Rotary sister club agreement was signed by the Rotarian leader & SC Director Pryse Duerfeldt and the Yokaichi Rotary President; on August 13, 1979 the Sister City Agreement was signed by Rotarian & Marquette City Commissioner Bill Wilson and the Mayor of Yokaichi Masajiro Yamada. That these formal signings were national news in Japan, may have been that this was also the 25th Anniversary of the new City of Yokaichi.
View 1979 Rotary Sister Club Agreement
View 1979 Sister City Agreement
In 1980, the Mayor of Yokaichi Yamada led a 17-person delegation (including NMU’s first Sister City Scholar) to Marquette that was soon joined by the Shiga Vice-Governor Maekawa, Michigan Governor Milliken, US Congressman Davis and Michigan & Shiga Sister City Coordinators. All delegates stayed with host families. These first exchanges reinforced the mission as one of long-term personal and cultural understandings.
In August 1983, Chamber of Commerce President and Delegation Leader Paulette Lindberg signed a sister chamber agreement with Yokaichi Chamber Executive Kenji Fukuhara. Following the 2005-06 merger of Yokaichi with 6 neighboring towns to become Higashiomi, a new Sister City Agreement was signed May 23, 2005 with NMU President & Marquette Delegation Leader Les Wong as signatory and a new sister Rotary club agreement was signed November 10, 2008 by Marquette RC President and 1979 delegate Al Raymond. An October 1999 sister school agreement signed by a Marquette School Superintendant and a Principal and then signed in Yokaichi was aborted when the Marquette school was closed.View 1983 Sister Chamber Agreement
View 2005 Sister City Agreement
Delegations, Exchanges, Scholars and Visitors
Formal Sister City delegations have taken place each year with Marquette traveling to Yokaichi on odd numbered years and Yokaichi traveling to Marquette on the even ones. Marquette delegations travel separately from the Michigan delegation to allow 10 days with host families & reduce costs. Marquette area delegates are selected 4-5 months ahead of each trip to allow for 6-7 orientation sessions, transmittal of photos, biographies & interests to Japan 2 months before and host family information to be received a month before each visit. Delegation sizes have ranged from 8 to 22; the target is now 12. Sadly, all exchanges between Michigan and Shiga were cancelled in 2009 due to H1N1 virus concerns.
Several Small Delegations also have traveled to celebrate special events, e.g., Winter Cities, Anniversaries, Rotary Clubs, special awards, etc. There have been numerous informal visitors from one City to the other to stay with friends made during delegation visits. 22 Shiga Exchange Teachers and 16 Shiga Government Officials have made special visits to Marquette, almost all staying with host families. There now have been 29 NMU Sister City Scholars, several of whom have gone on to become NMU graduates, each with an initial host family.
NMU faculty advised in the development of the Japan Center for Michigan Universities. Since its September 1989 opening in Hikone, it has attracted 42 students from NMU. When an Exchange of Art and artists began is difficult to identify. In March 1988, 22 members of the Yokaichi Women’s Chorus presented a major concert in Marquette while enjoying host family stays and snow. Shortly thereafter middle and grade school children began exchanging letters and art work. Our more formal Artist Exchange Program began with the September 2002 12-day stay and month-long, full scale pottery exhibit in Marquette by Taro Kojima of Yokaichi. Near the conclusion of their stay, Taro and his wife, Atsuko, announced that all proceeds of the exhibited art were to begin a visiting artist fund that would allow developing artists from Yokaichi/Higashiomi and Marquette to present and sell their works in their sister city with some proceeds going to the fund.
From August 1978 to September 2009 the total number delegates, visitors, scholars, JCMU students, government officials and host family members who have been directly involved in our sister city program had reached 2,947.
Of Special Mention
The Marquette-Yokaichi/Higashiomi Sister City Program has received numerous recognitions, including at least 3 full presentations in the US Congressional record; recognition as one of 2 top such programs with Japan when the Consul General of Japan was in Chicago covering 7 states; and many individuals have received major local, national or international recognitions for their work with the program.
Note: The monument outside Higashiomi City Hall expresses the philosophy of our agreements and exchanges.
Since its inception, the delegates and host families from "Marquette" have included residents of the nearby townships who work inor are closely identified with the City of Marquette.
City of Marquette Website: http://www.mqtcty.org
City of Higashiomi Website: http://www.city.higashiomi.lg.jp/outside/English/index.html
