Dear Friends, 

As Omaha's newly elected mayor, it has been a great pleasure to participate in the activities of the Omaha Sister Cities Association!  I have already had the opportunity to meet with high school students from Braunschweig, Germany and Shizuoka, Japan and I hosted a group of Shizuoka University students in the mayor's office.  In addition, I met with a delegation from Yantai, China and am committed to furthering the twinning process to add Yantai as Omaha's sixth sister city.

Our sister city relationships are very valuable to our community.  Not only do we have the opportunity to pursue relationships with businesses in cities around the world, but we have the chance to facilitate educational exchanges for our students.  These exchanges enable our youth to learn about a culture they may not otherwise experience.

My goal is to help grow the Omaha Sister Cities Association and continue to pursue the mutual benefits of our sister city relationships.  We have a lot to learn from each other about culture, education, business, and history.  These relationships strengthen our city and enable us to share a small piece of Omaha with cities around the world. I look forward to working with the Omaha Sister Cities Board of Directors, the Coordinating Council and the many volunteers to continue these strong and fruitful relationships.

The Omaha SisterCities Association plays an important role in our community, and I thank each of you for your efforts in the coming year to make our organization strong.  We have many opportunities for success in 2010 and I look forward to working with all of you.

Kind regards,

Jim Suttle, Mayor

City of Omaha, Nebraska