Mayor Takahashi far left, Town Manager John Musante middle right, Austin Sarat far right Jones Trustee President
Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry likes to think of a public library as "the town's living room."
Tonight the Jones downstairs Woodbury Room transformed into just such a comfortable gathering place, as the Library hosted a gala reception to honor visiting dignitaries from our sister city, Kanegasaki, Japan.
Amherst College Dining Services catered the event (yes, apple pie for desert)
Select Board and Amherst School Committee members, Jones Library Trustees, and Town Manager John Musante represented the town, and our Japanese friends included Mayor Yoshiichi Takahashi, Akira Nitta, Superintendent of Schools and Kazumi Chiba, Vice Chair of their Town Assembly
On Monday the Amherst Select Board and Town Manager signed a renewal of the 20 year old Sister City Friendship Agreement.
A friendship that will only grow stronger over the next 20 years.
Flag of Japan flies on Amherst Town Hall turret
6 comments:
I can't wait for Dr. Ed to sink his teeth into this seemingly innocuous story.
Unleash the crazies. Walter, don't get left out.
Methinks thou doth protest too much.
I hope this wasn't funded with taxpayer money. Remember we can't afford to fix the roads in amherst.
Nope. No tax dollars. The only tax money is employee pay and capital projects.
Serious question, what is the point of this relationship? Are there any actual programs that come out of it, or is it just a chance for leadership to travel overseas to the occasional gala. I understand promoting international friendship at the national level, stimulates commerce etc, but again, in all seriousness, what does this do for Amherst?
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