$20,000 donation to help firefighters in Puerto Vallarta

On November 9, 2019 the Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter held its quarterly meeting hosted by Santa Barbara Sister Cities on at the Santa Barbara Library. Special thanks to Morgan Stanley, Berry Man, Inc. and the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Association for their sponsorship. It was very motivational to see the International Firefighters Training Association make a $20,000 donation to the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Association. IFTA Founder Bret Russel kindly presented a check to Marti Correa de Garcia, Chair of SBPVA, at the event to be used for repairs of fire department and fire fighter training.

The following presentations were made:

CALL TO ORDER
Anthony Al Jamie, SCI SoCal President

WELCOME/INTRODUCTIONS
Pat Fallin, Santa Barbara Sister Cities Chair

CITY COUNCIL WELCOME
Oscar Gutierrez, Council Member

SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Helene Schneider, SCI Board of Directors

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Fundraising
Geoff Green, CEO SBCC Foundation

PANEL PRESENTATION
Grants/Grant Writing – Helene Schneider, SCI Board of Directors
Youth Programs – Victoria Schwartz, La Canada/Flintridge Sister Cities Chair
Connections – Gil Garcia, SCI SoCal Board of Governors
Capacity Building – Nia Lyte, SCI SoCal Board of Governors
Moderator – Geoff Green

DISCUSSION GROUPS

    • Welcome from SCI SoCal President Anthony Al-Jamie
    • Bret Russell, founder of the International Firefighters Training Association (IFTA). presents a $20,000 donation to the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister City Association Chair, Marti Correa de Garcia
    • Bret Russell, founder of the International Firefighters Training Association (IFTA). presents a $20,000 donation to the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister City Association Chair, Marti Correa de Garcia
    • Sister Cities International California State Representative / Santa Barbara Sister Cities Chair Pat Fallin
    • Santa Barbara Councilmember Oscar Guitterez speaking on his recent trip to Santa Barbara’s recent trip to Weihai, China
    • Helene Schneider, SCI Board Member & Former Mayor of Santa Barbara, providing an update on Sister Cities International’s recent activities
    • Santa Barbara Community College Foundation President Geoff Green speaks on Fundraising
    • Panel Presentation on Youth Programs, Grants/Grant Writing, Connections, and Capacity Building
    • Victoria Schwartz, LaCanada/Flintridge Sister Cities speaking on Youth Programs
    • Helene Scheider, SCI Board of Directors and former Santa Barbara Mayor, speaking on Grants / Grant Writing
    • SCI SoCal Board of Governors Gil Garcia speaking on the importance of Connections
    • Nia Lyte, SCI SoCal Board of Directors, speaking on Capacity Building
    • Capacity Building roundtable discussion
    • Capacity Building roundtable discussion
    • Youth Programs roundtable discussion
    • Youth Programs roundtable discussion
    • Connections roundtable discussion
    • Grants / Grant writing roundtable discussion
    • SoCal Sister Cities President Anthony Al-Jamie (right), thanks Bret Russell, founder of the International Firefighters Training Association (IFTA) for IFTA’s $20,000 donation to the Santa Barbara – Puerto Vallarta Sister City Association