On Saturday May 7th, 2016 new officers of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter for the 2016-2017 year were elected. Anthony Al-Jamie, who had previously served as First Vice-President, was appointed President, with Tom Hersant as Vice-President, David Bracey as Secretary and Don Goertz continuing as Treasurer. The 2015-2016 positions of President and Secretary had been held by Gil Garcia and Marti Correa de Garcia respectively.

The combined quarterly regional meeting and annual board meeting of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter was held at the Anaheim Convention Center from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm with special guest speakers including Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem Lucille Kring, Anaheim Sister City Commissioners John Nguyen and Mark Lopez, Los Angeles Nagoya Sister Cities Affiliation Member and Former Chair Peter Langenberg and past Chairperson of the National U.S. Hong Kong Business Association Dennis Lee. Attendees included members of sister city organizations in Southern California from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, as well as board members of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter.

Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter promotes peace and intercultural understanding through people-to-people diplomacy and sister city relationships with cities around the world. Southern California is the largest chapter of Sister Cities International (SCI) with 38 cities in Southern California that partner with 144 cities in 47 countries.

Sister Cities International was founded on September 11th, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and every U.S. President since then including the current U.S. President, Barack Obama, has been the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities International. SCI unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers in 570 member communities with over 2,300 partnerships in 150 countries on six continents.

Anthony Al-Jamie is an interculturally-minded journalist, publisher and educational entrepreneur, who lived and worked in Japan for some 20 years. His Japanese language skills and in-depth understanding of the Japanese culture, combined with his passion for intercultural relations and education paved the way for his success in Asia. During his two decades in Japan, he successfully established a chain of English language schools, with schools located throughout Saitama and Tokyo prefectures. Through these schools, he ran an English language program for members of the Advanced and Basic Officers Courses at the Japan Self Defense Force Training Grounds in Asaka, Saitama for over a decade. Anthony served as an International Advisory Council Member to the Governor of Saitama, Japan and was the only non-Japanese Member of the Wako-shi Rotary Club. During the mid-1990s, he played an instrumental part in pioneering online education through his role in the development of Anaheim University, an accredited online institution of higher learning with students residing in 35 countries around the world. In addition to his work in higher education, he is the Executive Editor and Publisher of the Asia Journals and their flagship publication the Tokyo Journal, Japan’s leading English lifestyles and culture magazine. Anthony Al-Jamie is extremely active in sister cities organizations and in addition to his role as President of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter, he is an Anaheim Sister City Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles-Nagoya Sister Cities Affiliation. He had previously served Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter as First Vice-President from 2015-2016 and as Second Vice-President from 2014-2015.

Tom Hersant had previously served Sister Cities International as Membership Chair and is a founding director and the current president of the Carlsbad Sister City Ambassadors (CSCA) of Carlsbad, CA. Carlsbad has two sister cities: Futtsu, Japan and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Tom spent his career as a public administrator with the State of California as Regional Manager for Child Care Licensing for San Diego and Imperial counties and a similar position of residential care facilities for dependent adults and children, and the State Personnel Board. He is a KPBS reader and recorder of books; and actor with several local theater groups including the CSCA plays at Schulman.

Don Goertz, a graduate of Kansas State University (Architecture & Engineering), is a member of AIA (American Institute of Architects) and CSI (Construction Specifications Institute) as well as a retired Navy Captain. Involved with Sister City Programs since 1975, he is Past President of the U.S./Mexico Sister City Association, Past President and member of the San Diego International Affairs Board, Vice President of the U.S./Mexico International Board and member of the San Diego/Leon, El Cajon, Azusa, Downey, San Diego de Alcala and Santa Barbara Sister City Committees. Outside of sister cities organizations, he is a volunteer at Vietnam Veterans of San Diego and Volunteers of America.

A former resident of Tokyo and Saitama, Japan for nearly two decades, David Bracey works as an administrator for Anaheim University in Anaheim, California. Prior to moving to Southern California, David directed the Career Management Center at the Anaheim University Akio Morita Learning Center in Tokyo, Japan. A member of the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation, David Bracey brings his knowledge and experience in Japan and other Asian countries to the Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter. David has worked and traveled throughout Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past 20 years.

The event was supported by the Anaheim Sister City Commission, Visit Anaheim, the Anaheim Convention Center and Aramark.