President's Corner

Harold Pereverseff – President LTS
Awarded Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal
(October 12, 2012) by the late, Lethbridge
MP Jim Hillyer
(I am keeping this picture posted in honor
of Mr. Hillyer, a tremendous supporter
of the LTS)

January 01, 2023

Happy New Year Friends and Members,

Trusting that 2023 finds you all doing well and ready for what again, appears to be another challenging year amidst uncertainty in world politics, soaring inflation along with an upcoming Provincial election.

The Lethbridge Twinning Society has basically been in “hibernation” since February of 2020, this immediately following our traditional New Year get together. I remember our get together at CASA well. Gary and Kathy Stauffer had just returned from Hawaii and we were just preparing to head there for our vacation….one which eventually did not end well after our airline (due to Covid-19) cancelled our return flight and we were literally stranded in Oahu! Only by the grace of God, did we make it home safe and sound. Then in mandatory quarantine followed by all the uncertainty and restrictions we all lived with for the following years.

What is the current “status” of the Lethbridge Twinning Society? Well, we exist, at least on Alberta Government Registry. Our volunteer organization, like very many others, has definitely suffered set back to our momentum. Not only did Covid-19 curtail any of our usual activities with international relations, but the Russia/Ukraine conflict affected us directly. Numerous telephone calls, letters and e-mails were received, not only by the Lethbridge Twinning Society, but by our Lethbridge City Mayor, our MLA’s and our MP demanding that our relationship with Timashevsk, Russia be severed. We did follow Sister Cities International protocol in this regard (see information attached) and we have not severed our relations. A subsequent meeting with Mayor Blaine Hyggen gained his understanding and support of our decision.

Further, we were aggrieved by the passing of several of our long time members (Mako Tani and Glen Sigglekow) and these losses directly on the heels of the passing of Pastor George Takashima, his wife Peggy Takashima and Masie Jacobson. Subsequently, our computer support and resource person, Karl Marten and his wife Charlotte moved away from Lethbridge. Now, our Director for Culver City Relations, Michael Bennett has strong ties with the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and he is spending long periods of time there which obviously affects his connections to us here in Lethbridge.

All this to say, we are obviously at a cross roads. To continue as a vibrant society we need to rebuild, organize and attract new members. Like any organization, we need to raise funds to meet our basic operational costs as our current resources are minimal, since we have only received a few membership dues in 2020, none in 2021 or 2022!

Recently, our long time friends at our Sister City, Culver City, California have informed us that they are planning a delegation visit to Lethbridge in July, 2023. Nothing is firmly established at this point in time, other than they plan on visiting Banff, Calgary (possibly for the Stampede) and then filter down to Lethbridge. We need to know if we have the Society support base to provide homestay accommodation and our usual hosting courtesies to accommodate their visit. (They have a high interest from individuals wishing to join their delegation visit).

We definitely need to know if we are able to sustain a visit from the Culver City delegation and to advise them as soon as possible in this regard.

Best,

Harold Pereverseff
President
Lethbridge Twinning Society

Citizen Diplomacy and the Importance of Maintaining Sister City Relationships

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." [Margaret Mead (1901-1978)]