MARQUETTE, Mich. (WBUP\/WJMN) \u2014 The Marquette Area Sister Cities Partnership (MASCP) hosted a welcome reception for the Higashiomi delegation at Northern Michigan University on Tuesday, July 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The delegation consists of seven members from Higashiomi, which is located in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan. Marquette and Higashiomi have been in a Sister City friendship since 1979, as part of the Michigan-Shiga Sister State Program<\/a>. Each member stays with a volunteer host family in the Marquette area and engages in various cultural and social opportunities planned by members of the MASCP.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very grateful to all of you and the involvement of our entire community here, which helps strengthen our sister city relations. Because of your support, we have been able to create quality and unique experiences for our delegates and collaborate and celebrate these 47 years of special friendship between our two cities,\u201d said Maureen Jensen, MASCP board chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n The delegation was also presented with a certificate of recognition from the Northern Michigan Office of the Governor, acknowledging the friendship and cross-cultural connection fostered between the sister city programs. Friendship agreements between the Higashiomi City Society of Commerce and Industry, the Yokaichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Lake Superior Community Partnership were also signed in Japan last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n