The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE signed Sister City agreement in Cat Island is the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship that will foster cultural, educational, tourism and commercial exchanges with Richton Park, Illinois.

Richton Park is a small community located 30 miles from Chicago, where some 13,500 residents live. Cat Island has a population of approximately 1,600 residents.

Cat Island MP, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis and Richton Park Mayor Richard Reinbold attended the recent signing at Fernandez Bay.

Bahamas Honorary Consul to Chicago Michael Fountain and Immerse Bahamas President and CEO Ginger Moxey also attended.

Mayor Reinbold, who signed on behalf of the people of Richton Park, thinks that the Sister City partnership is a genuine opportunity to build a positive, long lasting a relationship with the Cat Island community.

Sister Cities International was created at former US President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1956 White House summit on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned a network that would be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world.

Ginger Moxey, whose company is a destination and project management business which facilitated the initiative, has partnered with Sister Cities International to develop sister city relationships throughout the Bahamas.

After 11 months of planning and discussion, she was very pleased to have witnessed the signing, which is the first under the partnership between Sister Cities International and Immerse Bahamas.