Hollister
– A local woman is traveling to the nation’s capitol this week
to be honored for her nearly two decades of work with the Sister
Cities program.
Hollister – A local woman is traveling to the nation’s capitol this week to be honored for her nearly two decades of work with the Sister Cities program.
Ruth Erickson, a native of England and a Hollister resident since 1978, will make the trip to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to be part of Sister Cities International’s 50th anniversary conference as a Distinguished Volunteer.
Erickson has been part of the Sister Cities program since 1989, when the Hollister City Council began an international friendship with Takino, Japan. She is a founding member and co-president of the local Sister City Association.
The Sister Cities program is aimed at increasing person-to-person contact between people of different countries and cultures, with the ultimate goal being world peace through understanding and friendship.
In 1989 Hollister agreed to be sister city to Takino Town, Japan. Recently, Takino merged with two neighboring Japanese cities and formed Kato City. Last month a delegation from Kato City was in Hollister and the cities reaffirmed their friendship with a ceremony at city hall.
In addition to her work with the Sister Cities program, Erickson has served on the Friends of the San Benito County Free Library board for more than two decades. She also volunteers for student exchange programs, finding host families for foreign students who come to the U.S. to study.
