Staying in touch

Two years of the Covid-19 Pandemic have made normal sister cities exchanges and celebrations between Lawrence, Kansas, USA and Hiratsuka, Japan impossible. On Sunday evening, April 24, (actually Monday morning in Japan), a Zoom meeting was held between Lawrence Sister Cities “Friends of Hiratsuka” committee members and our contacts in Hiratsuka. The purpose of the ZOOM meeting was to discuss and plan for the 30th Hiratsuka/Lawrence ZOOM celebration, which has been postponed since 2020. Additional discussion focused on 2022 and 2023 student exchange trips.

Participants were (left to right): James Hilliard, FOH chair; Hiratsuka City Youth Section Leaders and members of HIEA (Hiratsuka International Exchange Association); Friends of Lawrence officers; Bob and Patsy Moody, Aikko Takeyma (Director of KU East Asian Studies), and Carol Shankel (not pictured), all members of the FOH committee in Sister Cities Lawrence.