Sister Cities Association wins international award
The Kettering Sister Cities Association (KSCA) has won the Sister Cities International (SCI) 2017 Best Overall Program Award for a city with a population between 50,001 and 100,000. The award recognizes sister city programs that demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in 2016 in advancing the goals and mission of the sister cities movement.
In 2016, KSCA marked 40 years of continuous student exchanges by sponsoring both adult and student exchanges to their two sister cities, Kettering, England and Steyr, Austria. This was the first time KSCA sent adults and students to their sister cities at the same time. KSCA also held its annual Austrian festival “Spass Nacht,” where volunteers donated homemade baked goods and sold authentic German cuisine to raise funds for student expenses on exchange trips.
“A particular point of pride for the city of Kettering is our award-winning Kettering Sister Cities Program,” said Kettering Mayor Don Patterson. The active support and enthusiasm of KSCA volunteers and youth in strengthening their programs exemplifies the SCI mission to promote peace through the actions of individuals and communities.
SCI’s annual awards are handed out in several categories including Best Overall, Innovation (Arts and Culture, Economic Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and Youth and Education), and Volunteer of the Year. Winners will be honored at the Lou Wozar Diplomatic Awards Dinner on July 15 during SCI’s 61st annual conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia. fund budget is $17.5 million, $2.2 million of which is covered through outside funding.
The Kettering Engineering Department will be very active in 2017 with construction projects throughout Kettering, with major projects taking place on the Stroop Road, Wilmington Pike and Shroyer Road thoroughfares. For the latest updates on road closures and traffic shifts due to construction please visit www.ketteringoh.org and click the Road Construction Updates icon under Key Initiatives & Current Projects on the homepage.
Kettering and the Kettering City Schools are committed to leading the way in addressing the opioid epidemic. Together they created a series of educational videos that share the facts about the widespread and tragic nature of the epidemic, updates on what the city and schools are doing to address the crisis, and advice from experts about what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.
The videos and a directory of resources are available on our website ketteringoh.org/facing-the-epidemic .
City and school leaders are available to visit Kettering business, service club, parent organization or church to give a presentation on this critical topic. Call the city manager’s office at 937-296-2412 to schedule a presentation.
Having a block party is a terrific way to meet or get acquainted with your neighbors, build a sense of neighborhood pride, and celebrate holidays. Kettering does allow block parties on selected residential streets. For more information on planning a block party in your neighborhood please visit www.ketteringoh.org.