Springfield Sister Cities Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people of the City of Springfield and people of similar cities in foreign nations acquire a consciousness of each other and to understand one another as individuals, as members of their community, and as part of our global community.

We strive to:

  • Encourage peace through understanding

  • Welcome and embrace unity within diversity

  • Facilitate cultural, economic, technological, and informational exchanges

  • Transform distant locations into person to person relationships

About Tlaquepaque, Mexico

The Sister City relationship between Springfield and Tlaquepaque was established June 27, 2003.

Tlaquepaque is located in the Guadalajara metropolitan area in the State of Jalisco. The city is often referred to as the “Soul of Mexico” and is well known for its quality of clay and its ceramic artists.
See a map here

Present day Tlaquepaque is still rich with local tradition and art. The city attracts many of Jalisco’s more talented artists, and has a reputation for the quality and diversity of its wares. Many colonial summer homes have been converted into shops, which house various crafts and restaurants that serve fine cuisine.

There have been many visits between Springfield and and Springfield. Tlaquepaque, including Sister Cities members and city officials. Other exchanges include Rotary Clubs, high school study tour, initial pairing of Rotary Clubs, youth sport exchanges, and art exhibits from Tlaquepaque, mariachi bands to perform at “ArtsFiesta!”, and university study tours.

About Isesaki, Japan

Isesaki has a population of about 209,000 as compared to Springfield’s 156,000. Isesaki’s population has been increasing each year, and the City is now the fifth largest in the Gunma Prefecture. Isesaki is located at the western edge of the Kanto Plain at the foot of Mount Akagi, northwest of Tokyo.
See map here

Springfield and Isesaki have much in common, including similar industrial bases, balance of harmony between tradition and modernization, and comparable cultural and parks-oriented environments.

Isesaki has assisted in the development of the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden at Nathanael Greene Park. The Azumaya, located in Friendship Park within City Government Plaza, was given by the City of Isesaki.

The Sister City relationship between Springfield and Iseaski was established on July 18, 1986. Both cities work with Sister Cities International. The following activities have taken place:

  • Home-stay programs, which have included more than 100 Springfield families
  • Children’s art and photograph exchanges between the Springfield Public Schools and between the two cities’ art museums
  • Numerous exchanges, including private citizens as well as city officials from both municipalities.
  • Annual exchanges of performance groups for city-wide festivals in both Isesaki and Springfield
  • Springfield has sponsored a program that supplies Isesaki with Assistant Lanuage Teachers.
  • Other exchanges include softball teams and study tours have been ongoing since 1990!

About Sister Cities International

President Dwight D. Eisenhower first proposed the “People to People” program at a White House conference in 1956. His intention was to involve people and organized groups at all levels of our society in personal, citizen diplomacy with the hope that people-to-people relationships, fostered through sister city affiliation, would lesson the chance of furture world conflicts.

The program has now grown to be one of the largest voluteer organizations in the world and involves more than 2,100 cities worldwide in 121 countries.

2010 SSCA Board of Directors

John Price, President
Dianne Elizabeth Osis, Immediate Past-President
Bob Jones, Vice President
Carolyn Gerdes, Secretary
Lois Weston, Treasurer
Cindy Jobe, Coordinator
Brad Bodenhausen
Ric Buchanan
Jane Fast
Araceli Hanks
Mika Logan
Dana Logsdon
Sandra Lowther
Juan Meraz
Russ RuBert
Michael Thomas