Mt. Prospect receives Sister City of the Year Award

The Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission has been awarded the 2011 Illinois Sister Cities of the Year Award. The award was presented on September 16th during the Illinois Municipal League Conference to Mayor Irvana Wilks and members of the Commission by Frank Lateano, President of the Illinois Sister Cities.

President Lateano congratulated the Mount Prospect Sister City organization for "presenting a comprehensive year round schedule of cultural events partnered with its Sister City, Sevres, France". This included a Farmers French Market, a French wine tasting event, a French Trivia night, a community Pot Luck Dinner, a 4th of July float, a French family festival and the first ever intercontinental book discussion between Mount Prospect and Sevres.

In accepting the award, Mayor Wilks urged the Illinois mayors to consider Sister City relationships as a way to promote world understanding and peace, because we are all members of one global community. She also acknowledged the personal and financial commitment, and hard work of those involved with the Sister Cities efforts in Mount Prospect.

The Mission of Sister Cities International is "Promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation - one individual, one community at a time."

Mount Prospect and Sèvres, France officially entered into their Sister City relationship in May of 2000 when a delegation from Sèvres first visited Mount Prospect. Since then, several exchanges have taken place on individual and group levels. Sèvres is a city of 23,000 residents and is a suburb of Paris, located on the Seine River. The town of Sèvres is well known for a porcelain factory (La Manufacture de Céramique) and museum (Le Musée national de Céramique) located there.