Elk Grove signs Friendship Agreement with Pernik, Bulgaria
On Tuesday Nov. 13, the Village of Elk Grove signed an official Friendship Agreement with the City of Pernik in the Republic of Bulgaria. This agreement is intended to encourage the sharing of ideas and exchanges between citizens that will lead to lasting friendships between the two communities.
Prior to the board meeting, members of the Pernik delegation, including Pernik Mayor Vyara Tserovska, sat down for a visit with Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig B. Johnson to discuss the similarities and differences in their experiences in leading these communities.
Bulgarian Consul General Ivan Anchev, who helped facilitate this new partnership, also joined to mark the occasion of this new friendship.
The Pernik delegation continued their visit to the Municipal Complex continued with a tour of Elk Grove Village police and fire stations, and then an official signing ceremony at the village board meeting.
As part of their visit to Elk Grove Village, the Pernik delegation also visited Elk Grove High School to observe classroom instruction and toured the construction site for the new 85-acre Elk Grove Technology Park. The visit concluded with a tour of the ENCLAVE for Entrepreneurs facility on Turner Avenue.
The City of Pernik is the second largest city in Western Bulgaria and has become an industrial and cultural center in the area. Pernik is the administrative center of a district and municipality with two towns and 22 villages with a population of 74,110.
The Village of Elk Grove has become home to a large population of Bulgarian immigrants. Over the years, multiple weekend Bulgarian schools have been established in the area, including Little Bulgarian School, which holds classes at Elk Grove High School.
In creating the Friendship Agreement, both communities hope to sustain a relationship that will last for many generations in efforts to exchange educational, cultural, and economic developments.
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