History

The City of Tyler joined Sister Cities International in 1982 in order to offer a global vision for East Texas and the Tyler community. Since that time, Tyler has “twinned” with six sister cities, located in France, Japan, Poland, Chile, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

“Tyler Sister Cities happened,” recalls former president of The University of Texas at Tyler George Hamm, “because of a providential tour of French universities in 1982.”

One of 20 American university presidents visiting educational facilities on an International Sister Cities Board grant, Hamm learned of Metz, France’s interest in Sister Cities partnerships. From tours of the city and its educational institutions; Hamm envisioned a potential relationship. Metz wanted to partner as a sister city, and Hamm thought Tyler might be ready for such an opportunity!

The awareness of Sister City benefits grew. Attending an International Sister Cities meeting in Florida, Hamm and wife, Janie, were joined by Tyler Mayor Norman Shtofman and Charles and Ann Primer, also enthusiastic about building international community partnerships. Other incorporators and directors included Dr. Hamm, Carol Sinclair, J.R. Borgerding, Tyler City Manager Gary Gwyn.

Tyler Sister Cities was legally incorporated on March 21, 1983.

The group’s visit to the Tyler City Council and the Tyler Chamber of Commerce, seeking endorsement of a Tyler Sister City program, brought results. While few in Tyler had ever heard of the sister city concept, “there were some really enthusiastic people who agreed to move forward,” Hamm added.

Shtofman served as the first General Chairman from the date of incorporation through July 1984. During his tenure as Chairman, the Tyler Sister Cities board of directors governed nine committees: Business and Industry, chaired by J.R. Borgerding; Medical and Health, chaired by Trinity Mother Frances President and Chief Administration Officer Lindsey Bradley; Public relations, chaired by Tyler Morning Telegraph and Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph publisher Calvin Clyde, Jr.; Fund Raising, chaired by Martha “Rusty” Fletcher; Municipal Affairs, chaired by Gary Gwyn; Education, chaired by Dr. George Hamm; Hospitality, chaired by Ann Primer; Professional and technical, chaired by Carroll Sinclair; and Community Activities, chaired by Gulf State Lumber company owner Sam Wolf. UT Tyler Development Board chairman Ralph Spence served as Executive Committee Member at large and Tyler Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Hardy served as Chamber of Commerce representative.

Metz, France, the first sister city

The initial twinning with Metz, France took place in May 1982, with the twinning in Tyler happening in April 1984. The association launched outreach in travel/study opportunities for Tyler residents, city government, and student/faculty exchange programs.  

Interest in building closer ties between the two cities grew as Metz Sister Cities members traveled to Tyler in April 1984. Tyler hosts offered “Texas samplings of food, culture and hospitality.”

During the Tyler twinning in 1984, French flags flew at Tyler businesses, entertainment for Metz guests included square dancing, country western bands and a Rambling Roses square dance show.

Through a radio contest to “send your favorite teacher to France,” Anne LaCroix, Earth science teacher at Hogg Middle School, won the trip, and as a result of a continental dinner at La Serre restaurant in Tyler raised $3,000 for scholarships to bring Metz students to Tyler, the sisterly city ties expanded.

Efforts to showcase the Metz furniture, crystal, ceramics, sculpture, painting and embroidery industries through a Sister City economic trade fair in Tyler in late March of 1984 proved to be less than profitable, however, because of the oil industry slump. Added woe was Metz’ large population disparity to Tyler’s 80 thousand citizenry.

Tyler Sister City efforts earned three International Sister Cities awards: Best Overall Program, Best Single Youth Project, and Best 1st Year Program, presented June 28, 1984 at the 24th Annual Sister Cities Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Tyler Police Chief Larry Robinson traveled to Metz for study of French police methods of computerized suspect descriptions. Three Metz students spent a month in Tyler in 1985, hosted by the James Borgerding and John Short families. Metz/Tyler relationships celebrated their fifth anniversary with a Tyler student travel/study trip to Metz. In 1986, two Metz students held an internship with undergraduate training at Trane and UT Tyler’s department of technology. Don Garrison, assistant professor of Industrial Education at UT Tyler, coordinated the program.

Developing the organization

The second TSC board served from July 16, 1984 through October 1985. Tyler Mayor Charles Halstead served as General Chairman with Gary Gwyn as vice-chairman. New committees included Membership, Special Projects, and Community Affairs. The position of “liaison” (otherwise unspecified) was added to the board. Evelyn Muntz served as the first elected secretary-treasurer. Four inaugural board members transitioned to the newly established Advisory Board, including Calvin Clyde Jr, George Hamm, Ann Primer, and Carol Sinclair. Real estate agent Ben Fitzgerald served as the fifth Advisory Board member.

The third TSC board served from October 24, 1985 through September 1, 1987 under the leadership of Ann Primer (General Chairman) and Gary Gwyn (vice-chairman). No new committees were added. The new Advisory Board consisted of Calvin Clyde Jr, Jean Marie Fey, Ben Fitzgerald, Charles Halstead, George Hamm, and Carroll Sinclair.

The fourth TSC board was elected in August 1987, serving September 1, 1987-June 1989. Tyler philanthropist and educator Margaret Loftis was elected President, a title designated by the modified TSC by-laws to replace “General Chairman”. Mrs. Loftis joined the organization as Community Affairs Chairman in 1984. Gary Gwyn served as vice-president. The Board of Directors eliminated positions of executive committee representative and liaison. A new position, Chairman of the International Executive Board (George Hamm), was added. The fourth Advisory Board included Calvin Clyde, Jr, Charles Halsted, J.R. Montgomery, Ann Primer, and Norman Shtofman.

During Mrs. Loftis’ tenure as president, Tyler Sister Cities moved to a new office in the Olde English Village at 3502 F. South Broadway. Membership fees were $5 for students, $10 for individual members, $15 for families, $100 for patrons, and $1000 for sponsors. During her first year in office, TSC reported 79 paid memberships, 29 board members, and 12 active committees.

Tyler Sister Cities partnered with Sister Cities International and the University of Texas at Tyler to establish the Eisenhower International Golf Classic in 1987, a fundraising event which provided scholarships for international students pursuing higher education in U.S. Sister Cities. Through 1999, the EIGC had a series of notable players over the years, including: Chi Chi Rodriguez, Jim Thorpe, Troy Aikman, Cindy Rarick, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, and Annika Sorenstam.

In 1988-1989, Margaret Loftis chaired the executive board for the inaugural Sister Cities Young Artist Competition, titled “Expressions of Peace.” Tyler Sister Cities was responsible for collecting all applications for the showcase, establishing judging criteria, planning and coordinating the local competition and national exhibition, and delivering winning entries to the 1989 Sister Cities International Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon. The event showcased the work of student artists from around the globe in conjunction with the 1989 Eisenhower International Golf Classic. Later renamed the Young Artists Showcase, the competition continued as a hallmark event of the Eisenhower IGC through 1999. Sister Cities International celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Young Artists Showcase in 2013.

Connecting with Mexico and Japan

Encouraging corporate partnerships with Sister City in 1987, Mayor J. R. Montgomery helped develop membership levels resulting in a $10,000 grant from Sister Cities International to Tyler Sister Cities that allowed six Mexican orphans to enroll at Tyler Junior College, paving the way to establishing a future sister city in Mexico.

A meeting at Tyler City Hall on May 29, 1991, brought discussion about official Sister City twinning ceremonies and the possible hiring of instructors from Tyler who would teach English for a one year term in Yachiyo schools. Yachiyo mayor Hideo Tomioka, commented: “Tyler is a lively, bright town.”

And in early May 1992, Yachiyo City, Japan formalized their interest in Sister City ties to Tyler, prompting twinning events in both cities. 

A young city emerging in 1967, Yachiyo City, located 18 miles east of Tokyo has an impressive wholesale/retail base, as well as an extensive Rose Garden, which naturally brought the two cities together.

Tyler Sister Cities grew

In December 1996, Metz ended its Sister City relationship with Tyler in order to pursue partnerships with larger cities.

Since then, Tyler has twinned with four additional sister cities. These include Jelenia Góra, Poland; Lo Barnechea, Chile; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and Liberia, Costa Rica.

The Tyler Sister Cities Rose Garden, located in front of Tyler City Hall, was dedicated on October 16, 2008. The rose garden features benches for each of our partner cities.

The Tyler Sister Cities organization unveiled its first Peace Pole at the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden on May 23, 2018. The pole has directional signs pointing to our sister cities around the world, as well as an accompanying sign that explains the project.