Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Olympia Celebrates Five Years with Sister Marina

By Karen Robes Meeks

Port of Olympia’s Swantown Marina & Boatworks and Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor Hyogo, Prefecture, Japan, recently commemorated the fifth anniversary of their “Sister Marina” relationship, a bond created in 2013 to celebrate the 50th milestone of Hyogo, Prefecture, Japan and Washington being sister states.

Port Commissioner Bill McGregor and staff were joined by Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor President Shoji Sakai and Chief Manager Toshihiro Kuroki to mark the occasion. A tour of the marina and a lunch preceded a signing ceremony at the Capitol to commemorate the 55th Sister State anniversary.

“We are reaffirming our agreement to exchange information on the development of our marina services and operations, and share knowledge and activities on environmental stewardship, and at the heart of this agreement is our cultural exchange to promote mutual understanding and further relations between the citizens of Japan and the United States,” McGregor said.