SCI Annual Awards - 1999 Little Rock

...

Oak Ridge was represented by Mayor and Delores Kuhaida, Marese and Ed Nephew, Nina Petrov and (not pictured) Ken Luckmann	from the *1999 Annual Awards Program*	The group on the podium prior to the awards presentations. Mayor Kuhaida received the awards on behalf of the City of Oak Ridge.
SCI Board of Directors Chairman James Amato presents Mayor Kuhaida with the "Best Collaboration" award. Congratulations Oak Ridge!	Nina Petrov and Ken Luckmann with the award for "Best Web Site".	John Strevens (National President of Sister Cities New Zealand) and Ed Nephew share information at the President's Gala.

Best Collaboration Population: Under 100,000
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Obninsk, Russia

Oak Ridge and Obninsk partnered their respective Chambers of Commerce through the U.S.-NIS Municipal and Community Problem-Solving Program, a grant funded by the United States Information Agency (USIA). A relationship has been built on mutual trust and vision that promotes cooperation and sharing of resources.

The goals of the program are to provide direction for local government relations, economic/community, retail and small business development, Chamber membership enhancement, and other special projects pertinent to Obninsk (e.g.: technology transfer, business training, protecting business interests, commercial arbitration and legal advice, high quality information services, publications and databases).

In addition, the Chambers are building a strong community of volunteer leadership and establishing a mutually beneficial network in the intentional market through the World Wide Web. Plans for the future include a media exchange project, and humanitarian aid efforts, focusing on the Obninsk "Charity" Orphanage and the Obninsk Rehabilitation Center.
.

Special Achievement - Best Web Site
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Obninsk, Russia — Naka-Machi, Japan

In 1997, the Oak Ridge Tennessee Sister City Support Organization (ORTSCSO) began a web project to provide a record of sister city activities, to increase local knowledge about sister city activities, and to encourage its sister cities to utilize the Web for increasing community understanding of their cities and cultures. The web page, designed by volunteers, has select pages in English, Russian, and Japanese, the languages of all three sister cities. Also available on the web site is up-to-date information on ORTSCSO programs, along with photos of current activities and exchanges. In the future, ORTSCSO hopes to increase the number of native language pages, to assist Obninsk with public access to the World Wide Web, and to encourage sister city programs to establish web sites. Visit the ORTSCSO web site at <http://www.korrnet.org/ortnscso>.
.