April 2025: The Fountain Hills Sister Cities team is working through numerous challenges presented by the current political conditions with our sister city of Ataco, El Salvador. Ataco and regional leadership uncertainty have strained our otherwise tight bond with this cherished community, but we remain confident that the relationship is on solid ground and that we will do whatever we can to preserve this cherished connection. We also suffered an untimely loss of a key contact with sister city of Dierdorf, Germany. One of the local teachers who had been instrumental in many previous student exchanges unfortunately passed away. This left our team to seek new connections within the town to assure continuity of the relationship. Such are the difficulties of building and maintaining sister city partnerships, but a challenge that our team takes on with vigor and pride. Undaunted by recent setbacks, we continue to pursue a new sister city as we feel this will round out our current capacity to manage these all-important bi-lateral international associations. This is the true work of citizen diplomacy! Want to find out more about what we do? Click here!
May 2025: There was a lively discussion and ongoing debate about Sister Cities joining the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association. The benefits were mostly associated with certain administrative functions of the Board and access to liability insurance for hosted public events, like our interest in this year’s Oktoberfest celebration. Additional discussion centered around an Italian city as a possible fit for our next new sister city partnership. Special guest Steve Baggio is in the process of contacting the Mayor of Bassano del Grappa, which was recently named the most European city. It has 43,000 inhabitants and is a close match to our community in many other ways. Very exciting developments indeed!
June 2025: FHSC takes a much-needed summer recess from a busy second quarter of community and international partnership work.
April 2025: Two important events are coming up in the fall of 2025. The team discussed hosting this year’s Fountain Hills Oktoberfest and selected a sub-committee to plan and execute the event. We also are in the planning stages of a unique 25th anniversary celebration to mark this historic milestone for Fountain Hills Sister Cities. It will honor the great work we do here in the community as well as with our three cherished Sister Cities!
May 2025: We invited all of our members and friends to a special evening celebration with the local German club Treffpunkt to promote international awareness and strengthen cultural bonds. Discussions also intensified on the topic of the 2025 Oktoberfest celebration in Fountain Hills, with work going into actual event planning, tickets sales, vendor selection, and website updates. Want early details about the event? Click here to find out more!
June 2025: Fountain Hills Sister Cities Vice President Elizabeth Matej-Horchem was awarded “Outstanding Pole” by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles. Read the news article about this prestigious accomplishment here!
April 2025: The Fountain Hills Sister Cities Board discussed preparations and contributions to this year’s FH High School Student Exchange to Poland coming up in the summer. Much excitement centered around this year’s trip and we were proud to commit resources to this experience of a lifetime for our lucky high school teachers and parent chaperones.
June 2025: Students from Fountain Hills High School travelled to Poland to visit numerous cultural and historical sites, with the pinnacle stop in Sister City Zamość, Poland.
Jean Linzer, Jackie Miles, Carol Carroll, Gerald and Mary Comeau, Grady Miller, Estelle Mackey, James Wilson, Christine Colley, Chandra Merica, Katarzyna Suchanek, Suzanne Nann, Lillian Acker, Bev Tall, Steve Baggio
Bob & Susan Titus
Bogumil Horchem & Elizabeth Matej-Horchem, Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce
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Fountain Hills Sister Cities organized a unique event sampling wines from regions around Germany and sister city Dierdorf. It was hosted by local German Restaurant Treffpunkt in Scottsdale.
A VIP visitor from Sister City Ataco El Salvador dropped by Fountain Hills on her way to visit family in LA. While here she met up with key members of the Fountain Hills Sister Cities team associated with managing and promoting the Sister City Ataco partnership.
Oktoberfest is back again in Fountain Hills for 2026, and host FH Sister Cities is looking for volunteers and sponsors. You too can help make this year’s celebration of German culture and heritage a “Wunderbar” success!
