April 2026: FH Sister Cities Board members were treated to a special gift; a dark chocolate bar from local artisan Chocofin branded with the FHSC logo. Discussions continued regarding the addition of a 4th Sister City, Bassano Del Grappa in Northern Italy. Diplomatic efforts with Bassano officials were halted due to a tragedy in the area resulting from a deadly landslide. Board Member James Wilson gave a presentation about Sister Cities to the local Morningstar Assisted Living center as part of their Life-Long-Learning program. Board vacancies remain for the Social Media Director and Membership Chair. If you or a friend would like to share in our purpose-driven international experience, visit our Volunteer page today and come join us! We are always in need of like-minded thinkers and do-ers.
May 2026: FH Sister Cities donated $500 to the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy as thanks for continued collaboration and resource sharing. Working closely with local civic groups like the FH Leadership Academy expands awareness of the Sister Cities program and the good we bring to the community and our international partners.
May 2026: FH Sister Cities Chairperson for Ataco El Salvador, Byron Roman travelled there to meet with local officials and charities to participate in humanitarian relief efforts that started back in 2024. He handed out 280 prepackaged sustenance food packages to needy townsfolks impacted by flooding. $8000 was collected as part of our “Meals for Elders” fund-raising campaign in 2024-2025 and was now finally being put to work. The effort in Ataco is far from over, poverty remains, and dependency on coffee harvests remains a delicate balancing act with mother nature. You can do your part by seeking out coffee grown in El Salvador from your local sources. We make it easy for you to help, click on the “City Links” tab on our Ataco webpage to find coffee sourced from local plantations. One of our greatest joys as FHSC is to help (where we can) our Sister City partners who find themselves in times of need.
April 2026: FHSC members attended the Annual Polish Festival in north Phoenix. FH Sister Cities President Christine Colley hosted a German Connections event at the local German eatery and hang-out Treffpunkt in Scottsdale. Our purpose is always to bring people of the world together in every way possible!
June 2026: A planning subcommittee was formed to develop and organize the details of this Fall’s Oktoberfest Celebration in Fountain Hills. A select group of FH Sister Cities and friends were invited to the unveiling of the FH Sister Cities 25th Anniversary Monument and WayFinder art piece being developed by Cave Creek Artist Mark Carroll. The monument and the gallery tour were spectacular and so too was the lunch afterwards. For more on this story click here.
April 2026: Student Exchange Chair Luke Salzman and Co-Chair Chris Peterson revealed that students from Dierdorf would not likely be visiting Fountain Hills in the Fall. Concerns from students, parents, and educators regarding perceived and real border-crossing policies getting into the US stalled the planning process. This unfortunate turn of events means German students may not be back in our fair town for a while. We share more than 25 years of successful student exchanges with Dierdorf’s Martin Butzer High School and we will work in every way we can to see that this rich tradition continues. On a bright note, bi-lateral student exchanges with Poland still remain active and our FH students still plan to go to Germany for the ’28-’29 season. These bi-lateral exchanges remain a cornerstone of the international work we do to keep the world connected person-to-person. Visit our Student Exchange page and scroll to the bottom to see some great photos of past student exchanges.
May 2026: FH Sister Cities’ student Ambassador Reece Beers made his final travel plans to attend the Youth Leadership Summit in July in Washington DC, sponsored by Sister Cities International. FH Sister Cities donated $500 to the FH High School Falcon Fiesta celebration event for this year’s graduating seniors.
June 2026: FH High School Principal Doctor Jagodzinksi paid the FH Sister Cities Board a visit to bid farewell as a school administrator. He gave words of encouragement that he remains an ardent supporter of the Sister Cities program and an ally in community service as he moves into his new role as CEO of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center.
June 2026: FH Sister Cities President Christine Colley travelled to Germany to visit with current and former town officials from Sister City Dierdorf, Germany. Her goal was to broaden the lines of communication and collaboration in hopes of influencing and enhancing current relationships on the government and academic scenes.
Jean Linzer, Julie Ewald, Grady Miller, James Wilson, Steve Baggio, Suzanne Nann, Chandra Merica
Christine Colley, Lillian Acker, Beverly Tall
Bogumil Horchem & Elizabeth Matej-Horchem, Betsy Lavoie with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce
And enjoy additional perks beyond just receiving the FHSC Quarterly Newsletter.
Please use the donation link below. This will allow you access to our convenient and secure PayPal/Credit Card donation interface.
Sign up for the Frys Community Rewards program, specify Fountain Hills Sister Cities as your desired non-profit organization, and a % of your Fry’s Food Stores purchases will be donated directly to our causes. Simple, Thoughtful, Automatic.
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!
