Tacoma City councilmember Bill Evans was elected to the Board of Directors for Sister Cities International during the organization’s annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. last month, according to a statement released yesterday.
Evans has an extensive background in public service and business development. He was inducted into the American Leadership Forum in 1992, and elected to the Tacoma City Council in 1999. He was inducted into the Sister Cities International 50th Anniversary Local Government Leadership Circle in 2006.
“I can think of no greater challenge, at this moment in our history, than to work together to fulfill the mission statement of Sister Cities International — to promote peace through mutual respect, one community at a time,” said Evans.
Evans is one of 10 candidates elected to the Sister Cities International Board of Directors last month. Other include: Mimi Barker, New York, NY; Ronald Gossett, Muskegon, Mich.; Jason Hibner, Vandalia, Ohio; Michael Hyatt, Fort Worth, Texas; Deirdra Nelson, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; Maria del Rosario Velasco, Toluca, Mexico; Paula West, Phoenix, Ariz.; Kay Sargent, Lexington, Ky.; Carlo Capua, Fort Worth, Texas; and Nathaniel Hibner, Vandalia, Ohio.
Evans is now serving his second term on the City Council and served as Deputy Mayor in 2004. He was first elected to the at-large position 8 City Council seat in 1999. A North End Tacoma resident, Bill currently owns three retail stores in Tacoma. Bill also is a founding member and past president of the Proctor District Association and remains active in that business district and the Downtown Merchant Group. He has been involved in community-building activities as a board member of the North End Neighborhood Council and the Convention and Visitor Bureau and has volunteered at the Food Connection, Habitat for Humanity and the Tacoma Public Schools Facilities Advisory Committee. Bill and his wife, Ann, have three children and have lived in Tacoma for 25 years.
Sister Cities International is a citizen diplomacy network connecting 134 countries that is focused on creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable and economic development, youth and education, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance programs.
