Richmond,
CA In July
of this year, 2013, Lucy Zhou contacted me, MK Shannon, directly on
behalf of the Port of Richmond. I was a resident of Point Richmond on
the San Francisco Bay for 12 years. I loved it there. Consequently,
when Lucy called to ask for my assistance in ordering gifts for an
upcoming official trip to the City of Shimada, Japan and the City of
Zhoushan, China, I was more than a little excited to take this
project. The project included the need to have one distinctive
sculpture to present in Japan and a different image to present in
China. Each sculpture was to reflect the importance of the cities
having become sister cities of the city of Richmond. I immediately
recommended three different sculptures from my collection. The piece
chosen for the the City of Shimada, Japan is entitled “Partners”(shown below).
Richmond,
California's Vice Mayor Courtland Boozé
(right) and Council Member Nathaniel Bates (left) presented MK
Shannon sculpture to Shimada, Japan's Mayor Kinuyo Soneya in the
photo above. Mayor Kinuyo Soneya was recently elected as the first
female mayor in the city's history.
The
sculpture selected for presentation to the City of Zhoushan, China presented
a different request. The City of Richmond, representing the Port of
Richmond, wanted to present one large sculpture to the city's mayor
and seven identical smaller sculptures to various departments in the
city to show appreciation and gratitude from the City of Richmond.
Lucy Zhou and I directed the whole project for both countries and
obtained approvals from the Richmond Board of Directors and the mayor
as the need arose. Lucy is an outstanding woman who serves the Port
of Richmond tirelessly. With her assistance I proposed to create a
smaller version of the large sculpture entitled “ World Infinity”
to be presented to the City of Zhoushan. The smaller versions were
given to different department heads within the city of Zhoushan.
A photo of that sculpture being
presented to Zhoushan,
China's Vice Mayor Lin Jiang by Nat Bates and Courtland Boozé is
shown below.
Lucy
Zhou’s sharp-eyed management of this project allowed me enough time
to create a new model, have it cast and plated at the foundry in time
for the departure of the Richmond delegation in early October, 2013.
One “Partners” was presented to the City of Shimada, Japan and
one large “World Infinity” and seven small “World Infinity”
sculptures were completed for shipment overseas.
I
personally met with Nathaniel Bates, Board Councilman for the City of
Richmond (and former mayor) and Lucy Zhou, the Port of Richmond
liaison, after their return from their mission to Japan and China.
"Richmond,
California's Vice Mayor Courtland Boozé and Council Member Nathaniel
Bates presented Shimada, Japan's Mayor Kinuyo Soneya and Zhoushan,
China's Vice Mayor Lin Jiang with these beautiful gifts commemorating
our long-term sister city relationships. The gifts were received with
great enthusiasm and appreciation", said Lucy Zhou.
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