CONTACT: Council Member Herb Polson, (727) 893-7004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       


Zoe Williams, Akinori, and Kanyon McLean

RAYS’ PLAYER GOES TO BAT FOR SISTER CITY PROGRAM

St. Petersburg (September 27, 2007) – Today, St. Petersburg City Council Member Herb Polson and Mayor Rick Baker announced a new partnership with Devil Rays and the team’s third baseman Akinori Iwamura.  

Iwamura and the Rays Foundation pledged to fund the city’s Sister Cities Ambassador Program, an annual summer trip for two deserving high school students to St. Petersburg’s Sister City of Takamatsu, Japan. Funding for the 2008 Ambassador Program, estimated at approximately $5,000 per year, was eliminated during this year’s budget cuts. Iwamura has agreed to fund the program through 2010, when his current contract expires. 

Iwamura, 28, signed with the Rays in December, 2006 and is nearing the end of his Rookie season with Rays. The third baseman comes from the small town of Uwajimi, Japan.  

“I am fortunate in my unique position as a member of the Devil Rays to be able to support a program that provides cultural exchanges between my native country and my new home. I wish the students well and look forward to hearing about their experiences in Takamatsu,” said Akinori Iwamura.  

Council Member Herb Polson approached the Rays about the new partnership. “The team continues to be a great community citizen, and this is an ideal partnership with the city’s Sister City Program,” said Polson. “The city has maintained a very important Sister City relationship with Takamatsu for 45 years, and we thank Aki and the Rays for allowing us to continue the Ambassador Program.” 

The two student ambassadors who traveled to Takamatsu this past summer, Kanyon McLean, St. Petersburg High School, and Zoe Williams, Northeast High School, were on-hand for Thursday’s

announcement, along with members of the city’s International Relations Committee who oversee the program.  

Rays President Matt Silverman said, “The mission of the Rays Baseball Foundation is to support youth and education initiatives throughout community, and we are proud to have a role in preserving this unique cultural experience for future deserving high school students.”  

Mayor Rick Baker said, “Every year, St. Petersburg’s prominence on the world stage continues to emerge. The Rays are a great ambassador for St. Petersburg to viewers who follow baseball around the nation and around the world. This is a win-win partnership for both the Rays, and the city, and I would like to personally thank Akinori Iwamura for his role in preserving the Sister City Ambassador Program.”