Sister Cities Of Franklin And Williamson County Founding Member Doug Sharp Honored With Mayoral Proclamation

Press release from the City of Franklin:

January 13, 2021

Franklin, TN – Sister Cities of Franklin and Williamson County founding member Doug Sharp was honored with a mayoral proclamation during the January 12, 2021 Franklin BOMA meeting. Mayor Dr. Ken Moore thanked Sharp for helping to establish the organization in 2001, “He was elected as president and served for a total of 11 years. As president he helped establish relationships with Carleton Place, Canada, County Laois, Ireland, and Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany,” said Moore. He also recognized Sharp for serving continuously on the Board of Directors since the organization’s inception for the past 19 years.

Sharp, who owns and operates Sharp Urban Planning, and other members of the Leadership Franklin class of 2000-2001 established Sister Cities of Franklin and Williamson County as their class project. The goal was to create and build cultural and exchange programs with other cities around the world that would benefit citizens by fostering understanding and goodwill.

Moore thanked Sharp for helping to establish the Celebration of Nations multicultural arts festival and the high school student exchange program with Germany. Other accomplishments include working with Canada to bring the Great Pumpkin annually to Pumpkinfest, working with Ireland to bring an Irish dance troupe to the Féile festival and an Irish brass marching band to the Veterans Day parade, and facilitating multiple trips to, and receiving multiple guests from, sister cities.

Moore expressed his appreciation for Doug’s generosity to the community, “Doug is always willing to serve with countless volunteer hours and his own financial contribution, and I thank him for his dedicated service.”

Current Sister Cities of Franklin and Williamson County President Jason Collins also expressed his thanks, “Doug has done a lot. Usually Leadership Franklin participants end with a presentation and a very nice project they leave for Franklin. Doug’s been with this for 19 years. He’s had some other people with him, but he’s carried the torch for 19 years.”

Sharp said, “While I certainly appreciate this recognition, I would like to share it with other past presidents, including Patricia Kriebel, Mike Thompson, and especially Alderman Pearl Bransford, who recently passed away. Her loss has been tremendous, but we are grateful for Pearl’s countless contributions to our organization.”

More about the Sister Cities of Franklin and Williamson County current officers:

• President Jason Collins is a Nashville native and U.S. Air Force and Desert Storm veteran. He owns the downtown Franklin Juice Bar, is a global marketing expert, and past president of the Downtown Franklin Association.
• Vice President Summer Sheldon owns and operates Social Ambitions Events, an event and wedding planning company. She joined the board in 2014 and has served in a variety of roles including secretary for four years prior to becoming vice president. Sheldon traveled with the delegation to Bad Soden, Germany for the official "twining" of our cities in 2016.
• Treasurer David Haas joined the board in 2019. A retired PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Partner, Haas lived and worked outside of the country for more than 13 of his 35-year career with PwC. Haas and his family lived in a village adjacent to Bad Soden, Germany from 1990 to 1993.
• Secretary Roger Walters is a new member who joined the board in 2020. Walters is a Global Technical Talent Management Advisor for Chevron. His role focuses on working with international organizations and governments to identify and develop the talent required to deliver major capital projects in their country.

In addition to Doug Sharp, Cliff Buell, Kim Cannon, Gabrielle Hanson, Patricia Kriebel, Jamie Melton, Mike Thompson, and Cheryl Wilson comprise the remaining members of the board. To learn more about the organization, become involved, or make a donation in honor of Pearl Bransford, visit http://sistercitiestn.org/.

This press release was produced by the City of Franklin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.