Downtown drivers will be seeing a new tribute to Tulsa's sister cities.
Officials on Monday revealed a signpost for Tulsa’s sister cities at 2nd Street and Cincinnati Avenue, outside of city hall. The signpost was erected in honor of the late Cathy Izzo, who served as the sister cities coordinator for 17 of the program's 40 years.
Cathy Izzo's son, Anthony Izzo, said Cathy always had a passion for other cultures.
"When our family first moved to Oklahoma, she found that she was able to extend her passion for this work through the Tulsa Global Alliance. Which, I’m sure people who knew here can attest, she never really missed a beat to do it," he said.
Anthony Izzo wasn’t the only one who praised his mother’s dedication to the program. Kaitlin Flinn, the chairwoman of the Tulsa Global Alliance, read a statement from the mayor of sister city Amiens, France regarding the late program coordinator.
"Cathy was always the first to answer our questions and to make sure everything was doing well. We deeply miss her — we hope she rests in peace," Flinn read.
As for the program itself, Mayor G.T. Bynum said the sister city program is a reminder that there are more things that unite us than divide us. In October, Bynum recently traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania, which he announced is Tulsa’s newest sister city.
"Our sister cities program is a great way for people in Tulsa to be able to meet people all around the world, for us to learn about them and for them to learn about what’s happening here in our city," Bynum said.
This is the fifth sister city signpost in Tulsa.
