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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Powell | chris.powell@sos.arkansas.gov | (501) 683-0057
Secretary Martin Presents Arkansas Diamond Award
to New Honorary Japanese Consul
Citizen-Diplomat Mary Zunick Broadening International Relations for Arkansas
 Click for more photos
(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) – Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin recently presented an Arkansas Diamond Award to Mary Zunick, of Hot Springs. Zunick serves as cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs and has served as Director of the Hot Springs Sister City Program for 10 years. In February, she was named Honorary Consul of Japan for the State of Arkansas.
Arkansas has enjoyed excellent relations with Japan for many years. As honorary consul, Zunick hopes to help increase cultural and economic opportunities around the state.
Martin and Zunick discussed their thoughts on citizen-led diplomacy at the state and local levels and the benefits those efforts can achieve for cultural understanding, economics, and lessening conflicts around the world.
The sister city program in Hot Springs, a long-standing partnership with the city of Hanamaki, Japan, will celebrate it's 25th anniversary this year. Zunick will be leading a delegation there this fall to mark the occasion.
Also present for the award presentation were Robert Zunick, Mary's husband; Takuya Onozaki, a Japanese artist who is visiting through the sister city artist exchange program; and Henry Jones, director of the Arkansas Sister Cities program and senior advisor to Secretary Martin for international, military, and federal relations.
The text of the award reads:
To whom these presents shall come,
Greetings:
Know that I, Mark Martin, Secretary of State of the Great State of Arkansas, by the authority of my office and on
behalf of our citizens do proudly present this award to
Mary Zunick
In special recognition
of her appointment as Arkansas’s first Honorary Consul for Japan, resulting
from her years of dedication to the Hot Springs Sister Cities Commission. Motivated by her desire to promote world
peace and better educate the youth of Hot Springs, she built a curriculum
recognized as Sister Cities International Best Overall Program which was one of only four American
initiatives to be honored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because
of her passion and dedication to the program, support has grown for language
and cultural exchange in local schools and nurtures a vibrant and commercial
relationship. Ms. Zunick also received recognition for youth leadership and
economic development.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand and caused the Seal of the Office of the Secretary of State to be affixed at the Arkansas
State Capitol this Twenty-Fifth
Day of April in the year of our Lord Two
Thousand-eighteen and the year of statehood, One Hundred and Eighty-One.
Signed,
MARK MARTIN
Arkansas Secretary of State
About the Arkansas Diamond Award:
The Arkansas Diamond Award is the highest honor one can receive from the Secretary of State’s office. The person who receives this award has made significant contributions to his or her community through their time, talent and dedication. Their service is one of exemplary quality. Having made an outstanding accomplishment in a field of service may also qualify for this award. To qualify, one must be 18 years if age or older and a current resident of Arkansas.
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