 Welcome, everybody, to the planning of a cherry tree which symbolizes the relationship between Portland and Shinagawa, Japan. This is a 30-year sister-city relationship, and thanks to the vision of our mayor. And we are grateful to Portland Parks for this wonderful cherry tree which is planted here in Tommy's post office plaza, and hopefully as this cherry tree continues to grow, the relationship with Portland and Shinagawa will mirror that and continue to grow as well. And we are very honored to be part of this tree planting ceremony. To make this cycle come to fruition, we'll start by having our original mayor, when I say original mayor, back in 1984, David Brenerman was mayor of Portland, and he signed the original sister-city relationship into being, and as a result, the fruits of his vision and the vision of Shinagawa mayor, Aitur Otaga, have come full circle. And so, without further ado, I'd like to welcome David Brenerman, the mayor who signed the sister-city relationship into being 30 years ago. Thanks, Jeff. When we signed the sister-city relationship 30 years ago, as Jeff said, I had the great honor and fortune to be mayor of Portland, and we commenced the relationship because in some small way, we wanted to contribute to world peace and understanding. And as many of us have been to Japan, and a number of Japanese citizens have been to Portland of all different walks of life, I think that we've had greater understanding of each other. Mayor Brennan was able to lead a delegation to celebrate the 30th anniversary. A number of former mayors have been to Shinagawa, and of course, mayors of Shinagawa have been here as well as other citizens, children, people of different professions. And so, it is a great thing that we are dedicating this planting of a tree today, and I want to introduce Mayor Michael Brennan to continue this tradition and say a few words. Mayor Brennan. Thank you, former mayor Brenerman. And what I'd like to do is invite up former city manager Joe Gray and former mayor Ann Pringle, and we're going to do a toast. So, and to Mayor Havana, who hopefully will get to see this, and Jeff? Yep. Okay. So, this is a thank you for the 30-year sister city relationship that we've had with Shinagawa and Portland, and this is a toast and recognition of that 30-year anniversary and continued many years of goodwill, peace, and friendship between our two cities. Here, here. We should mention that this is cherry juice in keeping with the cherry tree behind us, and Joe, would you hold this for a second? We would like to, on behalf of friends of Shinagawa, present Mayor Brennan with a Portland Shinagawa t-shirt, and this is our thanks for the mayor's vision and the mayor's actions to continue this relationship that has benefited the citizens of both Portland and Shinagawa all these years. So, on behalf of friends of Shinagawa, Mayor Brennan, enjoy. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate it, Jeff. And I accept it on behalf of all everybody that went on the trip to Shinagawa, the delegation. It was a terrific group of people, and we all got along well for extended periods of time that we spent with each other. And what I'd like to say just very quickly, when I was in Shinagawa and I spoke, I talked about the importance of planning this cherry tree, symbolizing our friendship and continued relationship with the city of Shinagawa. And I noted the fact that it was my hope that my granddaughter would be able to come and see the cherry tree and to understand that, even though she hadn't been to Japan yet, that we had all gone to visit, yes, Ariza, and recognize that she had friends throughout the world as a result of the first relationship that David established back in 1984. And I just recently came across the saying, and I thought this was great and very apropos for today, but they said the sign of a civilized society is when older people plant trees knowing they will never sit in the shade of those trees. So I hope every one of us has the opportunity to sit in the shade of this tree. But I also hope that many generations and many people of all ages will come and benefit from the shade of this tree. Daniela, thank you for bringing Ariza today. We appreciate it. Daniela is a biologist, so she really understands the importance of trees. But very quickly, Jeff, I'd like you to come up and explain a little bit more about the history of the tree as well as what you just mentioned about the Four River and Yeah, sure. Thank you. I'm Jeff Tarling, the City Arborist in Portland, and the Post Office Park has a long history of a lot of effort from the community to become a park. In 1992, a committee was formed. We talked about design attributes and really thought about the sister city program. And that this brickway that you're walking on, standing on, represents the Four River flowing down to the islands of Casco Bay. The Japanese mailboxes, the antique mailboxes, have been a real focal point of this park. I know former mayor Esther Klennett always reminded me of how important it was to have the right color. So we want to make sure that the mailboxes look good. But the cherry tree we're planting today is a Sargent Cherry. It's a cultivar called Acolyde. And cherry trees in Portland, in the early 90s, we only had a few down on Commercial Street. We saw how well they did, and what it did for people's spirit in the spring when they bloom. And so we've prospered that idea and continued to plant trees throughout the eastern prom, western prom, and throughout the city. There's four cherry trees in front of City Hall. And I think that spring spirit that it brings and the happiness is a real tribute to the type of tree that we picked out today. So next spring, we're going to have shade, but we'll have cherry blossoms to come and enjoy. So thank you for coming today. That's great for having me involved. Thank you very much. And just put this together very quickly, so we really appreciate it. And Anne Pringle wanted me to just make note very quickly that we obviously are looking for any students or young people that would want to participate in the exchange next summer. So if you know of anybody, recruitment is on. And it's a terrific event and opportunity for young people to go to Japan. So does anybody else want to say anything? Well, if not, thank you very much and thanks for being here. Good morning, Mayor Hamano. This is Mayor Brennan from Portland, Maine. And we're standing here with Jeff Sandler from Friends of Shinigawa. And we just planted a Japanese cherry blossom tree in Post Office Park in honor of our 30-year anniversary sister city relationship with your great city. And this is my granddaughter who helped plant the tree. So we just wanted to say hello to you. Thank you for the wonderful visit in April that we had to Japan. And this fulfills the promise we made to plant a cherry tree in honor of the relationship that we have, again, with your wonderful city. And so I'm going to turn it over to Jeff Sandler. Thank you, Mayor Hamano, once again for your vision and support of this relationship that has continued and benefited the citizens of both Portland and Shinigawa all these years. And whenever we look at this cherry tree here in our Post Office Park, we will think of the warmth and the gracious hosting that you have always extended to all Portland citizens whenever we have had the privilege to come to your wonderful city. So from all of us here in Portland, Maine, Domo arigato gozaimashita.