'Twinning' has great potential
In response to the letter which appeared in yesterday's edition of the News Letter, I am disappointed to hear that the Twin City programme did not meet the expectations of the writer concerned.
The programme was designed to celebrate the rich heritage of Bushmills and to provide the opportunity to build awareness of the village of Bushmills in the United States. This relationship will be implemented in addition to Bushmills' existing Sister City relationships.
Plans for the Twin City programme were shared in detail with local community associations from Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway, with Moyle Council, with all North Antrim MLAs and with local tourism interests in July 2007 and was enthusiastically supported by everyone.
Moyle Council was invited to nominate two representatives from the area to sit on the local judging panel along with representatives of Old Bushmills Distillery and a local MLA in January this year. Both nominees represented the Giant's Causeway Electoral Area of Moyle Council (the Bushmills district).
The judging panel came up with a shortlist of three cities from the list of US cities which had nominated themselves. The short-list was Boston; Portland, Maine; and Louisville.
Subsequently, consumers over the age of 21 in the US made the final choice of winning city by voting on-line. The name of the winning city was informed to Moyle Council on April 11 and announced in council at their monthly meeting on April 14.
Involvement
At all times, Old Bushmills Distillery consulted the representatives of local people – whether in the council or though the elected officers of the local community association – and is grateful for their involvement in, and support for, a project which has the potential to bring wider tourism and commercial benefits to the area.
As part of the Twin City programme, Old Bushmills Distillery is giving a sum of 12,000 to Moyle Council towards the cost of the new footbridge over the River Bush. This will pay to theme the bridge to reflect the great local distilling tradition and will form part of the tourist experience of Bushmills.
In the coming weeks, officials from the town of Bushmills and the City of Louisville will be meeting to discuss next steps as to how to build the long-lasting relationship between the two regions.
I hope my response addresses the concerns raised and I look forward to working with all involved to build on the opportunities which this twinning programme will deliver for the village of Bushmills.
Gordon Donoghue,
Director, Bushmills Distillery
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Monday 13 February 2012
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