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High‑school students seek Nelson County "sister city" partnership
Summary
Two local students asked the Nelson County Board of Supervisors to support a student‑led effort to establish a sister‑city relationship through Sister Cities International; the board voiced support and asked for a progress update next month.
Braden Murphy, a student at Blue Ridge Virtual Government School, and fellow student Odin Clark Keeley asked the Nelson County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to endorse a student‑led effort to pursue a sister‑city relationship through the nonprofit Sister Cities International.
The request was not for county funds. Murphy told the board the students will personally cover the small startup fees and that the initiative will seek community partners and grant support for later work. “It’s considered low cost and high return,” Murphy said, describing student exchanges, pen‑pal projects and occasional cultural programming as the primary benefits.
The students proposed forming a Nelson County Sister City Initiative to manage outreach and programming and said they are exploring possible partners in northwestern Argentina, southeastern France and northeastern Spain based on agricultural and climate similarities.
Chairman Reed encouraged the students and asked that they present progress at the board’s next regular meeting. Board members asked about the project timeline and community involvement; the students said they expect the initial, informal “friendship” step to take a few months and that they intend to bring proposed partner options to the board before formal commitments.
The board did not take formal action beyond offering support and the request for an update. The students said startup costs are small (they cited a Sister Cities International membership fee of $410) and that their school’s youth philanthropy council and other student organizations could assist with fundraising.
Next steps: the students will continue outreach and return to the board with candidate partner cities and a more detailed plan for board consideration.
Ending: The board scheduled an informal checkpoint: the students will report progress at the board’s next regular meeting and consult the board before initiating formal agreements.
