Monday, January 1, 1990

Paula Savage, President

In 1990, representing Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, Ms. Savage orchestrated the gift of four thousand tulip bulbs from Canada to the United States. She coordinated with the U. S. National Park Service and Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. to create the first International Peace Garden, dedicated to honoring the longest undefended border in the world. This was the genesis for the creation of the International Peace Garden Foundation in 1992. Since then, through her efforts additional International Peace Gardens have been established in Poland, Germany, Hungary, France, Slovenia, South Africa, Mozambique, Costa Rica, Canada, The Netherlands, Japan, Austria and now Rome. Ms. Savage organizes and participates in the dedication ceremonies working with municipal government and diplomatic officials in each of the designated countries. In addition to the Peace Gardens, Ms. Savage organized a program that awarded scholarship grants to talented students within the Peace Garden countries who needed assistance in furthering their special education. She also helped initiate the Beads of Peace program to help train women in Africa to operate a small business to support themselves and their families. In 2000, Ms. Savage accepted the prestigious The Merits of Two Worlds Award on behalf of the International Peace Garden Foundation. This award was presented by the Robert Schuman Institute, an organization established within the European Parliament. This coveted award brings to the attention of the public those individuals and organizations who have contributed most to the strengthening of peaceful relationships between various communities on a global scale.
Since 1975, Ms. Savage has served in a variety of professional positions in the travel and tourism industry. She has broad experience in international travel and has organized numerous tour groups throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. In the 1980s and 90s, Ms. Savage represented the City of Ottawa in Washington, D.C. where she promoted travel and tourism to Canada through trade associations and conference planners. Moreover, she worked closely with foreign embassy officials both in her role representing Ottawa, and as President of the International Peace Garden Foundation. She is a native and resident of Batavia, a city in Western, New York State. Her background includes ten years devoted to tourism development for the Niagara and Finger Lakes Regions of New York State. She is currently the Director of Tourism for the Greater Rochester Visitors Association. In that role, Ms. Savage became fascinated with the important history of the Underground Railroad in western New York. In her desire to share the contribution that was made by this community, she created the Circle of Hope, a tourism program that highlights the existence and success of the Underground Railroad. This program was awarded national recognition by the US Department of Commerce as an official American Pathways 2000 Tour. Ms. Savage was invited by the US Department of Commerce to showcase The Circle of Hope during official recognition ceremonies in Washington, DC in 1999. She continues her commitment to bringing to light more and more aspects of the Underground Railroad through out western New York. She is frequently invited to speak of the success of this initiative during regional and national tourism conferences. Ms. Savage has served on national committees for the American Bus Association, the Bus Association of New York State and the Ontario Motor Coach Association. She spearheaded the development of Canada’s only tourism education foundation established by the Ontario Motor Coach Association. Through her work she has helped to generate scholarships and support research projects to raise the level of professionalism in the tourism industry.

1 comment:

  1. Greetings Paula, it looks like Bosnia is the new country to add a flag this year. We are loving the way the Peace Garden looks. I will send you a photo , but the problem is , it is such a large space, we can't get the whole garden in. I'm still wondering if someday I will get a stone? Love, Jeannette

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