Ceremony Confers Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, to Mr. David Wesley Morrison

2020/1/17

The conferment ceremony in Barrie’s City Council Chambers.

On Jan. 13, Consul-General of Japan ITO Takako conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, to Mr. David Wesley Morrison in recognition of his work in strengthening friendship and understanding between Japan and Canada through the promotion of sister-city exchanges. The conferment ceremony was held in Barrie’s City Council Chambers in the presence of His Worship Mayor Jeff Lehman, City Councillors and City Staff, and members of the City’s International Relations Committee.

A reception to celebrate Mr. Morrison’s decoration was also held on the same day.

Mr. Morrison has been promoting Barrie’s overseas exchange activities since 1994 when he became a member of the City’s International Relations Committee. He became the Committee’s Chair in 1997, and in the same year established the Youth Ambassadors Program which conducts youth exchanges with the City of Murayama in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture. Mr. Morrison thereby greatly contributed toward strengthening friendship and goodwill between Barrie and Murayama. The decoration was in recognition of such good work and others such as the mutual dispatch of junior and senior high school students and citizens delegations between the communities, as well as activities to promote Japanese culture in Barrie. The Consulate-General of Japan would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Morrison.

The reception was attended by: His Worship Mayor Jeff Lehman of Barrie; Deputy Mayor Barry Ward;
City Councillors Clare Riepma, Keenan Aylwin, Robert Thomson, Gary Harvey, Jim Harris, and Sergio Morales;
as well as former Mayor Janice Laking who has been a long-time supporter Barrie’s exchanges with Murayama.