Destination Hoover sets sights on international connections

When international companies think of expanding their business reach, Shelley Shaw and Mark Jackson want them to think of Hoover.

Shaw and Jackson are the board president and vice president, respectively, of Destination Hoover International, a new organization formed to build partnerships with cities around the globe.

“We would like to be that gateway to Sister Cities programs and be able to send delegations and receive delegations in Hoover, so we can show them what we have here in our home,” Shaw said.

Shelley and her husband, Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw, said their conversations about a program like Destination Hoover started in part by seeing how a global perspective affected their daughter. Her exposure to and love of the Japanese language while in middle school led to her desire to become a translator. 

The Shaws began discussing the idea with Jackson roughly a year ago. Jackson serves as honorary consul general of Japan for Birmingham and is also heavily involved in Birmingham’s Sister Cities programs — a part of diplomacy network Sister Cities International — with Japan, the U.K., Ukraine, Jamaica and others. 

Mike Shaw said Hoover’s diverse background of residents and business owners made it seem like a good fit for a similar program.

Destination Hoover International is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Since the city is not directly involved with the organization, Mike Shaw will serve as council liaison to keep the mayor and council up to date on Destination Hoover’s growth.

Mike Shaw said he values the program both for its cultural benefits and economic development potential.

“You learn really quickly that cultural exchange kind of precedes economic exchange,” he said.

Jackson said Birmingham’s relationship with Hitachi, Japan, for instance, has led to Japanese companies investing and building in Birmingham.

“There are a lot of opportunities in Hoover for Japanese companies to come in,” Jackson said. “There’s a lot of room in Hoover for them to either acquire [or] set up shop.”

Shelley Shaw said they decided to expand beyond Sister Cities to do additional work to represent Hoover globally, including creating materials for delegations to take to countries and building a website, translated in many languages, to let international visitors learn more about the city.

“If we’re going to represent Hoover to the world, we have to have the materials and that kind of operational mentality of, ‘Hey, here’s what we do when we meet international delegations,’” Mike Shaw said. 

But cultural exchange will remain a core focus for Destination Hoover. Jackson and the Shaws said they want Destination Hoover to be able to sponsor students to join future international delegations and perhaps someday fund a language learning program.

“This is about education and global exchange, and that way the people can see the positive things,” Mike Shaw said.

Shelley Shaw said Destination Hoover is working on filing for Sister Cities membership to begin building those relationships.

“That will give us the resources and the help that we need to identify cities that are looking to partner with American cities,” she said. “I would say Japan, India and Germany are definitely where we have relationships, and we want to build on those.”

Destination Hoover recently held its first fundraiser, a crawfish boil with Jubilee Joe’s, and plans to have more events through 2018. Shelley Shaw said they’ve had a lot of interest from the community, and volunteer roles will be open to city, community and business leaders, as well as students, to work on committees and plan events as Destination Hoover grows.

“If you’re interested in that particular country, if you’re interested in the organization, we will find jobs for those volunteers so they can participate,” Shelley Shaw said. “I think you see the enthusiasm, and I’m all about building on that.”

Find Destination Hoover at facebook.com/destinationhooverinternational.