By Kay Scrimger
January 31, 2005

Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic opened the Tuesday morning Plenary Session by asking for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the earthquake/tsunami of December 26.

"I am proud of what mayors across the nation are doing to assist the relief efforts for the victims of this tragedy," he said. He urged mayors to share information about their efforts online at a tsunami relief section on the Conference of Mayors website usmayors.org/tsunamirelief.

Plusquellic also pointed out that Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok, of Phuket, Thailand, one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami, participated in the International Conference of Mayors portion of the 71st Annual Conference of Mayors in Denver in June 2003.

Plusquellic read a letter sent by the Conference of Mayors after the tsunami, expressing sadness for the devastation and death in Phuket and elsewhere and describing the efforts of U.S. mayors to encourage their citizens to contribute to the relief efforts underway.

He also read the reply to the Conference's letter from the current Phuket mayor (Ms.) Somjai Suwansupana, who wrote, "On behalf of the city of Phuket, the former Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok, and I would like to thank all of you for your most sincere expression of grief for the Tsunami tragedy to city of Phuket and Thailand. The morning of December 26 was really an unfortunate day in Phuket province as well as the other 5 provinces along the Andaman coast.

"Without warning, the waves wiped out lots of lives and countless jobs, and rebuilding may take years. Once again, we would like to use this special opportunity to express thanks for the critical supplies, medical personnel, and technical assistance from the supporting countries to us."