Kon’nichiwa

Hot Springs woman gets appointment from Japan

Mary Zunick has been appointed honorary consul of Japan in Hot Springs. She is executive director of the Hot Springs Sister City Program and cultural affairs manager of Visit Hot Springs. The Sister City office is now at 108 Pleasant St. in Hot Springs and features a variety of Japanese art and other memorabilia from Japan.
Mary Zunick has been appointed honorary consul of Japan in Hot Springs. She is executive director of the Hot Springs Sister City Program and cultural affairs manager of Visit Hot Springs. The Sister City office is now at 108 Pleasant St. in Hot Springs and features a variety of Japanese art and other memorabilia from Japan.

Mary Zunick was raised on a farm in rural Arkansas, the youngest of six siblings. She recalls when she was in the third grade in Hartman (in Johnson County), a small group of international students visited her school.

“I was fascinated by them,” she said. “Since then, especially since I have been involved in the Sister City program between Hot Springs and Hanamaki, Japan, I realize how important it is for us — especially our children — to know about other cultures.”

Zunick recently received an opportunity to learn more about Japan. The government of Japan has appointed her honorary consul of Japan in Hot Springs.

“This is such a huge honor for me,” said Zunick, 47, who is executive director of the Hot Springs Sister City Program and cultural affairs manager of Visit Hot Springs. She will assist the consulate general of Japan in Nashville, Tennessee, in promoting positive Japan-United States relations in Arkansas. She will hold the position for a five-year renewable term.

“At this point, I am not exactly sure what I might be doing,” she said, smiling. “I will just be available if needed.

“I recently attended a meeting in Chicago of all honorary consuls from across the United States. There were about 25 of us; I was one of only a few women and probably one of the youngest ones there. We all sat around a huge rectangular table and heard from the Japanese ambassador. They value the relationship between the United States and Japan. They are looking for ways to strengthen that relationship. They are our friends.”

Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, called Zunick’s appointment “a testament to her commitment to our Sister City program.”

“She has developed a great relationship with our sister city, Hanamaki,” Arrison said. “I am glad she is being recognized for that by the government of Japan.

“This is very exciting not only for her but for the city of Hot Springs. It’s a great honor.”

Zunick has been to Japan eight times since she became involved in the Sister City program in Hot Springs.

“The first time I went was with a group of adults from Hot Springs for a citizens exchange,” she said. “We went in September for the matsuri, or harvest, festival. This festival has been held for more than 400 years. Rice was everywhere. It was beautiful … the land, the people, the culture … just beautiful.”

Zunick plans to go to Japan again this September. Former Hot Springs Mayor Melinda Baran, who now lives in North Carolina, will be among the delegation going to Hanamaki to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Sister City agreement between the two cities that was signed Jan. 15, 1993.

Zunick said several local events will take place this year as Hot Springs celebrates that anniversary.

Since 1993, the Hot Springs Sister City Program has grown to include a student exchange in which more than 150 students have participated so far. The program also coordinates annual delegations to Japan for citizens, students and teachers. The program received Sister Cities International’s 2011 Best Overall Program Award, as well as Sister Cities International awards for youth leadership and innovation in economic development. The program was only one of four American programs to be presented with an award from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2014.

Zunick is a daughter of the late Raymond and Azalene Wilson of Hartman. Zunick’s siblings include Lonnie, Mike and Gary Wilson and Sherry Fowler, all of Johnson County, and Beth Clements of Oklahoma City.

Zunick graduated from Westside High School in Johnson County in 1988 and from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville in 1992 with a degree in communications and a minor in business.

“I was involved in theater in college,” she said.

“I was even offered an internship in costume design at Tulane University, but I was really more interested in the business aspect of the theater, front-of-the-house numbers. I am not an artist at all, but I love being able to promote the arts,” Zunick said.

“I married and moved away from Arkansas and moved back again,” she said. “I have two children from my first marriage. My daughter, Annabelle Neilson, 16, and my son, Robert Lewis Neilson, 14, both attend Lakeside schools.

“I just recently married Robert Zunick, who is a financial adviser and has lived in Hot Springs for 30 years. He and I met through similar community activities, including the Sister City program and the arts community. He has two adult sons — Nick Zunick, who lives in Hot Springs with his wife, Mega, and their 3-year-old daughter, Ruth; and Pete Zunick, who lives in Shreveport, Louisiana.”

In addition to her work with the Sister City Program and Visit Hot Springs, Mary Zunick is involved in organizations that promote the arts.

She is secretary of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

She is also executive director of the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to celebrate, advocate and promote the arts in Hot Springs. A culmination of the alliance’s efforts is the Arts & The Park, a 10-day celebration of the arts in Hot Springs, which will be held April 27 through May 6.

“My hobbies revolve around my work,” she said, laughing. “I love my work. My children have grown up with my work.

“I enjoy traveling, too, but I love Hot Springs, and I love Arkansas. This will always be my home. It is nice to go to other places and meet other people, but it’s nice to come home.”

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