On the weekend of July 25th, City of Stuart Mayor Troy MacDonald, along with his wife Portia Scott and Ricardo Treco, Consul General of the Bahamas Consulate in Miami, Florida paid a formal courtesy call to Hope Town District, Elbow Cay, Abaco. During this visit the group signed a formal resolution declaring Hope Town, Abaco and Stuart, Florida “Sister Cities”. Greeting the Mayor and his group at the new Marsh Harbour Airport terminal were Edison Key, Member of Parliament for Central and South Abaco, Senator Gary Sawyer, members of the Hope Town District Council led by Chief Councillor Jeremy Sweeting, Island Administrator Preston Cunningham, Abaco Director of Tourism Wynsome Ferguson and Abaco Superintendent of Police Noel Curry.
Stuart, Florida has long been considered the Gateway to the Bahamas. Countless fishing and boating enthusiast from around the U.S. have utilized Stuart as a waypoint in their travels to and from the Northern Bahamas for decades. This is particularly true for boaters from the Gulf of Mexico that utilize the Cross Florida Canal/Okeechobee Waterway to reach Florida’s east coast, as well as boaters traveling the Intracoastal Waterway from points north. In addition, there are many Stuart residents that are second homeowners in the Abacos. The formalization of this relationship will allow for increased tourism promotion between the two destinations as well as provide enhanced cultural and economic opportunities.