In late May, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council welcomed a group of five Georgian women who participated in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project titled “Civil Service Management in the U.S.” The focus in Pensacola was on government transparency and corruption as well as human resource (HR) management in the public and private sectors.
After arriving late on a Saturday, the Georgian visitors enjoyed unstructured time on Sunday before attending home hospitality dinners hosted by Allan and Andrea Ford and Suzanne and Randle Carpenter. The visitors had a great time, and the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks both sets of hosts for their warm hospitality.
Monday morning, the Georgian group kicked off its professional program with a visit to Pensacola City Hall where Councilwoman Sherri Myers welcomed them with an orientation of the local area. She also answered their questions on local government before delighting them with certificates of honorary citizenship to the City of Pensacola.
Next, the visitors walked the short distance to the Escambia County administrative building for a meeting with Assistant County Attorney Kristin Hual who spoke about ethics rules for public officials in Florida and the Florida Sunshine Law.
After lunch, the group wrapped up its first day of meetings at the office of The Independent News, where Publisher Rick Outzen highlighted his paper’s reporting corruption and accountability. He also answered their questions on general investigative reporting.
Tuesday morning kicked off strong when the group headed back to the epicenter of Escambia County’s government for a meeting covering county administration and human resource management with Assistant County Administrator Amy Lovoy and Human Resources Director Thomas Turner.
The visitors then delved into the realm of private sector HR when they met with Gulf Power’s Anne Marie Kietzmann, Marty Tutchtone, Tim Lambert, and Kim Sweat for an engaging discussion of that company’s HR practices. After this, the Gulf Power crew treated the visitors to lunch with more of the HR department. (Thank you, Ms. Kietzmann, for arranging this thoughtful gesture.)
The Georgian women’s final appointment in Pensacola was a Community Coffee Discussion at Seville Quarter where a dozen locals joined them for fellowship and discussion over coffee.
Thank you to everyone for volunteering your time to make our Georgian guests’ visit successful!
