In early May, we welcomed eleven visitors from India looking at disaster management as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program.
The visitors started with a visit to Pensacola City Hall where Councilman Charles Bare and Earth Ethics Executive Director Mary Gutierrez welcomed them. Next, they discussed the role of traditional and new media in keeping government accountable with Independent News Publisher Rick Outzen.
After lunch, the group met with Escambia County Assistant County Administrator Amy Lovoy to examine the process at the county level for gathering of data and the mechanisms for financing recovery operations. Conversation continued with Lisa Lavoie, director of clinical quality, and Eamonn Wheelock, emergency management coordinator, for a discussion on emergency management plans at Baptist Hospital in case of a natural disaster or other emergency.
The next day, the group learned about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and its localized training from Emergency Management Plans Chief and Citizen Corps Coordinator Daniel Hahn. They then met with Harry Ronald “Ron” McNesby, a former Escambia County sheriff, to watch a short documentary on recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina and to talk about lessons learned from his experiences in hurricane recovery.
How Project Greenshores has restored the environmental health of the downtown shoreline while increasing resilience against hurricanes was a big focus of discussion. Escambia County Deputy Bureau Chief Keith Wilkins and Taylor “Chips” Kirschenfeld introduced the project, and visitors got hands-on at the site by joining the volunteers of Cleanpeace for a shoreline cleanup. The visitors also participated in a community coffee discussion across the street from the project thanks to the facilitation efforts of Margaret Neyman and the hospitality of Gulf Power.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks everyone for volunteering their time to meet with these international guests and doing their part to advance the cause of citizen diplomacy. We extend a special shout out to Liz and Basil Yelverton and Hilda and Ray Jones who hosted dinners for the group.
