In late August 2016, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council hosted twelve professional participating in the International Visitor Leadership Program. The group came from Brunei, Burma, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Samoa, Taiwan, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Their U.S. Department of State exchange focused on maritime security and introduced them to their local counterparts who shared insights and best practices in the United States.
Their time in the area started with Pensacola Council President Charles Bare at City Hall who welcomed them and provided an overview of local government. Next, they headed to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, where NAS Pensacola Public Affairs Officer Patrick Nichols led them on a two-part visit. The IVLP participants first visited the National Naval Aviation Museum where museum volunteer guide Dave Lorenzo took them on a tour. They then met with Paul McHenry of the Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Training Activity (NETSAFA) International Training Center to highlight U.S. Navy-led international terrorism/piracy training courses.
At the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Chief of Forensic Services Mary Jean Havner welcomed the group to the FDLE crime lab and led them on a tour and discussion of investigation and forensics techniques employed at the state agency.
Along with their professional meetings, the group got to know Americans informally through an evening mixer with the Young Professionals of the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council and through dinners held in the local homes of Randle and Suzanne Carpenter, Joe Hemmer and Paula Drummond, Stephen and Rachel Reyes, and Kathie Richardson. Volunteer facilitator Kim Rivera also provided an extra amount of hospitality by accompanying the visitors to their meetings and ensuring that their time in Pensacola went as smoothly as possible.
