How do you explore international trade in northwest Florida? Last autumn we worked with four visitors from Oman and did just that through a series of site visits and discussions focusing on local efforts to attract foreign investment and trade.
At the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, Vice President of Public Affairs Todd Thomson, City of Pensacola Economic Policy Coordinator Rebecca Ferguson, and Visit Pensacola President Steve Hayes highlighted the collaboration between public and private entities. A site visit to Co:Lab with Florida West CEO Scott Luth and colleagues Sena Maddison and Clancy Bambrick explored entrepreneurship support in a small community.
At a site visit to the Port of Pensacola,Frank Lenox and Clark Merritt highlightedthe challenges and opportunities of a small port while a site visit to Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agricultural Inspection Station No. 19 arranged by Capt Mark Burke focused on how the agricultural interdiction station inspects highway shipments of agricultural, horticultural, aquaculture, and livestock commodities to ensure quality food for the public and to protect Florida’s multibillion dollar agricultural industry. Time with Libbie Johnson of the Escambia County Extension Service focused on rural development Initiatives through a series of site visits. Because one member of the group works with issues surrounding construction, the group also met with Alton Listor to focus on building standards and the general operations of home building.
To complete their calendar, the visitors volunteered at First United Methodist Church with the Serving the Hungry program after first meeting with Coordinator Katie Ramsey for a discussion on the structure and mission of the program. Councilmember Sherri Myers also was an integral part of the itinerary with her overview of the city while Ed Berry, Allan Ford, Fred Knodel, and Racine Frank interacted with the visitors through a community coffee.To make the visitors’ experience complete, Lawrence and Marciá Schuffman and Randle and Suzanne Carpenter embodied the generosity and hospitality of our region by welcoming the Omanis to their homes for a meal.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks all who participated in this project. Together, we are bringing northwest Florida from local to global.
