What do visitors on an International Visitor Leadership Program titled Managing Start-Up Incubators for Growth do while in Pensacola? Thirteen visitors from Pakistan found out as they met local entrepreneurs and explored programs in place to support business development with Volunteer Facilitator Susan Senkarik. Their program included an orientation with Pensacola City Council Executive Don Kraher, a greeting with Joyce Black at the Pensacola Visitors Information Center, and an experience at Serving the Hungry at First United Methodist Church where Coordinator Katie Ramsey explained the program’s structure and invited the group join her volunteers as they fed locals together.
At Co:Lab, Director of Entrepreneurial Development Kelly Reeser and Office Manager Clancy Bambrick shared operational details of the incubator while at the Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director Brian Wyer discussed his organization’s mission and the local opportunities for minorities in business development. The group also met with University of West Florida Center of Entrepreneurship Program Manager Jim Sparks, Community Manager for Pensacola Socialdesk David Musselwhite, and Robert Foster of 1Million Cups to discuss university partnerships, support for entrepreneurs, and igniting entrepreneurial talent in students.
A community coffee gave them the chance to speak with locals in an informal setting. Participants included the Islamic Center of Northwest Florida Education Administrator Salma Ashmawi, retiree Jim Crowe, Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce Immediate Past President Karen Jurkowich, recovering entrepreneur Mike Jurkowich, and Vice President of Public Affairs of the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Todd Thomson.
Participating in dinners hosted in homes added another layer to their American experience. Part of the group went to the home of Terry and Jim Crowe while others ate in the homes of Leigh and Kent DeSantis, Tara and Michael Jones, Karen and Mike Jurkowich, Megan and Jerry Pratt, and Faye and Robert Robinson.
Programs in northwest Florida focusing on entrepreneurs explore a variety of public-private partnerships, incubators and support services, and introduce visitors to people working in various stages of business development. It takes a good team to coordinate such a program and the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks everyone who contributed.
