In December 2019, seven visitors from Kazakhstan came to the region on an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project titled Civil Aviation and Safety. The Institute of International Education arranged their national program and Gulf Coast Diplomacy arranged their local program.
The situation on the ground was anything but usual, and we thank Pensacola City Council Member Sherri Meyers & Council Executive Don Kraher for their great teamwork in welcoming and presenting the group with Honorary Citizenship Certificates on behalf of Mayor Grover Robinson as an emergency meeting was being called regarding the developing cyber-attack on the City of Pensacola.
Due to the terrorist attack at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, interlocutors at NAS quickly adjusted their plans and met with the group in a county government building downtown. We thank the team at the Board of County Commissioners Administration Building, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and the National Flight Academy for their flexibility. We and the visitors greatly appreciate the efforts made during this time of shock and grief.
Director of Academic Support at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Carol Monroe met the group to explain the operations of ERAU, a private university with its main campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona. ERAU is the largest accredited university system specializing in aviation and aerospace. It considers itself one of the top aviation and aerospace schools in America and provides students with undergraduate and graduate technical degrees in various aviation and engineering specialties.
Master Chief (Ret.) Mark Curley, senior program facilitator at the National Flight Academy, shared how the National Flight Academy addresses the serious concern of declining science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills in our country. Their mission is to inspire students to seek out the more challenging STEM courses at school. Disciplines include aerodynamics, propulsion, navigation, communications, flight physiology, and meteorology, along with the core values of teamwork and leadership skills development in this weeklong, sleepaway experience. The discussion focused how this nonprofit collaborated with the National Naval Aviation Museum and the U.S. Navy to promote a program aimed at sparking the potential of future aviators.
The group also visited two airports. At Pensacola International Airport, they met with Deputy Airport Director Matthew Coughlin as he highlighted airport operations, security, and planning. Conversation focused on forecasting for growth, local economic development related to the aviation industry, strategies for attracting new airlines and routes, cargo and freight services, and emergency preparedness plans. At Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, Deputy Executive Director Richard McConnell focused on the process of designing, establishing, and operating a new airport. Opened in 2010, Northwest Florida Beaches was the first international airport designed and built in the United States after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The economic impact of new airports was the focus of conversation with FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance Chief Executive Officer Scott Luth and Chief Business Development Officer Danita Andrews. FloridaWest is the region’s economic development organization with the mission of building, growing, and sustaining the economic potential and prosperity of Northwest Florida.
For a cultural activity, Air Force Armament Museum Director David Fitzpatrick welcomed the group with a guided tour and a great discussion. The museum is the only one in the world dedicated to the collection, preservation, and exhibition of artifacts and memorabilia associated with Air Force armament and its platforms of delivery. It is home to a vast array of aircraft and the fastest plane ever built, the SR-71 Blackbird, is the centerpiece of its collection which includes planes from World War II to the Gulf War eras.
Gulf Coast Diplomacy supporter & volunteer Linda Thompson accompanied the group to their activities and served as the perfect facilitator with her own knowledge of naval aviation. Linda was the embodiment of resiliency during a changing program and gave our visitors from Kazakhstan a window into the life of Americans in the Emerald Coast area. The project was richer for it and for that we are thankful.
