I am very honored that I got a chance to talk again about my stay in your beautiful city Pensacola, in November 2011, which was provided by the International Visitor Leadership Program – IVLP and in the Project on Inter-Ethnic Cooperation in the United States.
In November of 2011 I was representing Serbia’s Greek National Minority Council, as the president of it, along with three more representatives of Serbia’s minority councils: the Roma, Albanian and Bosniak National Minority Councils.
The program objectives for this group included acquainting the participants with the collaborative efforts of diverse U.S. ethnic and other minority populations in improving intergroup relations across cultures.
We had a chance of meeting with public, private, and non-governmental entities that promoted effective strategies for non-violent conflict resolution and we are glad that our community was included in the national programme.
During the time in northwest Florida, we had the fortune of good timing as we were able to attend a naturalization ceremony at the Winston E. Arnow Federal Building. A special thank you is extended to Teresa Cole for making that happen and to Senior District Judge Roger Vinson for recognizing their presence at the event. We could all agree that it was an amazing experience.
We want to thank GCCDC volunteer Susan Senkarik who made our meeting at Warrington Middle School much easier. Also, we want to thank David Hawkins and Eric Pickett who showcased their Students Taking Responsibility in Developing Excellence (S.T.R.I.D.E) program. Our group was amazed by such an American school and the good work Eric and David were doing there.
We want to express our gratefulness to the members of GCCDC at Laguna’s Restaurant on the beach, where we could meet citizens and their daily activities. The next day, they attended the Pow-Wow Celebration with the Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe, which was an incredible experience. There, we spoke with Chief Thomas Nichols and enjoyed traditional crafts, food, and dances.
We had an important meeting and met Dr. Lusharon Wiley at the University of West Florida’s Common Ground and Diversity Training Group where they explored the importance of intercultural exchange with faculty and students.
We had meetings with Josephina Devito at Catholic Charities about their immigration and refugee services and Grace McCaffery at the Hispanic Resource Center where we talked about the challenges of being a minority in the U.S. and the resources available.
It was a big pleasure for Serbia’s delegation to spend time in this area with such amazing people and to familiarize with America’s citizens and with their everyday routines, which aren’t a lot different from life in Serbia and Europe.
I would also like to say thank you to kind Ms Jena Melancon, who was there for all our inexhaustible questions during our visit.
I was especially happy to get a chance to meet the Greek community in Pensacola, during the time we spent in the Orthodox church. I want to thank to local companies and to people who made this program possible.
The biggest honor for us was President of the City Council Maren DeWeese welcoming us and presenting us with Honorary Citizenship of Pensacola, something that really touched us and what will forever remind us of our unforgettable time spent in your wonderful city.
We look forward to communicating and seeing you again.
We are sending you the biggest greetings from Serbia.
Yours sincerely,
Petar Rodifcis –Nadj
President of Greek National Council of Serbia
PS: We love your new logo.
