Our office often is asked to prepare projects dealing with tourism, the environment, or education; so when we were asked to arrange appointments which would compliment a national program on alumni association leadership development, we first had to sit down for a brainstorming session to ask why that type of group would come to our part of the world in the first place. It was not long until we realized that the skills and creativity leveraged throughout the area to help organizations meet their respective missions was what we should highlight; and we began reaching out to these people to see if they could share some of their experiences with our multinational group.
The visitors hailed from Bahrain, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Finland, Honduras, Hungary, New Zealand, and Nigeria. All spoke English and for all but one it was their first time in Pensacola. Their national travel itinerary placed them in northwest Florida for a generous six days, allowing them to enjoy a weekend at the beach. We extend heartfelt thanks to Dr. Jack Kichler for taking the group on a tour of historic Pensacola and the navy base on Saturday morning and to John Asmar for arranging an evening at the Grand Marlin for the group which was attended by other board members along with Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino.
Their professional program started with a brief orientation and then moved to Pensacola State College where Breena Bruni, the development coordinator with the Annual Fund & Alumni Affairs Office, and other administrators discussed the role of a smaller alumni organization, its fundraising activities, and strategies used to maintain and strengthen alumni organizations as a whole.
Following this discussion, the group joined the Rotary Club of Pensacola Suburban West for lunch. Their attendance gave them an informal glimpse on civic organizations while the subsequent meeting with member Edmund Holt and President John Stein allowed for discussion on club challenges, accomplishments, and structure.
The next day, the group met Kurt Larson, LeaP Alumni Association Chair with Leadership Pensacola, to talk about leadership and youth mentoring and then with Jena Melançon, executive director of the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council, to examine the use of social media and the “nuts and bolts” of creating a membership base. The afternoon consisted of a school visit and roundtable discussion at Brown Barge Middle School where Principal Patricia Kerrigan, Escambia County Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President Kathie Lasky, teachers, and students were enthralled with country presentations given by the visitors. Following their time in the classrooms, the adults met in the media center to discuss PTA membership issues.
Their final day included volunteering with Barbara Vititow and Feeding the Homeless Plus at First United Methodist Church and holding their own brainstorming session to share best practices used by their own organizations and to further discuss their Pensacola experience. A farewell luncheon included the presentation of honorary citizenship with the city of Pensacola by Dr. Jack Kichler.
Thank you to everyone who met with this lively and personable group.
