In September we had the pleasure of receiving two guests from Indonesia for a project focusing on educational institutes and facilities in northwest Florida.
The visitors were welcomed to Pensacola by Lesa Morgan, Kelly Reeser, and Scott Luth at the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. The group discussed the region’s economic infrastructure as well the area’s internships and academic programs. At the end of the meeting, our guests were thrilled to receive a Certificate of Honorary Citizenship to the City of Pensacola as well as a lovely gift bag.
Our Indonesian guests were also very excited to try Cajun food from Cajun Specialty Meat’s. When the staff realized that they had international customers, they brought out samples of all the unfamiliar dishes for them to try before ordering. The guests loved the experience and remarked how friendly Pensacola was.
The visitor’s next stop was at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Carol Monroe and Less Robison were gracious hosts, giving our visitors a tour of the facility, as well as demonstrating their online “Eagle Vision” web application that allows students from all across the globe to digitally connect for classes.
From there the visitors made the short journey to the impressive National Flight Academy where Teresa Gurka welcomed them and Mark Curley gave a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities. Opening in spring of 2012, the National Flight Academy is poised to be the world’s premier educational experience and our visitors were thrilled to tour such a unique operation.
The following day, our visitors met with Eric Smith, Principal at West Florida High School of Advanced Technology. The group observed development programs for high school youth among West Florida’s thirteen academic programs. From there, Daniel Busse, Principal of George Stone Technical Center, met with our visitors to discuss specialized technical education programs for the adult learner. Our guests then enjoyed a lunch prepared for them by the George Stone culinary students.
Then it was off to Pensacola State College to visit Laurie Winterburg, Sue Halfhill, Gil Bixel, Marc Smith, Gerry Pea, and Autumn Henderson at Pensacola State College’s Career and Technical Education Services to learn the various academic and financial support available to students. Our visitors then continued to PSC’s IT and Manufacturing Department, meeting with Mike Cannon and Paul Jones to learn ways in which non-traditional students are mentored at a community college and to tour the facilities available to them.
That evening, our guests enjoyed Pensacola Beach’s “Bands on the Beach,” taking in live music from the shoreline of the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
