First, we started the day off at the Embassy of Spain. We met with Begoña Nieto Gilarte the Counselor of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment for the US & Canada. We also met with Christoper Abanavas Public Diplomacy and Digital Engagement Officer. We also had a surprise visit from Ambassador Ramón Gil-Casares Satrústegui. We had a really good conversation about Spain export and import markets. We also learned about how Spain is the only country in the European Union to support GMO’s
Next we went to the Embassy of Haiti.
We met with Nicolas Mayard Paul Premier Secrètaire. We also met with Dr. Weibert Arthus, Minister Counselor of Political Affairs. We had a great conversation about the rice market in Haiti. Also, Dr. Weibert made some interesting points about federal relief to Haiti. His opinion was to feed someone a fish, they eat for a day. Teach someone how to fish and they eat for a lifetime. He hopes that one day he runs into all of us one day on the beach in Haiti
We stopped at the Embassy of Tribal Nations, where we were welcomed by Jacob Schelling, Staff Attorney & Legislative Affairs Specialist and Ian Record, Director, Partnership for Tribal Governance. We had some great conversation and learned a lot about tribal affairs. We found out that they played a role in changing the name of Lake Calhoun back to the original name of Bde Maka Ska.
Lastly, Mark Rokala stopped by. He is currently a lobbyist for AURI and other agriculture-related organizations. He said the best thing we could do as constitutes were to follow up with our representative’s staffers and building relationships.
Last we went on a late night trolley tour of D.C We had an amazing tour guide named H.W. We made stops at the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, FDR Memorial, MLK Memorial, and Marine Memorial.
Submitted by Nick Godward
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