The Other Side

Last year I blogged about how interesting it has been for me to watch diplomats at work. I've interviewed about 20 ambassadors in the past year. Their lives are full-throttle, but even on camera, they're always sharp, fresh and ready to answer tough questions from the perspective of their countries.

Last week, I interviewed Brazil's ambassador to the U.S., and he was as poised as I expected. Today, I listened as the French ambassador to the U.S. spoke about France's objectives in its last three months as head of the European Union. Some tough questions about the global financial crisis came from the crowd, but Pierre Vimont handled them in stride, showing an impressive breadth of knowledge.

I think I admire diplomats because I'm unsure I will ever attain their level of professionalism and intelligence, but today was a big stride for me. For a few moments, I shared the stage with Mr. Vimont in front of a luncheon crowd of about 150 people.

With a small cheat sheet in hand to make sure I didn't melt down, I commended Mr. Vimont for his support for Atlanta and presented him with the copy of a special report that GlobalAtlanta recently completed about the partnership between the Louvre and the High Museum of Art. It was a small gesture and probably seemed mundane for the folks in the crowd. For me, it was an affirmation that I could hold my own on the other side of the camera.

Watch the short video below and let me know how I did.

August Access Recap

I don't do this to put more notches into my belt or to tout my accomplishments, only to show how much God continues to bless me by putting me in situations where I can meet prime decision makers on the world stage. I still don't know what God's preparing me for in the big picture, but for now, I'm enjoying the ride as an international business reporter at GlobalAtlanta. Here's an August recap of the officials I've been able to meet or cover.

-Lord Mayor of London David Lewis, an alderman elected to a one-year term as head of the City of London, a small area within Greater London that handles the city's financial institutions. I conducted an e-mail Q&A with him. Article here.

-U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, the first Asian-American to serve in a cabinet position. She's been in President Bush's administration for more than seven years and has a great story that goes from immigration at 8 years old to one of the highest offices in the land. Article here.

-Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. On his second trip to China, Mr. Perdue called back for a conference with media to tell us what he was up to. Turns out he was representing Georgia at an international forum called the Regional Leaders Conference in Jinan, Shandong province. Article here.

-Presidents Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador and Alvaro Colom of Guatemala, along with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. All the men were in Atlanta for the Americas Competitiveness Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders from around the Western Hemisphere to share knowledge on how to cooperate to better the region's standing in the world economy. Read my article here.

-Chilean Economic Minister Hugo Lavados, also in town for the forum. Conducted a video interview with him at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. For video and article, go here.

-Alessandro Teixeira, head of Brazil's export promotion agency, ApexBrasil. He gave a speech at the forum and a presentation about the Brazilian economy at a local law firm. He cited ethanol as one of the largest areas for potential trade between Brazil and Georgia, already the South American powerhouse's third largest state trading partner. Click here.

-A long-anticipated Brazilian consulate opened in Atlanta. I was on the scene. Click here for my coverage.

-Indonesian Ambassador Sujadnan Parnohadiningrat (I can actually spell his name by heart now.) He serenaded an audience with his saxophone at a gala I attended last weekend. He needed something to break the ice after the stat-filled speech he gave. My job is to make his comments interesting. See the article and video here.