[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcFPU5-S_oE]On the morning of the great flood of 2010, rather, the “significant rain event” as our Water Resources Director John Harrington calls it, our staff hosted a team of leaders and administrators from all around the globe. The visit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Oklahoma City International Visitors Council. This was the sixth time in the past decade that ACOG has participated in such a visit.
The group was comprised of 13 high ranking government officials and administrators from such faraway places like Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Rwanda and Ghana. Two representatives from the State Department also accompanied the team.
The group learned a little about regional government models, federalism, state appropriations, barriers to programs and services, and how 9-1-1 and the funding mechanisms for emergency phone systems work. Johnny Irons and Lysa Baker, with our 9-1-1 staff, explained some of the technical capacity of our regional system.
Reaction from both ACOG staff and visiting team was positive, and the interaction was informative. Alas, after a quick orientation to the world of ACOG, the team boarded and bus and traversed the flooded plains. We hope to see them again the future.