Remarks From Consul General
Opening of the Vallarta Consular Agency New Office
September 21, 2007
7:00 pm
Distinguished guests,
Colleagues and friends,
Good evening.
Thank you very much for joining us this evening to officially open the Puerto Vallarta Consular Agency’s new offices here in Nuevo Vallarta.
It’s very appropriate that this new location straddles two states – Jalisco and Nayarit - where we have important populations of resident American citizens and tourists and visitor groups. Now if we could only figure out a way to easily bridge this piece of the coast with Manzanillo in Colima. Anyway, I’m sure that the Consular Agency here is busy enough without adding Colima.
This is an evening to celebrate the dedication and hard work that has gone into providing services to American citizens in Puerto Vallarta and along the coast for many, many years, as well as all the special effort that went into getting the Consular Agency to this new, beautiful location.
The United States Consular Agency has been in Puerto Vallarta for about 30 years. Actually we know that it’s been open for more than 26 years, but beyond that we don’t have details. If anyone here has more precise information about when the Agency’s doors first opened in Puerto Vallarta, please let us know this evening.
In all these years we have grown – along with the growth of Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta and the entire Bahia de Banderas -- to become an intrinsic part of the community. We work together with you on common interests – safety and security, economic growth and development, education and English language learning, and cultural activities. The Consular Agency is the eyes and ears of the Consulate General in Guadalajara, as well as the Embassy in Mexico City.
And that strong relationship all comes down to people.
First of all, thank you Kelly Trainor, who certainly does not need an introduction to this crowd. Kelly will complete 10 years of service as the U.S. Consular Agent this November. Her enthusiasm and energy, her openness and tireless commitment to serving all of you has made her a legend in Mission Mexico as well as in the Puerto Vallarta-Nuevo Vallarta community. Except for an occasional vacation, she’s always there at the end of the call. I have especially appreciated your assistance, Kelly, in keeping me and the Consulate informed of activities in this part of our district and alerting us about the concerns of Americans living and visiting here. She knows you all, building and maintaining the bridges between the United States and this wonderful community, both American and Mexican.
Jacqueline Guerrero, our Consular Assistant, started working at the Consular Agency about the time I joined the Foreign Service, 25 years ago. This is an incredible demonstration of dedication to the U.S. community. Without Jackie’s broad and deep knowledge of everyone and everything going on in Puerto Vallarta and surroundings, we would not be able to serve you so well. Thank you, Jackie.
Hector Aguirre, also a Consular Assistant, will complete six years of service in November. Thank you, Hector, for your hard work. It’s almost impossible to learn all of the details about U.S. Government passports and assistance to citizens. Many of us spend many years doing so, just to be faced with changes. You’ve made a tremendous contribution to the success of the Agency in a relatively short time.
John Palmerin is the newcomer who was desperately needed for some time. Thanks, John, for joining us and helping make the Agency run smoother and more efficiently in just one year.
This is an amazing staff! When the State Department announced changes in the regulations for re-entering the U.S. with a passport last year, they jumped over the hurdles and deftly handled a workload that doubled. The demand for passports has increased world-wide, but it’s been particularly high in western Mexico. The ability of the Consular Agency to take on new challenges is a model for us all.
We are particularly grateful to Don Graziano Sobernigo, the owner of this fabulous Paradise Village and his team of architects, Rene Reyes and Pedro Madrigal, in particular. Not only did Mr. Graziano invite us to relocate to Paradise Plaza Villa, providing us with the space in this high-rent district, but he countered every idea of Kelly’s with a stream of options. What you see here today, is more than a custom-built facility. It is built for the future and represents the sprit of our collaboration between our two countries. Thank you to the Paradise Village Staff architects – Rene Reyes and Pedro Mariscal, to the Plaza Administration – Alika Bernal, for the telephone and technical installations – Ing. Marquez, and to the security staff and their director – Wistano Rios.
I would like to introduce the Consulate General Guadalajara team who came for this celebration:
Marti Melzow, Chief of the Consular Section
Ravi Candadai, Chief for American Citizen Services
Tim Roche, Chief of the Visa Section
Lynn Roche, Public Affairs Officer
Jeff Crone, Regional Security Officer
Michele Crone, Fraud Prevention Manager
Mignon Turner, Vice Consul
Abe Perez, DEA
Adrian Ibañez, DEA
And now to you all…
As our honored guests tonight, you represent the breadth and depth of our close ties to this community. Thank you for your support of Kelly and her team. Your dedication and hard work make it possible for us to provide services to American citizens in need and to the families of those who have died, as well as to those who get into trouble from time to time. You help us enhance security in both our countries by working with U.S. law enforcement agencies. You enable us to turn around some difficult situations to become a positive demonstration of what Americans and Mexicans can achieve together. This corner of Mexico is a stunning paradise that will continue to draw Americans who want to visit or live here. I hope we can count on your continued support. I know that you can count on us and on our friendship.