by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
There’s never a second chance to make a first impression. A simple gesture of familiarity to one person could be an insult to another. Sometimes, it’s not what you say, but rather how you say it.
Those are some of the maxims of diplomacy and for the past 15 years, Nancy Olson, the City’s Protocol Officer, has made sure when international dignitaries like government officials and business people come to Jacksonville, they leave with the best possible impression of the city and its people. She also helps City officials and local business people understand the customs of other countries if they are traveling there to represent Jacksonville.
For 25 years before she arrived at City Hall, Olson was posted by the U.S. State Department for Foreign Service assignments in Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, Italy, Rumania and Puerto Rico.
She works with City personnel from Mayor John Peyton on down as well as the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce international delegations, Port Authority officials and private businesses.
“My job is to make sure everyone is aware of cross-cultural etiquette. International visitors and dignitaries are very aware of how they should be treated,” said Olson, who maintains a library of information about customs and traditions of other countries, including a book explaining what different hand gestures mean to those who live in countries other than the United States.
Working with other organizations including the International Visitors Corps Jacksonville (IVCJ), the World Affairs Council and the Jacksonville Sister Cities Association, Olson makes sure hundreds of delegates each year have a pleasant and productive experience while they are visiting Jacksonville. The organizations work together to host international guests who are interested in Jacksonville for reasons ranging from increasing global trade to exchanging ideas and information.
“It’s all about accommodating our guests. We make them feel welcome and properly honored,” she said.
Another part of Olson’s job is to coordinate the efforts of the Sister Cities program that connects the mayor of Jacksonville with his counterpart in six cities around the world for cultural and intellectual exchange. Jacksonville joined its first Sister City — Bahia Blanca, Argentina — in 1967. Over the past 40 years the list has grown to include Masan, Korea; Murmansk, Russia; Nantes, France; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; and Yingkou, China.
Olson said one of the most rewarding parts of her job is that through communication between international visitors and the people of Jacksonville, “We have been able to change the lives of people all over the world.”
Sondie Frus, executive director of IVCJ, agreed.
“There’s something we hear all the time when our guests are getting ready to return home,” said Frus. “They often tell us that before their visit, they thought Americans were ‘all about the money’. After spending time here they say, ‘but now we know you’re just like us’.”