On Monday March 4, 2013, Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, District 4, hosted the 2nd annual international delegation day for events surrounding the Florida Strawberry Festival Parade. Sponsored by the City of Plant City, representatives from seven countries began the day with a roundtable meeting at Plant City City Hall with Congressman Dennis Ross, Commissioner Higginbotham and Plant City Mayor Mike Sparkman.
The dignitaries also attended the Festival Parade Luncheon, the parade, and a post-parade picnic. The attendees were made up of members from the Tampa Bay Consular Corps, German American Chamber of Commerce and the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce.
“The Strawberry Festival is a great chance to show off the opportunities that Plant City and Hillsborough County offer to the world,” Commissioner Higginbotham said. “I am proud we can bring people together from different levels of government and different nations to talk about what we can do and where we can go in the future.”
Commissioner Higginbotham has worked to increase Hillsborough County’s international footprint. A recent example of success is the 2012 opening of the German American Chamber of Commerce in Tampa.
The Tampa Bay Consular Corps is an organization formed by and for consular representatives. Its members can either be Career or Honorary Consuls. All consular representatives in the United States must be formally appointed by their governments and accepted by the United States Department of State which accredits them to act in their official capacity in this country.
Efforts are coordinated through the Tampa/Hillsborough International Protocol Office and the Executive Director, Deborah Wilkinson.vzlom-pochty.com PochtaBrut
