Touching message wins our hearts and minds
YOU know you have just scraped in to an event when your name tag is handwritten.
So it was with mine for this week’s Committee for Geelong Leadership Breakfast, which featured US ambassador John Berry who was on a week-long visit to Victoria.
Thanks to some fast work by the committee’s very helpful team, I had scored a last moment spot so I really didn’t mind my handwritten tag. (Note to self: don’t diarise an event before you actually register!)
Knowing that 300-plus people often means traffic delays along Cunningham Pier when scrambling to depart, I shunned the car and rode my bike.
Clearly, casual riding clothes or — God forbid — Lycra would not pass muster at this prestigious event, so I suited-up for the ride, tucking my right trouser leg into the associated sock.
Attired in this daggy outfit, I arrived, substantially lowering the morning’s fashion standard but content to have given the environment a little win that day.
Apart from bacon and eggs, the main course was ambassador Berry’s speech. He did not disappoint.
Intelligent, humorous, a clear communicator and a consummate speaker — if he had notes, he did not need to refer to them.
Of course, people in such high profile positions would be highly trained to deliver a strong message but there was nothing forced about John Berry. He engaged his audience, winning over the locals by commenting “Geelong looks good, even on a grey morning!”
The economy was his main focus. The US remains our third largest trading partner, well behind even China and Japan.
It was surprising to learn that Australia had the second largest concentration of Boeing employees in the world and encouraging to know the products of Melbournebased Swisse now grace supermarket shelves across the US.
Mr Berry’s other thrust was innovation, crowning Geelong “the capital of innovation”. That seemed somewhat of an overstatement but, heck, who are we to knock back such accolades?
Of course, many things we do in Geelong are world-leading and world-class but there’s always greater credibility if such recognition is from outside.
As his speech drew towards the end, Mr Berry revealed an important family connection with Melbourne that dated back to World War II.
His US Marine father was on R&R and camped on the MCG following a torrid battle experience in the Pacific. Mr Berry said his father made it very clear to him that his short time in Melbourne, and the Australians he met, restored his father’s faith in human nature. His father described Australia as “a fountain of the goodness”.
You could have heard a pin drop, a most unexpected end to a speech mostly focused on innovation and economic opportunities between our two countries. It was a deeply personal touch that said much about both men.
Mr Berry concluded that the US/Australia alliance is by no means based on convenience but because we share “rock hard” foundational values.
While it could be argued this was a tad schmaltzy, in the context of his whole presentation, it fitted well.
When you think about it, to be tasked with representing your country in another country is a major, daunting responsibility. Even if close allies, there would be consistent policy and national interest issues to deal with, let alone myriad visa and immigration matters to manage.
While often regarded as a privileged and possibly slightly disconnected job, the reality is most likely a long way different.
The US seems well represented in Australia by a down-to-earth person in John Berry.