Ambassador Alsup Remarks, Hail and Farewell

thepoint.gm, Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Alsup [see bio at] image from entry

Excerpt:

As you know this is a hail and farewell, so before I say farewell, let me take this opportunity to welcome our new Deputy Chief of Mission, Shelly Seaver, who will be in charge of the embassy until the new U.S. Ambassador arrives later this year.

Like me, Shelly hails from Florida, the Sunshine State, so adjusting to the weather here should not be a problem for her, though it is quite different from her last post which was Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, where she was Public Affairs Officer. Over the course of her fourteen-year State Department career, Shelly has served as Information Officer in Sofia, Bulgaria; Vice Consul in Frankfurt, Germany; and Public Affairs Officer in Podgorica, Montenegro. She has received numerous State Department awards, including Superior Honor Awards and a Meritorious Service Increase for her work in Public Diplomacy. Prior to joining the State Department, Shelly worked at the Library of Congress and Woodrow Wilson Center administering educational and professional exchange programs.

Shelly is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and is professionally proficient in Russian. She is the proud mother of three young children who share her avid interests in skiing, hiking and swimming.

I hope you will make her feel as welcome as you have made me feel, help her to get to know the lay of the land quickly, and respond to her calls. Please, everyone, let’s give Shelly a warm Gambia welcome. ...