Large and in charge... .and Congressmen come to visit!

And my NSF Representative tour begins..... Last week I took over as NSF Representative. Day 1 felt like I was in a mission control simulation with two different airplane situations, one of which had me interacting with another international program. But, it wasn't too long before I felt back in the flight controller saddle and was feeling at home making command decisions for many different aspects thrown at me. I am absolutely loving this position. I get to interface with the military, the contractors, foreign programs, etc. 

And, I'm pretty sure as the top NSF person on-site, I have the biggest office in Antarctica. 

Here are some pics of my office. I've added even another monitor since these were taken, so I really do feel like I'm in Mission Control. 

The shelves contain gifts from foreign programs, challenge coins, literature on our program, etc. 

And, this is why you haven't heard from me in awhile.... I've been a bit busy.....

The big news of the week.... we had a Distinguished Visitor group arrive. Four members of the House of Representatives arrived with staffers and high level NSF management. As the highest ranking NSF person on station, I was tasked to pick them up at the airfield. You can imagine how careful I was transporting DV's from their aircraft to McMurdo, a 30 minute drive across an ice shelf..... I was praying for smooth, but not too slippery roads!!  

All of these Congressmen are on the House Appropriations Committee, which means they are in charge of where the money goes. This CODEL (Congressional Delegation) visit's purpose was to observe USAP's science research activities and reviewed logistics operations to familiarize themselves with the infrastructure that supports the research. We did a good job of facilitating this goal.

Representatives (L to R): Tony Gonzales (TX), Henry Cuellar (TX), Steve Womack (AR), Guy Reschenthaler (PA) (Photo credit: Mike Jackson, the NSF Science Rep)

Representatives touring the Vehicle Mainteance Facility. Reschenthaler and Womack in front.

The DVs get to visit many interesting places, such as the Dry Valleys (by helo), South Pole, and then on the last day they visited all our facilities in McMurdo. I spent a lot of time wrangling, but not as much time as my admin that was absolutely critical to making the visit go smoothly. There haven't been any DV visits in many years, so it was a big operation to get all the details in order. And, we get to do it again in a week when the National Science Board visits. 

On the last evening, there's a DV reception where we invite selected members of the community to mingle with the Congressmen. The Congressmen each gave speeches and were visibly thankful for all that the people of McMurdo had done for them. I do believe this visit was productive, educational, and beneficial for support back in DC. 

One Congressman from Texas, Henry Cuellar, was so gracious. It was lovely to meet him. 

This is Karen Marrongelle, Chief Operating Officer for NSF (Deputy to the NSF Director) . She had never been here before, so it's good to have the highest management come see what we do here. 

This is Marc, the Station Manager, who I work directly with. We arrived wearing the same colors unplanned but looking like a true team. 

The next photos are for my friend, Mae, who always likes to hear about the food down here. You would never know that we were in Antarctica looking at the reception the Culinary Department put together. Appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks were served. There was shrimp, empanada, cheese/meat trays, duck, etc. It just always amazes me how this team is able to pull off such fancy settings down here. Just wait until my next blog about Thanksgiving! We will celebrate Tday on Saturday here in McMurdo.

Tom is the Culinary Manager and always does a bang up job! Thanks, Tom!!

These desserts were AMAZING..... a chocolate mousse pastry and a fruit/cream pastry with a crust that was to die for.

I can't wait for Thanksgiving meal on Saturday!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!