NLSC supports Navy Secretary in Gulf town hall meetings

During the week of August 2 - 7, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus traveled to the Gulf Coast to conduct town hall meetings regarding the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Traveling with him was NLSC Member Terry Trinh of Dana Point, California, who served as Secretary Mabus’ Vietnamese interpreter. Terry was with Secretary Mabus at three of the five town hall meeting locations: Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, where the Secretary met with Gulf residents to get their input and feedback on ongoing plans to clean up the Gulf.

NLSC members Trang Teiu (on left) and Terry Trinh

Our client agency was the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, aka WHIAAPI. WHIAAPI co-ordinates efforts across several agencies to provide access to English-based services for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with limited English skills. WHIAAPI contacted us on Thursday, July 29, asking for assistance with interpreting to/from Vietnamese.

This was a real test of our ability to provide services quickly. From the time we learned about the possible assignment to the time Terry deployed was about 72 hours. When we first contacted Terry that Thursday, we told him that the trip had about a 50/50 chance of happening. He said he could be flexible. It wasn’t finalized until late Friday afternoon and Terry had to deploy on Sunday. Over the weekend the NLSC was scrambling to handle a great deal of behind-the-scenes co-ordination.

Terry handled the schedule with aplomb.

The NLSC Deputy Director for Operations, Verónica Coon, also consulted with the town hall organizers to how to set up the events for effective and unobtrusive interpreting.

While on the trip, Terry not only interpreted for Vietnamese speakers asking questions during the town hall meetings, he also greeted them as they arrived and let them know that he was at their disposal for interpreting assistance. In addition, he assisted them when filling out the claims forms and dealing with the many agencies that were also there to help.

At the end of the trip, Terry told us that as he finished his last meeting, Secretary Mabus shook his hand and told him he did a good job. Comments from Navy staff at the town hall included “We appreciated you and your team's professionalism and thoroughly enjoyed working with you all” and “Terry did a wonderful job!”

NLSC’s Coon noted that “Terry was perfect for the assignment. He was a real team player”.

A hat-tip to New Orleans-based NLSC member Trang Tieu for presenting Gulf opportunities to us, which led to this assignment.