Last day on Guam

By Rod Jetton

A look at the Guam radar

 We had a very busy last day.  It rained most of the day, which cooled things off.  Did I mention it is the rainy season here?  We have a big tropical storm swirling around the south pacific that is keeping things wet.  

Me with several of the Guam Senators

I started my day at 7:00am meeting with Senator Blas.  He is one of the 15 Guam Senators who pass all the budget and laws for Guam.  Right now they are working to pass the Guam budget so I was very honored that he took the time to meet with me.  He also introduced me to a few of the other Senators before their session started at 10:00am.  Hearing them talk about passing their budget brought back memories of when I was Speaker in Missouri trying to work out the compromises needed to pass a budget. 

While I was visiting with the Senators, Stan was meeting with some of the local contractors.  We joined up again at 10:00 and stopped by Hensel Phelps Construction and talked with their senior estimator Jos’e Luis Vasquez.  After that we came back to the hotel and Mr. Lam visited with us about the Guam contractors association.  Mr. Lam was an example of everyone we met on Guam.  He is one of the kindest and most helpful people you could ever meet.  

Stan Al and Rod

Jaime Cea from Kiewit joined us for lunch and then Al Sampson who is the Small Business Advisor for NAVFAC on Guam.  Al was very very helpful!  He is a Marine so I knew he was good to go.  He had an excellent understanding about contracting in this region as well as the base buildup.  He gave us some extremely helpful pointers and told us to call him if we had any questions.

Our last meeting of the day was with Michael Ady from M80 systems.  They are a company that sells furniture and appliances.  They also do contracting and were a great source of information on Guam and the region.  After that the night ended with a reception Steve Maramonte by Guam Base Buildup where several folks who are interested in the base buildup attended.  

All of us at the reception 

Stan and Steve Maramonte of Guam Base Buildup

Stan and Dot Haymann from SunPorts

We left fairly early because we have to get up at 3:30am to start the long trek home.  We leave here at 6:00am on the 24^th and arrive in St. Louis at 11:15 am the 24^th.  That may seem amazing but we gain a day heading back.  Hopefully we have safe flights, don’t lose our bags and make it home in time for the Branson Cajun Boil.