Author Archives: Jon Wallace

October 20, 2010: US Ambassadors Visit Milwaukee

Omanhene, I’m proud to say, has tried to be an example of the positive side of globalism. We recognize the economic theory of the comparative advantage of international trade. That is, we understand that countries should focus on producing those goods and services for which they enjoy a competitive advantage; for all other items, they should engage in trade in order to acquire those goods and services. Our chocolate bars are manufactured entirely in Ghana because Ghana enjoys a competitive advantage in the cultivation of cocoa and by manufacturing in Ghana, we are not obliged to impose the considerable carbon footprint required to ship raw cocoa beans offshore to Europe or the US for final processing. At the same time, we export paper labels printed here in Wisconsin to Ghana because Wisconsin has a terrific printing industry — a legacy of craftsmanship that is well over a hundred years old. Simply put, we just can’t find this quality of printing in Ghana.

Omanhene’s efforts to showcase a new, mutually-beneficial side of global trade is one of the reasons we were contacted when the US State Department sent its first cadre of US Ambassadors on a “reverse trade mission” in order to promote trade from the US to North African and Middle Eastern countries. The concept for this reverse trade mission is to bring US Ambassadors to the Midwest instead of having Midwestern companies travel abroad to showcase their products and services. The goal is to double US exports within five years. In addition to a full plate of diplomatic responsibilities, US Ambassadors are advocates for US exports and this trip — the first of its kind — was a chance for our senior diplomats to meet with companies in parts of the country with export potential.

I was proud to serve as one of the volunteer hosts for this visit.

US Ambassadors Visit Milwaukee

From left to right:

The Honorable Gordon Gray, US Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia

The Honorable Margaret Scobey, US Ambassador to Egypt

Steven C. Wallace, President, The Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company (volunteer host)

The Honorable Deborah K. Jones, US Ambassador to Kuwait

Christine Harris, President and Executive Director of The Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee

The Honorable Joseph Evan LeBaron, US Ambassador to the State of Qatar

Michael Pink, Artistic Director, The Milwaukee Ballet

Dawn Helsing Wolters, Managing Director, Milwaukee Repertory Theater

The Honorable Dr. Richard J. Schmierer, US Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman

Wade Hobgood, Dean of the Peck School of the Arts, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Peter Tichansky, President, Business Council for International Understanding

Daniela McFarren, Program Officer, Business, Council for International Understanding

Daniel T. Keegan, Director, Milwaukee Art Museum

September, 2010: Steve Wallace featured in “Food Heroes”

“Food Heroes” is a new book by Georgia Pellegrini just published by Stewart Tabori & Chang. The book showcases 16 culinary artisans and Steve Wallace’s Omanhene story is Chapter 12 of the book. You can order online at Amazon.com.

Steve Wallace featured in Food Heroes, chapter 12

August 14, 2010: Ghana’s NFL connection

The world saw the talent of Ghana’s World Cup football team this year in South Africa but few may know that there is a Ghana connection to American football. In what might be an NFL first, this weekend, two NFL players with strong Ghanaian roots played opposite each other. I attended the pre-season Green Bay Packers exhibition game at Lambeau Field this Saturday evening. It was an unusually beautiful day with temperatures pushing 90 degrees (and in Green Bay, there will be games when the temperature is 20 below zero), lots of sunshine and the traditional tailgate party featuring hamburgers, bratwurst and Italian sausages cooked over a grill.

I checked the roster and Charlie Pepreh was playing in the defensive secondary for the Packers. He is the grandson of one of Ghana’s former military leaders. Then I noticed that Kwaku Danso was playing for the visiting Cleveland Browns. Kwaku was born in Ghana and barely knew how to play American football but has bucked incredible odds to make it through the Brown’s training camp fighting for a chance to be on their final roster.

For those visitors from Ghana, I thought you might enjoy seeing such a familiar surname on the jersey of a Green Bay Packer. I took these photos during pre-game warm-ups. Pepreh played very well — he plays a tough position on defense called safety. For those unfamiliar with American football, safeties are responsible for covering a lot of the football field and need to display excellent vision to see how plays develop and then quickly react to what the offense is trying to accomplish. It is the sort of position in which a mistake is obvious to all — you are really alone out there, often the last person between an offensive player and the goal line. Pepreh has to cover fast wide receivers and also tackle runners who break through the line — and I saw him do both with great skill and confidence.