Dayton/BiH Connections

Our group outside the Hope Hotel, where the Dayton Peace Accords were negotiated.

On Sunday, May 21, our group explored some of the Dayton/Bosnia & Herzegovina connections that were responsible for our exchange taking place, including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Hope Hotel, where the Dayton Peace Accords took place back in 1995. After various morning activities, which included Mass for some of our guests and another visit to the World A'Fair for others, we met at the U.S. Air Force Museum and joined a tour of the first two hangars.

Checking out the Wright Flyer, which helped put Dayton on the map in the aviation world.

So much to see! We did the Early Years & WWII Gallery tour when we arrived.

Dario and Nikola did the flight simulator after we ventured into the second and third hangars, which was a bit dizzying to those of us who watched.

Ana and Mateo preparing to do the flight simulator.

The Presidential Wing was next! We saw all of the Presidential planes on display, from FDR to Clinton (which means that plane was probably in BiH!)

We were at the museum for a couple of hours, so we took a break at the Fairfield Commons Mall before dinner. We were joined for dinner by Tony Riccuito and Bridget Federspiel, two members of the Dayton Sister City Committee.

So I didn't get many pictures from the mall, but this is my favorite. Rijad hadn't had soup in days (traditionally most meals include soup), so he found some at the mall and had to get some before dinner!

Dinner was at Packy's restaurant in the Hope Hotel, site of many of the Dayton Peace Accords negotiations.

One of the lesser-known facts about the Dayton Peace Accords negotiations was that it mostly took place at the Hope Hotel, which at the time of the negotiations was actually on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Now, it's just outside the base fence, but the hotel has changed little since the talks. After the dinner, Matt Joseph gave us a tour of the Hope Hotel, pointing out many of the "behind the scenes" stories he's heard over the years from the people who were there while the negotiations were ongoing.

Matt explained a bit about WPAFB's role in the talks.

A look into one of the breakout rooms, which remain unchanged.

One of the things Matt explained is how WPAFB only had two weeks to get ready for the talks. As a result, the Air Force was told to do "whatever Holbrooke asked," although for the next fifteen years the Air Force and State Department fought over who should have to foot the bill!

Matt pointed out that Holbrooke requested for there to be meandering pathways connecting the hotels with the office areas (each of which had to be exactly equal so it wouldn't appear as if the US was favoring one side over the other). So, the Air Force (uncharacteristically) made some paved trails that zig-zag all the way back to the offices so Holbrooke could chat longer with people on the walks in between meetings.

Rijad shares some of his thoughts about Dayton with the group.

Nikola talks about the perception of "Dayton" today in BiH, explaining that discussion about the agreement is an ongoing fact of life in BiH.

It was a great tour, although at the end of it, Matt acknowledged the challenges and shortcomings of the Dayton Accords. While those are very real, I agree with him that the good news for BiH is that there are people like our guests who can help the country move past the problems created by the Dayton Accords. Plus, if it weren't for Dayton, we wouldn't have made this connection with our new friends!

Thanks to Matt for being a great tour guide!

There's one more thing we did at the end of the evening, which was stopping at Jazz Central to hear some great live music at their weekly jam session!

A great way to end a Sunday night in Dayton!

On Monday, May 22, our group was back at The Entrepreneurs Center, where the focus shifted to creating "vision boards" of their future businesses. Through this activity, the students were forced to think about why their business aligns with their core values, what problems they are addressing through it, and how their business would work.

At the end of the day, students presented some mini-pitches to one another about their ideas.

Students also worked on these posters to help them communicate their core values.

To help illustrate each of the concepts covered, students got a rare tour of the Dayton Arcade, which is not currently open to the public. Before and during their tour, they learned about the why and how of the Dayton Arcade's past and future while having a rare chance to see some of the things that have been frozen in time since it closed its doors, including the Christmas decorations that are still hanging from its last event that was open to the public, which was in 1993. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it reopens in a few years!

The students walked back in time through the Arcade with their tour guide, John Gower.

They even got to go up on the roof! I'm really jealous that I had to go to a meeting instead...

At the end of the day, I was really surprised when the students brought in a cake in the last ten minutes of class and sang happy birthday to me! The cake was great, and so were the homemade cookies (thanks Joyce!) and the candies from Bosnia & Herzegovina (thank you Edna!) It was really special.

I won't lie, it made me go "awww...."

Afterwards, most of the group went to play soccer, and from the looks of it they had a great time! Ana stopped by Amanda's shop to see what they do there and walked home with a souvenir from Amanda's demonstration of their laser engraver as well.

From what I hear they had to split up Mateo and Nikola, who are apparently pretty good!

Amanda shows off some of the machinery they use, which is similar to some of the machines they have back at INTERA Technology Park.

At the end of the day, I introduced Nikola to Thai 9, my parents, and my Grandma & Grandpa Agnor, all of whom came out to celebrate my birthday. It was a great dinner and glad we got to go to one of my favorite restaurants during his visit.

Grandma & Grandpa Agnor, Nikola, Amanda and I, and my parents at Thai 9.

We did a little shopping afterwards and called it a night. Great end to a great day! Tomorrow's topic? Branding!