Henderson man honored for welcoming world visitors to Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Valley should be a better asset for the global community, at least according to Matthew McNeelege.

When coming aboard on at the World Affairs Council in Las Vegas, his goal was to change the programming and make sure the valley was seen as a resource.

His efforts paid off.

McNeelege, a Henderson resident, recently received the Global Ties U.S. Excellence in Programming Award in the community organization volunteer staff category for his development of a Las Vegas international visitors program.

“I was really surprised and honored,” he said.

Board president Stan Parry said this award is a great accomplishment for the organization as a whole.

“It just shows the hard work we’ve done has paid off,” he said.

McNeelege never imagined this is where life would take him.

With a background in business, McNeelege joined the World Affairs Council five years ago.

He has served as the organization’s president to help develop it and its functions.

There are about 100 other organizations nationwide, each with a mission that fits its particular city.

In Las Vegas, the mission of the organization is to enhance a global understanding that focuses on programs that benefit education, business and government within Southern Nevada.

McNeelege said the organization works with the U.S. State Department to facilitate visitor and exchange programs.

One of his first tasks was to prove that Southern Nevada had more to offer than just tourism.

“We had to work to get past the motto that we had, ‘Welcome to Las Vegas, give me your money,’ ” he said. “We wanted to develop a perception that our community had a lot of strengths and resources.”

McNeelege began collaborating with other organizations such as UNLV, the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Springs Preserve.

The organization’s idea was to show that Southern Nevada had experts who could talk about subjects such as water issues, gaming or entrepreneurship.

McNeelege said if people from another country had questions about these subjects, they could contact — or visit — experts in Southern Nevada to help garner a deeper knowledge.

Through the international visitors program McNeelege helped develop, Las Vegas has received delegations from around the world invited by the World Affairs Council.

Along with getting information about Southern Nevada, visitors make connections with Americans.

“Sometime this is their first and only exposure to the United States,” McNeelege said. “The goal is to build relationships. You never know what will come of it.”

McNeelege would organize volunteers for the program who would do anything from pick visitors up from the airport to host them for dinner.

He added that people never knew which visitor could become the next president of his country, but this first interaction could shape their view of America.

Along the way, the World Affairs Council drew in students at local middle and high schools.

McNeelege said one year, he had middle school students write letters to leaders around the world inviting them to Las Vegas and explaining why they should come.

McNeelege stepped away from his position as the board president to focus on working with visitors as the director of the international visitors program.

He hopes to continue to help the organization grow and invite new countries to check out Southern Nevada.

For more information, visit waclv.org.

Contact Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.