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Sports Ambassador Is 'Superb' in Venezuela and Colombia

New York Yankee Bernie Williams puts on baseball clinics in Venezuela and Colombia.

New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams made his inaugural trip as a U.S. Department of State Sports Ambassador February 11 to16, 2005. In Caracas, Venezuela, Williams, who is a native speaker of Spanish, conducted two baseball clinics with 200 uniformed Little Leaguers - with 400 parents and relatives watching from the bleachers - and gave countless autographs and high-fives. The press coverage for Williams' visit was "feverish and totally positive in the sports press as well as the national dailies…" The program reached hundreds of non-elite youth and their families, plus millions of other Venezuelans through the extensive and positive media coverage.

Traveling on to Colombia, Williams led baseball clinics and was interviewed by local news outlets in Cartegena and Baranquilla. In addition to the baseball events, Williams, who is an accomplished jazz and Latin guitarist, performed in Baranquilla with the Etnia Latin Jazz Band at the Uni Norte Auditorium.

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