The Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States of America is touring through Texas this week.
Hynek Kmonícek and his wife, Mrs. Indira Gumarová, made a stop in West on June 16, to tour the city and visit the History of West Museum.
Mayor of West Tommy Muska drove the ambassador and his wife around the city showing them how the community has bounced back since the deadly fertilizer plant explosion.
"That's the pride that this town shows that I feel when I show someone who has seen it three years ago and see how far we've come," Muska said.
Kmonícek visited West with the Czech Republic Prime Minister in 2014 after the Czech Republic helped fund the rebuilding of the Sokol Gymnasium.
"[The tour] was one of the classic proof of Texan resilience," Kmonícek said. "I'm just proud that my country was part of the process and we made our donations and we helped to show original Czechs in the area and not just to them and that we keep the Czech heritage here."
The ambassador and his wife also made a stop in Temple to have lunch with the SPJST and visit the Czech Heritage Museum.
"The state of Texas represents a very important gateway between two great nations and it's an opportunity for the ambassador on this visit to establish and build new relations," Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic Brian Vanicek said.
Kmonícek and Gumarová are touring the state meeting with Czech Americans along the way.
"You get to hear their stories how they started as the Czechs and how they came to Texas and what they did here with their lives and how they kept their culture. and it's quite important for us because we are a 10 million nation people," Kmonícek said.
Ambassador Kmonícek and his wife will be in Austin on Friday night. They will go to Houston on Saturday June 17 for the opening of the Czech Consulate.
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