Former NATO ambassador to speak to Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Monday

Former US Senator and the 24th U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Former US Senator and the 24th U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Weeks before NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly visits Dayton, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO is slated to speak to a Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce audience Monday.

Kay Bailey Hutchison will speak at the chamber’s annual meeting at the Dayton Convention Center Monday. She was a U.S. senator from Texas from 1993 to 2013 and served as the 24th U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from August 2017 January 2021.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, is scheduled to introduce Hutchison.

The spring session of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly is scheduled in Dayton May 23 to 26.

Downtown Dayton will become a “NATO village” security zone that only those with the right clearance and credentials will be able to access.

Access to much of downtown Dayton will be restricted from May 21-27.

The perimeter of the NATO Village security zone is still being determined.

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Hutchison’s visit comes at a time when relations between the 32 alliance members are strained over questions of defense spending and burden-sharing. President Donald Trump has urged NATO members to increase their spending on defense.

Hutchison also served as Texas state treasurer and as a member of the NASA Advisory Council.

In the Senate, she was elected to chair the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-highest leadership position.

“The Dayton area business community is honored to have Ambassador Hutchison in Dayton,” said Chris Kershner, the chamber’s president and chief executive.

The annual meeting is a chamber event that has been sold out. The breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. and the program starts at 7:55 a.m.

With 2,200 members, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce is among the 25 largest chambers in the nation.

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