Volunteer honorary consuls work far beyond their homes

Gloria Steine of Maple Grove and Patrick Ledray, who works from Fridley, are honorary consuls for Bolivia and Romania, respectively, serving as the "bridge" for many immigrants to their home countries. Steine and Ledray are among 25 honorary consuls in Minnesota. Duties include processing passports and visas, facilitating trade, and fostering cultural ties. Here's an introduction to the two honorary consuls who serve in the north metro.

Steine takes calls at all hours of the day or night at her Maple Grove home.

Requests range from tourist visas to birth certificate translations.

"I never say no to anybody," she said. "It's challenging work, and I enjoy it."

Steine has overseen Bolivia's honorary consulate since 1997. The consulate is responsible for Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, but for the past four years she has been serving people from about 20 states.

She conducts business over the phone -- never e-mail -- and knows whether to answer in Spanish or English based on the area code.

Originally from Bolivia, Steine became a U.S. citizen in 1973 when she was "about 18."

"I was one of the pioneers here with my brother," Steine said, "and when some of the foreigners came we already knew what to do and what not to do and started helping."

Ledray is not from Romania, but became involved because his maternal grandparents were Romanian. Since his appointment as honorary consul in 2000, he has traveled to Romania at least three times.

Ledray works from his law office in Fridley, dealing with power of attorney issues, authenticating documents, or finding documents for people researching their heritage.

Ledray described his role as "a bridge between the local community and the foreign government."

"A lot of the job is helping facilitate whatever it is that people want to do," Ledray said.

Vicki Albu, the vice president of the Heritage Organization, said Ledray lends credibility to the organization because he is an appointed official.

"We just do it because it's a good way to kind of foster those ties," Ledray said. "It's also fun."