Richland Mayor Rob Welch is taking lessons learned in the Tri-Cities overseas.

Welch is one of a handful of Americans asked to address the International Atomic Energy Agency at a week-long conference in Athens, Greece.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked him to provide a small-town perspective on the social and economic effects of decommissioning nuclear sites. The commission even agreed to pick up the $3,800 tab.

Welch hopes the Tri-Cities can serve as an example to other communities around the world whose economies have suffered as nuclear facilities closed. Part of his talk will focus on "how the Tri-Cities have come together as one to create a diversified economy not solely reliant on Hanford," he said.

"It puts the message out there you can clean up and still have strong communities," Welch said.

The Tri-Cities' economy was strengthened by investments in economic development by all of the cities, along with organizations such as the Tri-City Development Council and the Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce, he said.

"They have promoted the area to companies not related to Hanford, focused on the benefits - quality of life, low crime rate, the Columbia River, parks and trails," he said. "One thing that helped turn the community around is folks staying after they retired."

He remembers a challenging local economy in the 1980s, when it relied more heavily on Hanford for jobs. Since then, the Tri-Cities have grown in size and the economy is more varied, meaning fluctuations in the economy won't be as devastating, he said.

That doesn't mean there isn't more room to grow, he added. One thing Welch hopes to accomplish on his trip is to network with an international audience and bring some outside investors back home.

He also plans to work in a little leisure time during his eight-day stay in the historic city. His wife, Sarah, is traveling with him. They were married two weeks ago, so the trip will serve in part as a honeymoon, he said.